I know they hurt. I assume they could dislocate a foot, maybe break the leg bone or separate the tendon, but I have never seen or heard of anyone getting seriously injured by the lock.
I've never gone beyond the pain before tapping. The worst it felt made me think maybe my bone was splintering, like shin splints.
what do you think?
I've seen the pop, scream, limp scenario a number of times. I'm assuming it can be either soft tissue damage or possible one of the small bones in the foot breaking depending on the scenario.
But, yes, I've seen a straight ankle lock injure numerous people who refused to tap or "tough it out". The old Bas Rutten quote "an achilles lock is just pain" has done a large number of people a huge disservice.
There's a video out there of Hector Lombard breaking someones tibia/fibula (shin bone) with a straight ankle lock with a bad bite. Not that this is the normal result but as far as a "has it ever happened" scenario...
I got injured by one in a tournament once about 5-6 years ago. Something popped and I ended up limping for at least a few days afterward.
Yep. People misunderstand and assume it's "just pain". The same thing used to happen with "calf crushers" and "bicep slicers".
A straight ankle lock, a straight footlock, and an achilles tendon press are all different beasts, but all of them can cause damage to the bones of the foot and ankle, as well as the tendons and ligaments.
It's also maybe worth noting that most of the injuries I've seen were because either (A) the person applying it exploded into it or (B) the person receiving it did something irresponsible in attempting to escape (and perhaps let's include "not tapping at all because they thought it wouldn't do anything").
Didn't John Satava get his leg broken not that long ago from straight ankle lock? 
I've injured numerous people with the straight ankle because they refused to tap. Most were soft tissue pops and snaps but once I tore an Achilles and felt the loss of tension in the hold. 
thanks for the video, answers my question. You could hear the break
i've been working one leg x guard & going for foot locks rather than sweeps out of it. Its one of those weird locks where you don't feel it getting tighter like winding a choke, or prying an armbar straight. Some guys try to poker face to get you to lose confidence in the squeeze. but i recently finished with it in a tournament so it must hurt for that guy to tap.
i've been watching Dean Lister K.A.T.C.H. videos. Every time he explains the straight foot lock he finishes his explanation saying "& it really, really hurts"
Guys, I finish with the hands in a gable grip....Do you as well?
Oh yea it can. I do mine with my wrist bone on the Achilles and the toes in the armpit. It has the same fulcrum as an armbar and can break the foot. Pretty sure Hector broke Ruben Alvarez's foot with it
I don't know hey. My ankles at the moment seem like the only joint on my body that isn't fucked up so I always tap pretty quick with ankle locks. In saying that I've never seen anybody really messed up from one. I think I'll just keep tapping tho.
Someone in the IBJJF open weight black belt division broke a guys leg with a straight ankle lock sometime this year I believe. And it was the smaller guy breaking the bigger guys' leg too. If someone could help me out with a name?
carcaju -
Someone in the IBJJF open weight black belt division broke a guys leg with a straight ankle lock sometime this year I believe. And it was the smaller guy breaking the bigger guys' leg too. If someone could help me out with a name?
Luiz Panza's leg was badly broken by a straight ankle lock applied by Felipe Pena during the Abu Dhabi World Pro tournament.
I had my ankle popped by a (at that time) young and somewhat overzealous ankle and knee lock aficionado about 17 years ago. It just made that subtle popping sound and jarred me for a few minutes. I had trouble walking on it for three weeks, but by week four it was back to normal, tender and I taped it, but it was fully functional.
On a side note, a couple years later I saw same guy absolutely destroy someone's knee in an exhibition match. The guy wasn't tapping to the knee lock, so he applies it deeper by tucking the opponent's heel underneath his arm pit. You could see the guy grimacing for a short while until he finally tapped. I was there cringing as I was watching this guy about to make himself an orthopedic patient the next day. (That guy that locked him is still a bad ass to this day and runs a very successful team).
I was up on points in the semi final of a fairly large tournament, less than 10 seconds left and I got caught in one. Dude pulled so hard I thought my entire foot was going to dislocate from my leg. Lots of snap crackle and pop. I tapped, too late. Tried to get up and couldn't walk. I was on crutches for a month and couldn't walk properly for a couple more. Years later my ankle still pops a lot but it is healed up.
One good thing that came from this is I learned to fucking tap! It's not worth it.
I think the general consensus is with a straight ankle lock you have time to tap. You feel pain, and unless you are fighting with ego (or with a spaz) the permanent damage can be avoided.
It is different with the twisting locks, because once you feel the pain it is almost too late.
myates - I think the general consensus is with a straight ankle lock you have time to tap. You feel pain, and unless you are fighting with ego (or with a spaz) the permanent damage can be avoided.
It is different with the twisting locks, because once you feel the pain it is almost too late.
True, the ankle is one of the more generous limbs in terms of time to tap, but like Tex Duce, some times overzealousness has people ripping on that joint like there's no tomorrow. By the way does your Blue name mean what I think it does in Spanish?
xpat -carcaju -
Someone in the IBJJF open weight black belt division broke a guys leg with a straight ankle lock sometime this year I believe. And it was the smaller guy breaking the bigger guys' leg too. If someone could help me out with a name?
Luiz Panza's leg was badly broken by a straight ankle lock applied by Felipe Pena during the Abu Dhabi World Pro tournament.
Ahh yes that was the one. Cheers. VU.
Yep, I didn't have time to tap.
I took him down, went to pass and he grabbed my foot/ankle and turned as hard as he could. In about a second there were a lot of pops and I couldn't walk for a month.
Fractured my foot and tore a bunch of shit as well. Put me out of training for around 3 months.
Just pain though right?