Importance of Leg Control in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Why Controlling an Opponent’s Legs is Vital in BJJ
May 22, 2009
There are many lessons that Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters can learn from wrestlers. One of those lessons is the concept of leg control. Whether it’s defending a takedown, bridging out from underneath a mount, trying to re-guard from bottom side control, or attempting a guard sweep, if a BJJ fighter only has one leg, they’re at a massive disadvantage.
Legs are the Key to Many Takedowns
In judo and wrestling there are lots of takedowns that don’t involve attacking an opponent’s legs, but many of the most common ones do. Ignoring the legs means giving up these attacks:
- single-leg takedown (kuchiki daoshi)
- double-leg takedown (morotegari)
- outer reap (osotogari)
- inner reap (ouchigari)
- ankle pick (kibisu gaeshi)
- fireman’s carry (kataguruma)
- leg scissor (kani basami)
- foot sweep (deashi barai)
- donkey kick (uchimata)
- knee block (hiza guruma)
- etc.
Leg Control for No-gi BJJ and Submission Grappling
Leg control is especially important in the world of no-gi BJJ and submission grappling. When there isn’t any gi fabric to grip, controlling one (or both) of an opponent’s legs will often be the difference between keeping or losing position in a scramble.
Learn By Doing
Of course, the best way to understand the benefits of controlling an opponent’s legs in BJJ is to get out there on the mat. The following are a few ways to start experimenting with leg control in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. They may feel unusual at first, but take the time to get used to them. And pay attention to how much an opponent’s game suffers when one of their legs is out of commission.
Rodeo Mount
From mount (tateshihogatame), grab your opponent’s collar with one hand and reach back with the other hand to control the leg. Grab the pants at the knee (for no-gi BJJ/grappling, scoop behind the knee). This is good for several reasons:
- with only one leg, the opponent has no power to bridge and reverse position
- they can’t trap your leg in half-guard
Side Control (Yokoshihogatame)
From regular side control (yokoshihogatame in judo), control the opponent’s leg by grabbing their pants at the knee (for no-gi BJJ and submission grappling, scoop the knee with your arm). Controlling the leg in side control offers a few key advantages:
- takes power away from the opponent’s bridge
- keeps the opponent from reguarding or moving to half-guard
Reverse Mount
This is exactly what it sounds like... mounted facing an opponent’s legs rather than their head... and feels very strange at first to most people. However, reverse mount has a few benefits for the BJJ fighter:
- it puts a lot of pressure on the opponent’s diaphragm
- it’s a perfect leglock setup position
- it provides the advantage of surprise against opponents who aren't familiar with the position
Attacking Turtle
Turning over a turtled opponent can be difficult. They’re stable and in a good position to explode into a scramble. A solid way to control someone in turtle is to seatbelt grab with one arm and grab one of their ankles with the other (usually the far ankle).
Z-Guard (from top)
When an opponent tries fighting from z-guard, sprawl on his legs. Then control the legs by weaving one arm through (behind the top knee and in front of the bottom knee). Bearhugging both legs and elevating them also works well.
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