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.