Are we teaching leg lock defence too late?
Along the lines of the current challenge; I think a lot of gyms still treat leg lock prevention like an advanced topic, when really it should be basic survival knowledge. Not “everyone needs to heel hook on day one.” but that people should understand early what gets them caught in the first place. Because by the time most people start learning “leg lock defence,” they’ve already spent months or years doing things like:
leaving lazy feet in range
stepping with no regard for inside position
turning the wrong way under pressure
accepting entanglements they don’t understand
trying to explosively yank out once they’re already cooked
That’s a rough way to learn.To me, and clearly @Jason_Scully, prevention should come way before late-stage escape mechanics.
Things like:
recognising when your foot is actually in danger
understanding when a leg pummel matters
clearing the knee line before panicking
hiding the heel instead of admiring it
knowing when standing posture or passing decisions are basically invitations to get entangled
A lot of people talk about leg locks like they’re this separate dark art. I don’t think they are. A lot of “leg lock defence” is just positional awareness and refusing to make dumb choices half a second too late.
So here’s the question:
Should leg lock prevention be taught as a beginner fundamental now, in the same way we teach posture, framing, and basic escape habits?
Because I’m starting to think “leg lock defence is advanced” really means: “we wait until people are already making terrible decisions before we explain why those decisions are terrible.”
Curious where people land on it.
3 Comments
Leg lock prevention should actually be number 1 in my opinion in the leg game. It will also help you with your offense as well as you learn how to avoid and unwind entanglements. I highly focused on leg lock prevention for years and in return it has made me very confident in my offensive leg game.
I teach it starting at white belt. Here's my reason. I started training JJ in 2000. Stopped in 2007 for several years to coach my kids etc. Finally, when I got back into training, the game was so much different. Obviously leg locks had taken over. When I started they were seen as somewhat taboo so I had minimal experience with them. I was a 'higher" belt that did not understand this game. That's why I teach it early.
It’s undeniable at this point that Leglocks are a part of the game that should not be ignored. I find that people who are still anti leg game just don’t understand them. It’s similar to how no one wants to play the video game that they suck at 😂. That being said I agree with learning fundamentals and guard passing 1st. A big issue is people once they learn them and see how effective they can be… it’s all they do for a while and grossly neglect other parts of grappling. I guess it depends on your Martial Arts goals, because I feel a similar way to heavy lapel based players. I think self defense and real fight purpose and focus should come first and then later do whatever you want.