Steel City Martial Arts just posted a really good article about the evolution of Leg-Locks in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Here are their "6 Rules of Leg Locks":
- If You’re a White Belt, Don’t Train Leg Locks while Rolling With Another White Belt – as exciting as leg locks are, there simply are too many things that can go wrong when two White Belts train them together. Even if you know how to apply them with care, your partner may not know how to safely escape or when to tap. I know this from experience. Chazz and I were both White Belts and one time he set a straight layback ankle lock on me. I didn’t know what to do, but rolling like a maniac seemed like a good idea at the time. Fortunately for me Chazz immediately let go of the ankle lock and probably saved me from a bad knee injury.
- If You’re A White Belt and You Want to Train Leg Locks with a Colored Belt, Say Something Ahead of Time and Get Their Agreement – most colored belts are happy to safely train leg locks with White Belts. But a lot of us tend to roll relaxed and easy when we’re going with a White Belt and we often leave our legs open to attack. We won’t do that if we know that you’re interested in playing the leg game, and we’ll know to look for the attacks on you, too.
- If Two Colored Belts Are Rolling, the Senior Rank Should “Play Down” to the Lower Rank – you’re a Purple or Brown rolling with a Blue? Don’t use anything other than a straight layback unless you both agree otherwise.
- Don’t Play Heel Hooks Unless You Have Lots of Experience, and You Have Lots of Trust in Your Training Partner – if you don’t understand this one, just stay away from Heel Hooks for now.
- Be Careful and Use Good Judgment – there’s always some element of risk associated with live rolling and leg locks are no different than anything else in this regard. We all want to go home uninjured after class though, so it’s up to you to use good judgment. Tap early if your partner catches you and try something different next time. And if you’ve got your partner in a leg lock and they don’t tap, let it go and talk about it. We’re all friends and teammates here.
- Don’t Be “That Guy”
If you're in the Exton, West Chester, or Downingtown, PA Area check us out here to set up a trial in our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Program or you can continue to browse the site to find out about all of martial arts programs.
Here's the link to the full SCMA article. Read the whole thing: http://www.steelcitymartialarts.com/leg-locks-at-scma-or-please-dont-be-that-guy/868
See you on the mats!
