Mastering the Outside Heel Hook

Learning the outside heel hook can feel overwhelming — but breaking it down step-by-step makes it way easier. Here’s a full guide to the important concepts, common mistakes, and sharp details that can upgrade your game. 🦵🔥

🧩 1. What Is Ashi Garami (Leg Entanglement)?

Ashi Garami = controlling your opponent’s leg with your legs.
No control = no heel hook.

For outside heel hooks, there are three main types of ashi garami:

• Outside Ashi
  → Legs locked outside their hip.
  → Their leg stays on your side of the centerline. (Straight Ashi)

• Rimi Ashi (Single Leg X)
  → Like single leg X guard.
  → Decent for heel hooks but easier to slip out of.

• Reap
  → Leg crosses over their body.
  → Super common and powerful for attacking outside heel hooks.

❗ If their leg crosses your centerline, it’s no longer outside ashi. It becomes inside ashi, and that’s a different heel hook.

🎯 2. The Knee Line = Your Target Zone

Think of the knee line as the "Bermuda Triangle" of leg locks.

• Draw a line across both knees, then back to your groin.

• Their knee must stay inside this triangle.

• If the knee slips out ➔ no heel hook.

Maintaining the knee line is critical for control and finishing. ✅

✋ 3. Control Grips vs. Breaking Grips

You need two different types of grips when heel hooking:

🛑 Control Grips:

• Achilles Grip (Overwrap): Arm wrapped around their achilles.

• Shotgun Grip: Like holding a shotgun at your waist.

👉 These grips hold their leg in place while you work.

💥 Breaking Grips:

• High Heel Grip:

  • Forearm under the heel, lifting it high.

  • Hands together (palm-to-palm or wrist-to-wrist).

👉 These grips finish the submission.

🔑 Important: Control first, then break.

🔥 4. How to Expose the Heel

The battle:

• Your opponent wants to hide their heel by pushing it into your ribs.

• You want to expose it by bending their knee inward.

Tips for clean exposure:

• Use shotgun grips.

• Turn your knees in.

• Lift their foot high into your armpit.

• Make sure their shoelaces are pointing across your ribs (not up or out).

Without exposure ➔ no heel hook. 🙅

🛠️ 5. Breaking Mechanics: How Heel Hooks Actually Work

The goal is to twist and shear their knee.

Here’s what you want:

• Knee slightly bent (not fully straight).

• Heel lifted high.

• Hips drive sideways into their knee (external rotation).

💥 Result:

• Damage to the LCL (lateral collateral ligament).

• Potential damage to the ankle or foot too.

Big mistake beginners make:
Forces (lift + drive) not timed together = weak break.
Lift high ➔ drive hips through. Perfect timing = taps.

🎬 6. Live Situations: Rimi Ashi, Reaps, and Rolling

• Rimi Ashi (Single Leg X) ➔ Great for exposing the heel.

• Outside Ashi ➔ Great for breaking once you’ve exposed.

• Reap ➔ Common in standing or seated battles.

If your opponent rolls to escape:
👉 Keep your hands locked high (chin height).
👉 Roll with them and stay tight.
👉 Keep their knee inside the knee line.

🚨 7. Dealing With the Knee Cut Escape

One common problem:
You reap ➔ They knee cut and smash your guard.

How to stop it:

• Use an ankle wedge (tricep over their ankle).

• Lock your legs ankle-to-ankle (not triangle).

• Stretch them out with your legs.

• Once they’re extended ➔ expose the heel ➔ finish.

💡 Pro tip: When in doubt, go back to control grips if you feel them escaping. Don’t rush the break if you don’t have full control.

🧩🦵 Final Thoughts

Heel hooks can seem like dark magic when you first start learning them, but once you understand:

• Ashi Garami controls

• Knee line maintenance

• Proper gripping

• Exposure and breaking mechanics

...they become much more manageable — and deadly. 😈

Whether you're just getting started or sharpening up your outside heel hook game, these details can make a massive difference.