Defending the Hook Leg and Take Back requires understanding that the most dangerous moment occurs during your own escape attempt from buggy choke. When you sit to guard to escape the choking threat, you voluntarily create the hip elevation and space that enables hook insertion. The defender’s challenge is navigating a genuine positional dilemma: remaining static in buggy choke allows the choke to develop, but sitting to guard without proper defensive structure invites the back take. Successful defense requires executing the sit-up escape while simultaneously denying the hook insertion window through hip control, hand positioning, and directional awareness.
The critical defensive window is narrow. Once the attacker’s first hook enters your thigh, defensive options diminish rapidly, and once both hooks are established with harness grip intact, you are in full back control with limited escape paths. Prevention-focused defense during the sitting motion itself yields far higher success rates than attempting to strip hooks after they are inserted. Defenders must train to feel the attacker’s leg movement against their hip during the sit-up and immediately implement countermeasures before the hook seats deep.
Strategically, the defender should approach this situation by choosing escape directions and timing that minimize hook insertion opportunities. Sitting directly backward into the attacker creates the worst-case scenario with maximum hip exposure. Instead, sitting laterally or incorporating rotation during the escape changes the geometry and forces the attacker to chase angles rather than simply inserting hooks into a presented target. Understanding these directional principles transforms the buggy choke escape from a binary choice between choke and back take into a navigable positional problem with viable defensive solutions.
Opponent’s Starting Position: Buggy Choke (Top)
How to Recognize This Attack
How do you know when someone is attempting Hook Leg and Take Back?
- Feeling the attacker’s near-side leg shift from a base position to a reaching or curling motion against your hip during your sit-up escape
- Attacker’s harness grip tightening and chest pressure increasing forward just as you begin sitting, indicating they are loading to follow your movement
- Attacker’s head driving harder into your far shoulder during the sit-up, signaling they are preparing to maintain connection through the transition rather than finishing the choke
- Sensation of the attacker’s hips closing distance to yours rather than maintaining static position, indicating preparation for hook insertion
Key Defensive Principles
What are the key principles for defending Hook Leg and Take Back?
- Keep elbows tight to hips during the sit-up motion to physically block hook insertion pathways before they develop
- Sit laterally rather than directly backward to change the angle and deny the attacker clean hook entry geometry
- Prioritize stripping the harness grip during the sit-up rather than after hooks are already inserted, since without upper body control the back take cannot complete
- Maintain awareness of near-side hip exposure and actively shield it with your near arm or knee during any sitting escape movement
- Control the tempo of your escape rather than sitting explosively, which creates the hip elevation window the attacker needs for hook insertion
- If first hook enters, immediately address it before the second arrives by trapping the hooking foot against your inner thigh and turning toward it
Defensive Options
What can you do to defend against Hook Leg and Take Back?
1. Lateral sit with elbow block: sit to guard at a 45-degree angle away from the attacker’s near leg while keeping near elbow pinned tight against your hip to physically obstruct hook entry
- When to use: As the primary defensive modification whenever you decide to sit out of buggy choke, before the attacker initiates hook insertion
- Targets: Buggy Choke
- If successful: Escape to seated guard position without hooks, forcing attacker to either disengage or re-establish turtle top control
- Risk: If angle is insufficient, attacker follows your lateral movement and inserts hook from a wider angle
2. Grip strip and face: use both hands to explosively strip the harness grip during the sit-up, then immediately turn to face the attacker before hooks can be inserted
- When to use: When you feel the harness grip is not fully consolidated and you have hand access to the seatbelt connection point
- Targets: Half Guard
- If successful: Break upper body control entirely, allowing you to turn and face attacker in open guard or half guard without back exposure
- Risk: Momentarily exposes neck if grip strip fails and attacker re-tightens harness with choking intent
3. Hook trap and rotate: if the first hook enters, immediately clamp your thighs together to trap the hooking foot, then rotate your body toward the hook side to prevent the second hook and begin facing the attacker
- When to use: When prevention fails and the attacker has successfully inserted their near-side hook during your sit-up
- Targets: Half Guard
- If successful: Prevent second hook insertion and transition to half guard by trapping the single leg and rotating to face attacker
- Risk: If rotation is too slow, attacker uses first hook as anchor to insert second hook during your turning motion
4. Recline and pin: instead of sitting forward, recline backward to pin the attacker’s chest to the mat, eliminating the space needed for hook insertion
- When to use: When you recognize the attacker is committed to the back take rather than the choke and your priority shifts to denying hooks
- Targets: Buggy Choke
- If successful: Pin attacker flat with your back weight, forcing a positional reset where they must re-establish turtle top or transition to a different attack
- Risk: Reclining can tighten existing collar grips and may expose you to crucifix entries if attacker swims their head
Best-Case Outcomes for Defender
What is the best outcome when defending Hook Leg and Take Back?
→ Buggy Choke
Deny hook insertion through lateral sitting angle and elbow blocking, or recline to pin attacker flat. Either method forces a positional reset where the attacker remains in buggy choke top but has failed the back take transition, giving you another opportunity to escape with better defensive structure.
→ Half Guard
Strip the harness grip during the sit-up and immediately turn to face the attacker, or trap the first hook with your thighs and rotate toward the hook side. Both methods result in facing the attacker with their leg trapped between yours in half guard, a vastly improved defensive position compared to back control.