How To Do The Straight Foot Lock: Get More Taps With This Nasty Adjustment

In this blog post, I am going to show you how to do the straight foot lock, one of my favorite submissions since I was a white belt.

I am about to show is a powerful variation used by some of the top jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world, including Mikey Musumeci, Victor Hugo, Isaac Doederlein, and many others.

If you're looking to up your game and surprise your opponents with a nasty and super strong foot lock technique, then this post is for you.

I'll go over the details of how to execute this variation and how it differs from the regular variation.

So, forget about the regular straight foot lock and get ready to add a new and devastating variation to your arsenal.

Let's get started and if you want to go straight to the video, scroll down right away or click on the "video instructional" section in the table of contents below.

The straight foot lock, also known as the straight ankle lock, is a leg submission technique commonly used in BJJ, submission wrestling and MMA.

It involves controlling the opponent's leg and applying pressure to the ankle joint, hyper extending it, causing pain and discomfort that can lead to a submission.

What makes the straight foot lock one of the most effective submissions is its versatility and efficiency.

It can be applied from a variety of positions and can be used to finish fights quickly without requiring excessive force or strength.

You can set it up from the bottom and top positions.

Another factor that contributes to the effectiveness of the foot lock is the fact that it can be used as a threat to create opportunities for other techniques.

From the bottom, you can use the threat of a straight foot lock to sweep your opponent and from the top, you can also utilize it to get a pass.

The most common straight foot lock that you will learn for the first time as a white belt is the regular one.

In the regular version, you will wrap your opponent's ankle with your arm and then position the blade of your wrist at around the soft ankle joint.

Your legs will also wrap or isolate your opponent's leg, the one that is being attacked, using the single leg-x or ashi garami entanglement.

You can see the regular variation in the image below:

Regular variation of the straight foot lock: single leg-x or ashi garami plus arm wrapped around opponent's ankle.

The regular straight foot lock absolutely works.

However, how about if you can just make a slight adjustment to get a faster tap?

This is where the "nasty" variation comes into play.

Mikey Musumeci used this variation when he won the final of the 2019 IBJJF Worlds Championship in just 12 seconds and he did it at the black belt level!

So, what is the adjustment?

First, unlike the regular variation, in this one you need to must your opponent's ankle a bit until you can trap the heel somewhere in your chest or rib cage area like this:

Push your opponent's ankle a bit until the heel is trapped around your chest or rib cage.

What this adjustment does is basically transforming a regular straight foot lock into an inside heel hook, the most dangerous leg submission in submission grappling.

The good news is that you can actually make it "legal" in the gi and IBJJF tournaments as long as you know how to hide the adjustment you make on the heel.

If you are using the gi, then just grab your own collar and then fall on your shoulder going almost belly down.

It is almost impossible for the official to see what you are doing to the heel if you know how to hide it.

Is it cheating? Well, by definition what you are doing is still considered a straight foot lock so I will leave it to you to decide whether you want to use this variation or not.

The second adjustment you need to do is to use the outside ashi leg entanglement instead of the regular ashi garami.

You can see how it looks like below:

Outside ashi leg entanglement.

In the outside ashi, you hook your opponent's thigh using your outside leg instead of the inside leg.

The inside leg will become your free leg to do a lot of things.

The advantage of using the outside ashi is that you have more options to counter the most common defenses against the straight foot lock.

You can also use this entanglement to move more swiftly into the belly down straight foot lock, which is the hardest variation to defend against.

To get a more clear idea on how this nasty variation works, you can watch the video of me teaching it to my students below.

In conclusion, the straight foot lock is a highly effective submission technique that can be used from a variety of positions.

Its versatility, efficiency, and ability to create opportunities for other techniques make it a valuable addition to any practitioner's arsenal.

In this video, I have shown a powerful variation of the straight foot lock used by top jiu-jitsu practitioners like Mikey Musumeci, Victor Hugo, and Isaac Doederlein.

By learning and incorporating this variation into your game, you can take your leg lock game to the next level and surprise your opponents with a nasty and super strong move.

Remember to practice the technique with a partner or in a controlled setting, and to prioritize proper form and execution to ensure the submission is effective and safe. 

If you want to learn more details on the straight foot lock, you can go to BJJ Fanatics and purchase Mikey Musumeci's Death from Below instructional.

The instructional covers additional stuffs including entries to the outside ashi and multiple ways to deal with your opponent's counters and defenses.

I personally have purchased it and you can read my review here.

If you decide to purchase it, use the link below to get $20 discount at BJJ Fanatics:

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