Anyone feel like heelhooks are stopping the progression/evolution of BJJ?

[Ivan]

I know BJJ culture has a tendency to dismiss the opinions of lower belts, but I've spoken about this with some boys on the mat a few times. It seems to me, at least, that heel hooks and leg locks have become so prevalent in the recent years that whenever you watch an advanced ADCC match, it seems like it's a race to who can enter SLX and invert for the heelhook the fastest. It looks stagnant and outdated and it seems to me that it might be stopping the exploration of more niche areas of BJJ. For example, I would love to see the pioneers of the sport start to incorporate and rediscover neck cranks, wrist locks etc. But because of the danger a heel hook poses, it seems to me that is all anyone is aiming for in their matches now...

 

[skribs]

I know BJJ culture has a tendency to dismiss the opinions of lower belts, but I've spoken about this with some boys on the mat a few times. It seems to me, at least, that heel hooks and leg locks have become so prevalent in the recent years that whenever you watch an advanced ADCC match, it seems like it's a race to who can enter SLX and invert for the heelhook the fastest. It looks stagnant and outdated and it seems to me that it might be stopping the exploration of more niche areas of BJJ. For example, I would love to see the pioneers of the sport start to incorporate and rediscover neck cranks, wrist locks etc. But because of the danger a heel hook poses, it seems to me that is all anyone is aiming for in their matches now...

I watch Tyler Spangler, and he just loves guillotines. I'm going to be a dirty wristlocker when I get my blue belt.

I think this is kinda like the 1-legged stance that plagued/plagues Taekwondo at the highest level. It's not how 90% of the folks spar, but it's what wins at the top level.

 

[drop bear]

I don't do them. But I jujitsu for my own entertainment.

I am trying to make a cartwheel wrist lock work at the moment.

(Not having much success)

 

[Tony Dismukes]

These things go in phases. someone introduces a new technique or a new refinement to an old technique and it dominates the competition circuit for a while. Then eventually everyone becomes familiar with the new approach and learns how to defend it and then it becomes just part of the available toolbox and some new innovation becomes the hot thing.

The leg lock game was underdeveloped for a while and so once some training camps managed to research them deeply, they became dominant. Ten years from now, those developments will be part of the standard curriculum and something else will be at the forefront of cutting edge technical development.

 

[Ivan]

I don't do them. But I jujitsu for my own entertainment.

I am trying to make a cartwheel wrist lock work at the moment.

(Not having much success)

Do you mean the Steven Seagal sweep? Think I saw a video of it somewhere, but never really tried it. I'm personally working on my pressure passes and half-guard game.

 

[Ivan]

These things go in phases. someone introduces a new technique or a new refinement to an old technique and it dominates the competition circuit for a while. Then eventually everyone becomes familiar with the new approach and learns how to defend it and then it becomes just part of the available toolbox and some new innovation becomes the hot thing.

The leg lock game was underdeveloped for a while and so once some training camps managed to research them deeply, they became dominant. Ten years from now, those developments will be part of the standard curriculum and something else will be at the forefront of cutting edge technical development.

I have considered that too, but don't you think the dominance of leg locks has had its course in comparison to other techniques? From what I can tell, leglocks have become very dominant and remained so for over half a decade, whereas other trends such as floating passes or berimbolos were only hyped up for a few years.

 

[drop bear]

Do you mean the Steven Seagal sweep? Think I saw a video of it somewhere, but never really tried it. I'm personally working on my pressure passes and half-guard game.

I have no idea. I will check it out.

 

[dunc]

I have considered that too, but don't you think the dominance of leg locks has had its course in comparison to other techniques? From what I can tell, leglocks have become very dominant and remained so for over half a decade, whereas other trends such as floating passes or berimbolos were only hyped up for a few years.

I do think things go in cycles
People develop or rediscover techniques and they work really well on everyone for a while until folks develop their counters/defence
Then people move onto the next thing
Roll forward a few years and no one is teaching the defences any more so the techniques have their day in the sun again

However, leg locks have a much more important role in the no gi ruleset than they do in other rulesets so they will always be a key part of any serious no gi grappler's arsenal

I feel that they fall into the category of "super important in ADCC etc, but not so important in a fight". So I'm in the more traditional camp where I practice them so they are an option and I can defend them, but they're not a go to option for me or part of my core "game"

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I have considered that too, but don't you think the dominance of leg locks has had its course in comparison to other techniques? From what I can tell, leglocks have become very dominant and remained so for over half a decade, whereas other trends such as floating passes or berimbolos were only hyped up for a few years.

There's two things here. The first is that leglocks are an entire subset of BJJ that was underdeveloped, much larger than a way to pass guard or leave guard. So there's a lot more to be done with it.

The second is that "over half a decade" vs. "a few years" is not all that much of a difference. And in the long term for a martial art, that difference is pretty much negligible.