How To Win Back Inside Position

Cristiano Del Giacco

Leglock wizard Jon Calestine reveals exactly what you need to do to win back inside position and the upper hand in the leglock game.

Question…

How many leglock instructionals do you own?

Ok, now, how many of those instructionals stress the importance of gaining inside position?

Now answer me this…

How many times have you gone to class to test out the knowledge you’ve gained from those instructionals only to be beaten to the punch.

Or should I say, beaten to the leglock?

The problem is, while you may know that winning inside position can be valuable, you may not know what to do when you lose it.

In this short article, Jon Calestine breaks down his simple no-fuss method for winning back inside position from a double-seated position, so you can get back on track to victory.

5 Steps To Help You Win Back Inside Position In The Leglock Game

Step 1 Stripping the Hand

The first step to winning back inside position is stripping your opponent’s grip from your leg.

To do this, you’ll need to reach over your opponent’s hand and take a grip with your four fingers at the ridge of their palm, so that your pinky finger is roughly halfway down their own.

From here, you’ll want to rotate their hand, peeling their grip off your leg, in a motion from bottom to top.

As you strip the grip, you’ll find your leg is now free to pummel back inside.

Step 2 Pummeling Your Leg Inside

When trying to win back inside position, it is important to note that as your leg becomes free to pummel, so too does your opponent’s.

With this in mind, it is crucial that, as soon as you begin to pummel your leg inside, you also release the grip on your opponent’s hand and place it on their ankle/instep; pinning it to the mat.

Doing this provides you with two benefits.

1. It stops your opponent from lifting their foot off the mat to re-pummel their leg, move their body or change the position in a way that would make winning back inside position impossible to do.

2. Pushing down on their foot provides a counterforce that makes lifting and pummeling your leg much easier to do – this is important for those of you who may not be so mobile in the hips.

Step 3 Securing The Intermediate Position

While you may be tempted to shoot right in, it’s important that you take steps to advance in a way that ensures you maintain control.

Once you’ve pummeled your leg on the inside, place your shin flush against your opponent’s leg with a flexed foot (your heel slightly dug into the mat) and your knee pointing toward the ceiling.

Here’s why:

Flexing the foot as a hook helps you monitor and limit your opponent’s movements of their leg away from your body.
Keeping your knee upright helps provide a block against your opponent’s leg which stops them from re-pummeling quickly if you lose your grip.

When it comes to your hands, the way you apply your grip will be influenced by your opponent’s actions.

If they are trying to strip your hands from their leg, reach and take a deeper cup around the back of their achilles area. This will make it more difficult for them to reach your palm and rotate your hand. It won’t make it impossible, but it will buy you more than enough time to advance.

If they aren’t using their hands to attack your own, you can continue to push down and pin their foot to the mat.

Step 4 Repeating On The Other Side

Hey, you!

DON’T SKIP THIS SECTION.

Because it is important you don’t pummel both legs inside at the same time!

Doing so will only leave you off balance and at risk of losing control when trying to win back the inside position.

Bringing both feet off the mat at the same time puts all of your weight on your butt and will create more tension in your abdomen (much like a perpetual crunch).

While this may not sound too bad, if your opponent were to push your legs towards you when both feet were off the ground, you run the risk of falling backward and looking like an ass.

Don’t do that.

Instead. Think of it like putting your pants on. Pummel safely and pummel responsibly by doing it one leg at a time.

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Step 5 Advancing Position

In our final step for winning back inside position, you’re going to extend your legs forward, placing your feet at the outside of your opponent’s butt, while digging your heels into the mat.

Flexing your feet here helps you monitor and hinder your opponent’s hip movements.

Digging your heels into the mat will help make your hips lighter, so you can shuffle safely towards your opponent’s hips without losing control.

Simply shooting in may be a faster option, however, you run the real risk of leaving a gap and giving your opponent an opportunity to escape.

From here, you can pull your opponent’s legs up onto your hip and initiate your leglock game.

advancing-position-win-back-inside-position

What’s Next…

The leglock game is a fascinating and complex one that requires much more than just having the right technique.

It involves knowing that technique inside and out so you can apply it against anyone on the mat, regardless of belt level, and no matter what they try to do to defend.

Check out Jon Calestine’s best selling course now and not only will you learn how to win and dominate inside position with unbeatable knowledge on the pummeling game, but you’ll also learn how to master and submit your opponent with the devastating Aoki lock.