Using science to improve your ankle lock defense
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The ankle lock is one of the earliest leg attacks that a student will learn. The first defense to this attack is ‘the boot’. The ankle lock is a submission where the attacker bends the ankle to try to dislocate it (plantarflexion + anterior translation). Therefore the defense is to curl their foot up (dorsiflexion). This defense is only a temporary solution as the attacker will create much more force with their lat and glut muscles compared to the defender’s tibialis anterior.
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⭕️How to improve your foot: Irradiation. .
The intention of irradiation is motor activation of similar muscle groups to improve the motor activation / strength of the intended muscle. The human body has patterns of muscle synergies: in this case – dorsiflexion, eversion, knee flexion and hip flexion. These muscle synergies work well together. By attempting to contract them all simultaneously it will make your tibialis anterior muscle stronger. This makes your boot much harder to break. This neuro trick buys you even more time to clear the attacker’s controls to escape the hold.
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Try this trick to see if it makes your ‘boot’ more difficult to break.