BJJ Graph

Outside Ashi-Garami Top

Dec 09, 202515 min read

Outside Ashi-Garami Top is the defensive counterpart to Outside Ashi-Garami Bottom, where your right leg is trapped in your opponent’s outside leg entanglement while you are on top or in a more elevated position. This is generally considered a disadvantageous position requiring immediate defensive action to prevent heel hooks or ankle locks and to extract your leg from the entanglement.

In this position, your opponent has their legs configured in a figure-4 around your right leg, with their outside leg (left) crossing over your thigh and their inside leg (right) triangling under your knee. Your primary objectives are to prevent your hip from being controlled (stopping external rotation), extract your trapped leg, and either pass to a dominant position or establish your own leg entanglement.

This position represents a defensive challenge where understanding leg lock mechanics, maintaining proper posture, and executing timely escapes are critical to preventing submission and recovering advantageous position. The key to success lies in maintaining calm composure under submission threat while systematically working through escape sequences that protect the heel and create extraction opportunities.

Position Definition

  • Your right leg is trapped in opponent’s figure-4 configuration with their left leg crossing over your thigh and right leg triangling under your knee, creating a locked clamp around your leg
  • Opponent positioned on their back or side below you at a perpendicular or diagonal angle (45-90 degrees), facing your trapped leg with their body aligned to threaten leg locks
  • You maintain elevated position on knees, hip, or standing with trapped leg while opponent remains lower, creating height differential that favors escape opportunities
  • Opponent controls your trapped leg with grips, typically one hand on heel/foot threatening heel hook and other on knee/thigh preventing hip rotation and escape

Prerequisites

  • Understanding of leg entanglement risks and submission mechanics, particularly heel hook finishing mechanics
  • Knowledge of heel exposure and protection techniques, including hiding the heel and controlling hip rotation
  • Experience with leg lock defense and escape drilling under controlled conditions
  • Mental composure under submission threat and ability to remain calm while working systematic escapes
  • Familiarity with counter leg entanglement entries as alternative escape routes
  • Understanding of proper posture mechanics and how height advantage creates escape opportunities

Key Offensive Principles

  • Protect your heel immediately by keeping it hidden from opponent’s grip, preventing heel exposure that enables heel hook finish
  • Maintain standing or elevated posture with height advantage, as standing position creates best escape opportunities and limits opponent’s leverage
  • Prevent hip external rotation by keeping knee pointing forward and not allowing knee to turn outward, which would expose heel to finishing position
  • Create frames on opponent’s hips/chest using hands and free leg to establish distance that prevents submission leverage
  • Extract leg using proper mechanics through internal hip rotation and systematic threading rather than straight pulling
  • Stay calm under pressure and work methodically through escape sequences, as panic leads to exposed heel and rushed movements
  • Counter-entangle when appropriate by establishing your own leg lock position as alternative escape route that creates mutual threats

Available Attacks

Ashi Garami Escape → Standing Position

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 40%
  • Intermediate: 55%
  • Advanced: 70%

Outside Ashi Entry → Outside Ashi-Garami

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 35%
  • Intermediate: 50%
  • Advanced: 65%

Inside Ashi Entry → Inside Ashi-Garami

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 30%
  • Intermediate: 45%
  • Advanced: 60%

Saddle Entry from Top → Saddle

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 25%
  • Intermediate: 40%
  • Advanced: 55%

Standing to Single Leg X → Single Leg X-Guard

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 45%
  • Intermediate: 60%
  • Advanced: 75%

Leg Weave Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 35%
  • Intermediate: 50%
  • Advanced: 65%

Technical Stand-up → Standing Position

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 50%
  • Intermediate: 65%
  • Advanced: 80%

Opponent Escapes

Escape Counters

Decision Making from This Position

If opponent has strong heel grip and is threatening immediate heel hook finish:

If opponent’s leg triangle is loose or you have established standing position:

If opponent is transitioning to saddle/honey hole and creating exposure:

If you have created sufficient distance with frames and opponent’s control is weakened:

Common Offensive Mistakes

1. Pulling leg straight out against figure-4 triangle

  • ❌ Consequence: Strengthens opponent’s leg triangle, exposes heel to heel hook grip, accelerates submission threat by creating leverage for opponent
  • ✅ Correction: Rotate hip internally (inward), collapse opponent’s triangle structure, thread leg out systematically using circular hip movements rather than straight-line pulling

2. Dropping down to opponent’s level by lowering hips to mat

  • ❌ Consequence: Removes height advantage, makes escape significantly more difficult, allows opponent to improve angle and grip control, eliminates standing escape options
  • ✅ Correction: Maintain elevated posture on knees or standing, keep hips high, use height differential to create extraction opportunities and limit opponent’s leverage

3. Exposing heel by allowing foot to turn outward or become accessible

  • ❌ Consequence: Opponent can secure heel hook grip immediately, dramatically increases submission danger, may result in instant tap or injury
  • ✅ Correction: Keep heel hidden by maintaining inward foot position, actively control heel placement, shield foot with free leg if necessary, prioritize heel protection above all else

4. Panicking and making rushed, uncontrolled movements

  • ❌ Consequence: Creates opportunities for opponent to improve position, increases likelihood of heel exposure, wastes energy, leads to poor decision-making under pressure
  • ✅ Correction: Remain calm and methodical, work through systematic escape sequences, breathe deeply, trust your drilling and technique rather than explosive scrambling

5. Neglecting to create frames on opponent’s hips and chest

  • ❌ Consequence: Allows opponent to close distance and improve finishing mechanics, eliminates space needed for leg extraction, gives opponent better leverage for submissions
  • ✅ Correction: Immediately establish frames using hands on opponent’s hips/chest and free leg, maintain distance throughout escape sequence, use frames to prevent opponent advancement

