Inside heel hook

Category: Joint lock Rank: #2 Used Count: 620

Overview

The inside heel hook is one of the most powerful and dangerous leg locks in modern no-gi jiu-jitsu. Applied from cross ashi garami leg entanglements such as inside sankaku or 50/50, it targets the structures of the knee, especially the medial ligaments and meniscus, by rotating the heel and twisting the lower leg against a trapped thigh and hip line. When fully applied, it can cause serious damage in a very short amount of time.

In today’s leg-lock–heavy meta, the inside heel hook sits at the center of many advanced systems used by high-level competitors. It is valued not just for its finishing power but also for the way it forces clear, predictable defensive reactions that can be used to transition to other attacks, back takes, or dominant passing positions.

Related Techniques

Cross ankle lock, Outside heel hook, Straight ankle lock, Toe hold

INSIDE HEEL HOOK ATHLETES (RANKS 1–20)

Rank	Athlete	Count
1	Oliver Taza	42
2	Julian Espinosa	26
3	Garry Tonon	22
4	Kieran Kichuk	20
4	PJ Barch	20
5	Jason Rau	18
6	Max Hanson	15
7	Craig Jones	14
8	Keith Krikorian	13
9	Lachlan Giles	12
10	Gordon Ryan	11
11	Deandre Corbe	10
12	Jon Calestine	9
12	Eddie Cummings	9
12	Joao Assonitis	9
12	David Garmo	9
12	Elisabeth Clay	9
13	Gavin Corbe	8
13	Chris Wojcik	8
13	Cole Abate	8
13	Daniel Manasoiu	8
14	Alan Sanchez	7
14	Johnny Tama	7
14	Jacob Couch	7
14	Dominic Mejia	7
14	Abraham La Montagne	7
15	William Tackett	6
15	Jon Blank	6
15	Placido Santos	6
16	Joshua Flores	5
16	Kyle Boehm	5
16	Pawel Jaworski	5
16	Eoghan O'Flanagan	5
17	Dean Lister	4
17	Luccas Lira	4
17	Mateusz Szczecinski	4
17	Nick Ronan	4
17	Geo Martinez	4
17	Luke Griffith	4
17	Diego Oliveira	4
17	Nicky Ryan	4
17	Giancarlo Bodoni	4
17	Taylor Pearman	4
17	Pierre-Olivier Leclerc	4
17	Pedro Marinho	4
17	Shay Montague	4
18	Bernardo Albuquerque	3
18	Roosevelt Sousa	3
18	Renato Canuto	3
18	Mayssa Bastos	3
18	Reese LaFever	3
18	Amanda Bruse	3
18	Lucas Kanard	3
18	Jasmine Rocha	3
18	Landon Elmore	3
18	Jalen Fonacier	3
18	Izaak Michell	3
18	Diego Ortiz	3
18	Joao Miyao	3
18	Elijah Carlton	3
18	Kevin Beuhring	3
18	Ethan Crelinsten	3
18	Helena Crevar	3
18	Keenan Cornelius	3
18	Fabyury Khrysthyan	3
18	Kaynan Duarte	3
18	Kade Ruotolo	3
18	Felipe Machado	3
18	Frank Rosenthal	3
19	Aaron Johnson	2
19	Adam Benayoun	2
19	Andrew DeGraff	2
19	Andrew Tackett	2
19	Andy Murasaki	2
19	Bobby Sandhu	2
19	Charles Negromonte	2
19	Christian Frillici	2
19	Damien Anderson	2
19	Danielle Kelly	2
19	Daniel Sathler	2
19	Dante Leon	2
19	Declan Moody	2
19	Fabian Ramirez	2
19	Haisam Rida	2
19	Jeremy Skinner	2
19	Kenta Iwamoto	2
19	Mica Galvao	2
19	Owen Jones	2
19	Patrick Gaudio	2
19	Paul Ardila	2
19	Ryan Hall	2
19	Tim Spriggs	2
19	Vagner Rocha	2
20	Jordan Holy	1
20	Joseph Watson	1
20	Josh Dawson	1
20	Gabriel Sousa	1
20	Jozef Chen	1
20	Fellipe Andrew	1
20	JZ Cavalcante	1
20	Felipe Costa	1
20	Kade Tsitos	1
20	Kaua Gabriel	1
20	Faris Ben-Lamkadem	1
20	Evan Leve	1
20	Ethan Vistro	1
20	Victor Hugo	1
20	Enrico Cocco	1
20	Ellis Hodge	1
20	Diogo Reis	1
20	Davis Asare	1
20	David Porter	1
20	Levi Jones-Leary	1
20	David Evers	1
20	Dave Weston	1
20	Daniel Schuardt	1
20	Maia Matalon	1
20	Marcin Maciulewicz	1
20	Mateusz Mazur	1
20	Daniel Amorim	1
20	Claire North	1
20	Chuy Magana	1
20	Tom Maenurm	1
20	Michael Sainz	1
20	Mike Hillebrand	1
20	Mikey Musumeci	1
20	Nicholas Ortiz	1
20	Brett Moyer	1
20	Brandon Reed	1
20	Nikolai Vetrov	1
20	Nikolay Vetrov	1
20	Noah Wyatt	1
20	Ben Swainston	1
20	Tommy Langaker	1
20	Paige Ivette	1
20	Travis Haven	1
20	Tye Ruotolo	1
20	Paulo Miyao	1
20	Augusto Mendes	1
20	Andy Varela	1
20	Andrew Kochel	1
20	Andre Galvao	1
20	Ana Mayordomo	1
20	Quentin Rosensweig	1
20	Rana Willink	1
20	Alex Hernandez	1
20	Adrian Nez	1
20	Riki Yoshinaga	1
20	Roberto Abreu	1
20	Roberto Jimenez	1
20	Adele Fornarino	1
20	Ross Nicholls	1
20	Ryan Aitken	1
20	Aaron Sheffield	1
20	Sam Holland	1
20	Samir Chantre	1
20	Santeri Lilius	1
20	Sean McCleary	1
20	Sean Yadimarco	1
20	Sebastian Attard	1
20	Adam Wardzinski	1
20	Tarik Hopstock	1
20	Jacob Rodriguez	1
20	Javier Barter	1
20	Achilles Rocha	1
20	Ingridd Sousa	1
20	Ian Murray	1
20	John Combs	1
20	Hiago George	1
20	Henrique Cardoso	1
20	Gianni Grippo	1