Why are leglocks treated "differently"?

[Town Biz]

I love straight ankle locks and had guys straight up tell me "no ankle locks" before we touched knuckles. I have no idea why guys are so scared of ankle locks and don't even want to work the defense.They are far less "dangerous" than kimuras IMO.

[theMarshal]

there is nothing subjective about it.

armbar: accidents happen-rare, but they could happen. break someone's elbow and, unlike what most people think, it'll be just fine. it will heal up nicely, and if it is so bad that requires surgery, it will again heal up nicely.

kneebar: NO, it will not heal. like, EVER. if you hurt the meniscus(but still not damage it), it takes so long to stop the pain it's like 2 weeks off training. if you do actual damage (very, very little damage is needed) it will not ever, EVER heal. there is no space in the knee for the body to send blood to heal it, the only way is via surgery. and even then, the knee typicaly heals "to an acceptable point". if you tear 30% of your meniscus(one of the LIGHTEST injuries for the knee, ACL and the likes are much worse), the only thing a surgeon can do is shave it off and hope you do fine with the remaining 70% for the rest of your life. most of the times, that goes alright(my knee is OK , feels 100% after something like that; some knees are never OK, I know other such cases).

the bottom line is, the knee is up there with the spine/back of the neck for "nigh unhealable injuries". High-level athletes may be ready to tap quickly/know when they can escape, but if someone is lower level grappler and doesnt know when to tap he might be injured, possibly for life if unlucky. even a blue belt might be scared of that despite not being that of a beginner.

[DesertStomper]

Probably because you're new to submissions and with leglocks you can REALLY hurt someone. You can easily tear a knee with a heel hook and someone might never be the same.

[Calibur]

Originally Posted by theMarshal

there is nothing subjective about it.

armbar: accidents happen-rare, but they could happen. break someone's elbow and, unlike what most people think, it'll be just fine. it will heal up nicely, and if it is so bad that requires surgery, it will again heal up nicely.

.

Ive been recovering from an armbar injury for two years now. It's not fine!

The docs say surgery will cause more complications than no surgery. Fine, my ass. Last time I checked, shoulders were just as volatile as the knees but kimuras are a okay. This logic still doesn't work and it still doesn't explain why no kneebars are allowed.

[100%Jiu-Jitsu]

Originally Posted by Calibur

Ive been recovering from an armbar injury for two years now. It's not fine!

I feel for you. I tore a ligament in my left elbow when I started BJJ back in 2004. My orthopedic surgeon said he could fix it... but I'd have to do 1.5+ year of rehab with no grappling. That was unacceptable, so I've been living my life ever since with an elbow that feels loose, clicks back and forth, and hurts like crazy after intense training. Oh, and my grip strength now sucks on that side.

So... yeah. It's not fine.

[Kozbot]

I hate leglocks and they should be forced to go to different schools, restaurants, and water fountains

[Taptap]

Originally Posted by theMarshal

there is nothing subjective about it.

armbar: accidents happen-rare, but they could happen. break someone's elbow and, unlike what most people think, it'll be just fine. it will heal up nicely, and if it is so bad that requires surgery, it will again heal up nicely.

kneebar: NO, it will not heal. like, EVER. if you hurt the meniscus(but still not damage it), it takes so long to stop the pain it's like 2 weeks off training. if you do actual damage (very, very little damage is needed) it will not ever, EVER heal. there is no space in the knee for the body to send blood to heal it, the only way is via surgery. and even then, the knee typicaly heals "to an acceptable point". if you tear 30% of your meniscus(one of the LIGHTEST injuries for the knee, ACL and the likes are much worse), the only thing a surgeon can do is shave it off and hope you do fine with the remaining 70% for the rest of your life. most of the times, that goes alright(my knee is OK , feels 100% after something like that; some knees are never OK, I know other such cases).

the bottom line is, the knee is up there with the spine/back of the neck for "nigh unhealable injuries". High-level athletes may be ready to tap quickly/know when they can escape, but if someone is lower level grappler and doesnt know when to tap he might be injured, possibly for life if unlucky. even a blue belt might be scared of that despite not being that of a beginner.

Some legit broscience there! Are you a brosciencist? Keep it up with good input.

[KGB256]

I'll tell you why I'm paranoid about leglocks.

If I hurt my arm, I can usually still train in some capacity. I can run and do most of my S&C routine. It doesn't interfere with work, and I can largely still go about my daily life.

If I hurt my knee or ankle, I am either out of training or severely limited. I can't run, and most forms of exercise are out. I'm hobbling around work, and simple things like buying groceries become a major pain in the butt.

You can get by pretty well with limited use of one of your arms. With your legs, you really need both of them to live your daily life with any sense of normalcy.

[jackandcoke]

If leglocks aren't part of your game whether the rules allow it or not you are doing yourself a big disservice. I have been training for 4 years and within the last year have been adding leglocks to my game and it has opened so many possibilities.

[SheerTechnique]

Here's my take:

I've been training 6.5 years and we have a few up-and-coming blue belts who love the straight ankle and dabble with toe holds and knee bars. I respect it and if they tap me, that's fine too. The problem, in my opinion, is that these guys are hindering their ability to learn positional dominance. Many of them would rather sit back and try to go for a leg lock for 6 minutes instead of trying to pass the guard. This is greatly limiting their understanding of the art as a whole.

I think they should first learn the 'basics' of sweeping, passing and controlling before relying on laying back to leg locks. As they move up in the ranks, they will be up to a rude awakening with guys who just won't tap to footlocks in competition.