6. Ignoring counter-entanglement opportunities when they arise

  • ❌ Consequence: Misses chances to create mutual threats that force opponent to defend, limits escape options to pure defense only, reduces overall escape success rate
  • ✅ Correction: Recognize moments when opponent’s legs become exposed, establish counter leg entanglements when appropriate, use mutual threat dynamics to facilitate escapes

Training Drills for Attacks

Posture Maintenance Under Pressure

Partner establishes outside ashi control on your leg, practice maintaining standing or elevated posture while they apply downward pressure, 30-60 second holds with progressive resistance levels (25%, 50%, 75% resistance), develop postural strength and stability under leg entanglement threat

Duration: 5 rounds of 60 seconds

Hip Rotation Escape Mechanics

From standing in opponent’s outside ashi, practice internal hip rotation and leg extraction in slow motion with no resistance initially, focus on proper mechanical sequence of hip rotation, triangle collapse, and leg threading, 10 repetitions per side with increasing speed

Duration: 10 minutes

Frame and Extract Progression

Partner establishes outside ashi, you create frames on hips/chest and systematically extract leg, partner provides progressive resistance (25%, 50%, 75%), develop frame strength, coordination, and ability to maintain distance while escaping

Duration: 8 rounds of 90 seconds

Counter-Entanglement from Defense

Start trapped in outside ashi top, practice recognizing opportunities for counter leg entanglements, establish your own outside ashi or saddle when opponent creates exposure, drill transitions from defense to offense

Duration: 6 rounds of 2 minutes

Heel Protection Sensitivity

Partner establishes outside ashi and slowly attempts to access your heel, practice maintaining heel hidden position and recognizing when heel becomes exposed, develop sensitivity to heel vulnerability and protective positioning

Duration: 5 rounds of 90 seconds

Optimal Submission Paths

Escape to Pass Path

Outside Ashi-Garami Top → Ashi Garami Escape → Standing Position → Leg Weave Pass → Side Control

Standing Escape Path

Outside Ashi-Garami Top → Technical Stand-up → Standing Position → Guard Pass → Side Control

Counter-Entanglement Path

Outside Ashi-Garami Top → Outside Ashi Entry → Outside Ashi-Garami → Heel Hook → Won by Submission

Single Leg X Transition Path

Outside Ashi-Garami Top → Standing to Single Leg X → Single Leg X-Guard → Single Leg X Sweep → Standing Position

Success Rates and Statistics

Skill LevelRetention RateAdvancement ProbabilitySubmission Probability
Beginner30%40%20%
Intermediate50%55%35%
Advanced70%70%50%

Average Time in Position: 15-30 seconds (immediate escape required)

Expert Analysis

John Danaher

The fundamental principle when caught on top in outside ashi garami is understanding that elevation equals escape opportunity. The standing position is your strongest defensive posture because it removes the opponent’s ability to control your hips effectively and creates maximum distance for leg extraction. The critical mechanical sequence involves internal hip rotation to collapse the opponent’s triangle structure - this is biomechanically superior to attempting straight-line leg withdrawal. Your trapped leg must move in a circular pattern, threading through the collapsing entanglement rather than pulling against it. The common error is attempting to muscle out of the position through brute force, which actually tightens the opponent’s control and exposes the heel. Instead, small, controlled circular movements of the hip joint progressively weaken the figure-4 until extraction becomes possible. Additionally, maintaining proper heel protection by keeping the foot positioned inward and away from opponent’s grip is non-negotiable - a single moment of heel exposure can result in immediate submission.

Gordon Ryan

When I’m trapped on top in leg entanglement, my competition mindset is never purely defensive - I’m immediately looking for counter-attack opportunities. If someone has my leg in outside ashi, they’ve committed their legs to controlling mine, which means their legs are now vulnerable to my attack. I’ll often establish my own leg entanglement simultaneously, creating what I call ‘mutual destruction’ scenarios where both of us are threatening heel hooks. This forces my opponent to make a choice: continue pursuing their attack while being threatened themselves, or release to defend. Most competitors will choose defense, giving me the opening to escape. When pure escape is necessary, standing is absolutely critical - I want maximum height to minimize their leverage. The key detail people miss is that you don’t just stand up randomly; you stand with strategic positioning that creates specific passing opportunities. I’ll often stand into positions that set up leg weave passes or allow me to pressure pass once I’ve extracted. Competition footage shows that the fighters who escape leg entanglements fastest are those who create immediate offensive threats during their defensive sequences.

Eddie Bravo

In the 10th Planet system, we drill leg lock defense extensively because we know these positions are incredibly dangerous regardless of whether you’re on top or bottom. When trapped in outside ashi from the top position, the first thing I teach is mental composure - students who panic in leg locks get submitted, period. Your mind has to stay calm even when someone’s gripping your heel. The technical approach involves systematic extraction techniques that we drill until they become automatic reflexes. One detail that’s often overlooked is using your free leg actively as both a frame and a posting point - it’s not just dead weight, it’s a critical tool for creating distance and maintaining balance during escape. We also emphasize understanding competition rule contexts; in IBJJF competitions where heel hooks are restricted at many belt levels, the defensive priorities shift compared to submission-only formats where all leg attacks are legal. This position perfectly illustrates why leg lock awareness is essential for modern BJJ - you can’t just ignore 50% of the body in training and expect to be safe when someone attacks your legs. Regular drilling of both offensive and defensive leg lock positions creates well-rounded grapplers who can handle these situations confidently.