Locked in - The Aoki Lock

In the last few years this simple leg lock has been slowly gain popularity and I thought I'd explain why as well as show a few examples. At its heart the Aoki lock is an ankle lock variation that seems to be popularized by Shinya Aoki. I actually have a few of Shinya's instructionals and I don't think he ever shows this technique, but I believe the name comes from his fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri.

 

As you can see in the video Kawajiri looks to be in pain when the leg lock starts, but he's enduring it and continuing to fight. That is until Aoki slips his heel out and changes the angle. At that point Kawajiri screams in pain and taps out. What changed?

Technique

As I said before the Aoki lock is a straight ankle lock variation, however mechanical it is actually very different from the normal ankle lock most people are familiar with. Instead of the normal grip where you wrap your opponents leg at the ankle, for the Aoki lock you need to allow your opponents heel to slip free while you hold their toes in your armpit. It can be tricky to get this grip placement correct at first, but IMO this is the most important part of the move. Next you need to put their heel upwards and their toes downwards. This is important because you need their knee and foot at a perpendicular angle from their body. This is usually accomplished by turning your body towards the floor as if you are trying to belly down. To finish you pull your arm up(if you haven't already) and lean backwards to apply pressure to the outside of the ankle. It should twist the foot in a similar way to someone getting their ankle broken by a crossover in basketball.

Here is a video of Jeremy Skinner showing how it is done and how he hit it in competition. 

The Aoki lock can damage the ankle or the knee similar to an inside heel hook. Unlike the inside heel hook you can feel pain before it starts to damage you however don't try to tough it out. If you feel any tightness or pain tap out. Many people have gotten hurt thinking this is like an old school achilles lock and they try to tough it out. See how many people in the next section are injured because they refused to tap even when given plenty of time. 

In Competition

In this video Junny Ocasio sets up the Aoki lock from the butterfly ashi position. This setup has become very popular recently for a few reasons. This doesn't seem to be a really well known setup yet and also it avoids some common defenses. Usually from the bottom position you can put your foot on the floor to stop ankle locks. Not with the Aoki lock. Since the heel is on your chest they aren't able to put their foot to the floor. On top of that both of your legs can push them away. Junny's opponent doesn't know where to go and just tries to endure until he is forced to tap. 

 

Here we can see Jason Rau using it in a leglock shoot out. One of the Aoki locks biggest strengths is that it can be used from a wide variety of positions and it can easily catch people by surprise. Many times people will be digging for heel hooks and forget about their own feet. Of course they'll quickly defend if they feel a heel hook coming, but won't respect the ankle lock. 

Next up we have Isaac Doederlein. He starts off by pulling his opponent's leg into the butterfly ashi position. His opponent is content to come on top and get his 2 points(IMO a mistake). At first Isaac tries a normal ankle lock, then he underhooks the leg, so he can get a sweep. Neither end up working. Then he goes back to the ankle lock grip. He pops his opponent's heel out and then starts applying pressure. His opponent is obviously feeling it at this point, however he decides to endure the pain. Isaac can't add anymore pressure upward, so he instead turns belly down increasing the pressure exponentially and causing damage to his opponent. 

 

These last 2 videos demonstrate what a powerful too the Aoki lock is. Another thing that I hope people notice is that almost everyone that taps late gets injured. This ain't your daddy's foot lock, this will tear your leg up. Play around with it at your own risk.

Strengths

Not only is the Aoki lock extremely powerful, but can also be used in a variety of positions. The leg positioning isn't nearly as important as other leg locks, so it can sometimes be used when you're in a bad position yourself. Another useful aspect is that it often comes to you naturally as your opponent tries to escape the normal ankle lock.

The Aoki lock often catches people off guard because it doesn't follow the rules of normal anklelocks or other leglocks. The knee line is of no importance when it comes to the Aoki and on top of that stopping your opponent from going belly down won't save you. In the gi, one of the most common defenses is to grab someone's lapel to stop them from extending. This won't save you from the Aoki lock. The Aoki lock is something that can give you a legit threat from bottom or top position that doesn't need a complicated leg entanglement.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness of the Aoki lock is the grip. By adjusting your hands in various ways you can make it stronger, but by the nature of the lock, keeping the opponents foot secure can be a problem. If you get the grip it is an incredibly powerful submission, but if don't catch the foot correctly or their foot is slippery, you'll lose all control. It's an all or nothing submission. It is also susceptible to toe slipping(maybe heel slipping too, but I haven't tried that). Another problem that happens is when the opponent positions their foot with the heel pointing outwards or the point their toes. These conditions make it hard the get the correct grip and you'll usually have to switch to another move. Below is a video on heel and toe slipping for those that aren't familiar. 

Why you should add it to your game

The aoki lock is great for those that mostly do gi BJJ because it gives a powerful leglock that can be used in combination with things like de la riva guard, which are commonly used in sport BJJ. It is more powerful than the standard foot lock, less likely to fail than the toehold and easier to enter than the kneebar. Isaac Doederlein started using this in 2018 and I think it has completely changed his game. He's already caught 9 people with it and has changed from someone that mostly swept from bottom and tried to take your back, to someone that is a legitimate submission threat from bottom. I imagine this will start to become a more common attack in the next few years considering how well it fits with the current trends in gi BJJ.

For those that do No-gi it also has quite a few benefits. Even if you have access to heel hooks, the Aoki lock is a great counter to many of the leg positions you might find yourself in. For most other leg locks you need solid leg positioning to finish the submission, but with the Aoki lock you can sometimes hit it even in an inferior position. Many of the positions that people beleive they are safe in actually aren't if you're well versed in this technique. Watch the video below showing how it can be used to devastating effect from the 50/50.

Closing thoughts

This is a somewhat newer technique, but it has been shown to work at the highest levels in BJJ, submission wrestling and MMA. It can be used in gi and no-gi and doesn't require any special attributes such as strength, flexibility, etc. I think this will be a common technique years from now and I'd recommend everyone study it now, before you get caught in it yourself.