Dan Faggella is a No Gi Pan Am Champion at 130 pounds, and recognized expert in Leg Locks Technique for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Dan writes or Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style, MMA Sports Mag, and more – he has his own blog at scienceofskill.com. Check him out!
If you’re in to jiu jitsu and you’re looking for ways to increase the number of submissions you’re getting from foot locks and also find the best way to get them faster without having to lock it and then proceed to have to nearly rip their leg off, hopefully before the timer goes off-I’ve got the perfect fix for you.
And don’t worry-you won’t have to re-learn anatomy or have to look up any of those “technical” terms because the only torture I want to happen is the torture you apply to another man’s foot when you start using what I’m about to show you.
(just make sure you stop when they tap-not like my buddy Toquino)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7vJOXPnANY
How To Get A Killer Bite On Your Ankle Locks
Hold Up, Hold Up! You’re not going to have to take another semester of anatomy to get a totally killer bite on your ankle locks. Notice how the Achilles tendon varies in width and also thickness if you look at the transverse view.
Now-if you were to pick a spot that you would be able to enact optimal pressure, what would you choose? There’s actually two answers to this-I can’t wait to reveal the second one to you-it’s so hardcore and nobody pays attention to it!
http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/upload/3/3c/Achilles-tendon.jpg” > If you truly want to be a master at straight Achilles locks you have to master this! (don’t worry-it wont take long and it’ll only be painful for the guy youre drilling with)
Hands down, one of the main reasons why a ton of guys aren’t finishing Achilles locks are because they’re gripping in the wrong place and their “slice” or “bite” isn’t in the optimal spot of the Achilles where you can apply the most pressure aka the most force per square inch.
Sweet Spot
http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/webmd/consumer_assets/site_images/articles/image_article_collections/anatomy_pages/achilles_tendon.jpg” >The “Sweet spot” that most people fail to grip correctly is the calcaneus (shown below)
Proper grips on the Calcaneus or heel bone with the simulatenous ultra-tight pressure that you apply to the Achilles tendon (see image). Remember pounds per square inch=pressure so stay intact and get that nice Ankle Bite on a super calibrated area.
Know Your Knees
If your knees are not in the correct alignment-and they may very well not be, it takes a lot of people a ton of practice before they get this but if they are not in the right alignment it will mess up your pressure bite at the foot.
If you want to be an Achilles Lock master and have the knarliest of knarliest Achilles lockyou’re going to need to get this right. So Pay ATTENTION-knees pointing at the same angle as your opponent if not-it will mess up your pressure and your bite at the foot.
Quick And Dirty Way To Get A Better Achilles Lock
At Your Next Practice
Spend 10 minutes of tinker time with a partner going back and forth repping the Achilles Lock submission.
Focus On The Simple 3
- Make sure you are gripping the calcaneus with your hand and applying the bite on the most “tender part” of the Achilles (see diagram)
- Tinker with the extension off your opponents hips-if you do this right you will be applying far more pressure than you would if you only adjusted your grip
- Spend time focusing on your knee alignment-making sure that your knees are parallel to your opponent. If they’re not-you can kiss the quick and easy submission goodbye and say hello to the long battle of trying to readjust to their movement.
Be sure to check out a video of Toquinho demonstrating a double leg takedown to a knee bar here.
Until Next Time,
Coach Daniel Faggella
