Help with the Toe Hold

[Scorcho]

Hey,

I am a brown belt at my TJJ dojo, and we practice some ne waza (BJJ style ground grappling) every week. Recently, I have been finding myself in position for a toe hold quite often, but have never been able to finish it. I get my inside hand on the top of my opponent's foot, and use my outside hand to get under his achilles and grap my own wrist. From there, however, I can never actually get the tap, no matter how much pressure I try to put on. Any suggestions? Does the leg have to be straight or something like that?

Thanks for the help!

[Mr Pockets]

First of all, BE CAREFUL with ankles and knees. They go from nothing to injured quicker than you'd think. Anyway, try pinching your elbows and twisting them both like a steering wheel. BJJ isn't about pure muscular strenght (thus, how much pressure) but technique (thus, pressure without hardly trying.) Once you figure-four the ankle- BRING THE BIG TOE TOWARDS HIS OWN BUTTHOLE. Bend it in far enough and the guy will have to tap. But again, BE CAREFUL.

Also- make sure you have the foot in the correct hand- you want to bend it inside, not outside (it's weaker that direction.) So if you're facing the same direction as your opponent (north-south for example) you want to have you left hand on his right foot. If you're facing opposite direcion (in his open guard, for example) you want to grab his right foot with your right hand.

[Gumbi]

Assuming your hand placement is correct, check to make sure that your "top" hand (the one grabbing your opponents foot) is far enough down by his toes. Many people make the mistake of holding too far away from the toes and towards the ankle, which makes it much more difficult to apply the lock effectively.

When I apply this hold, I like to have the knuckle of my index finger right on the knuckle of my opponents little toe. This should give you enough leverage to get the submission to work.

[Scorcho]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will give it a try - Carefully, of course. As my sensei always says, you want to be able to reuse your ukes (partners).

[JohnnyS]

One of the big keys for the toe-hold is to hold the leg tight to your body first, then turn the foot.