Outside Ashi

Last updated: June 4, 2026

What is outside ashi garami?

The term comes from Japanese, where ashi garami means leg entanglement. In modern grappling, it describes a family of positions used to isolate and control a single leg before attacking it. Outside ashi garami is the variation where both of the attacker’s feet sit on the outside of the trapped leg, rather than one foot crossing to the inside.

That small change in foot placement matters. By keeping both feet outside, the attacker forms a tighter, more locked structure around the opponent’s leg, which makes the position harder to escape than the standard version. The trade-off is that the attacker’s own feet sit more exposed, giving the opponent a path to counter with leg attacks of their own.

The position is sometimes called outside sankaku, double outside ashi, or the 80/20, names that all point to the same configuration. It belongs to the broader leg lock system alongside the standard ashi garami, 50/50, and inside sankaku, also known as the saddle. Each of these is a different way to trap a leg, and outside ashi garami is the one built around outside foot position and strong rotational control.

How outside ashi garami works

Picture one grappler seated or on their back with the other person’s leg pulled in tight against their torso. In outside ashi garami, both of the bottom player’s legs wrap around that single leg from the outside, while the hands control the foot or ankle. The knees stay pinched together to keep the trapped leg from sliding free.

What gives the position its bite is control of the knee line. As long as the opponent’s knee stays trapped past the attacker’s hips, the leg has nowhere to go, and the attacker can hunt for a finish. The moment that knee slips back to the inside, the control loosens and the opponent begins to escape.

Compared with other entanglements, outside ashi garami reads as a closed, clamping structure. It looks less like a foot simply propped on a hip and more like a leg sealed inside a figure-four lock. Spotting that closed shape is the quickest way to recognize the position during a match.

Submissions available from outside ashi garami

Outside ashi garami is best known as a launching point for the heel hook, and in particular, the outside heel hook. The closed structure of the legs holds the foot in place while the attacker rotates it, which is why many leg lock specialists treat this as one of the stronger positions for that submission.

The straight ankle lock is available too, though it is harder to finish here than from the standard ashi garami. Because both feet sit outside the leg, the attacker often has to move a foot onto the opponent’s hip to generate the extension the ankle lock needs. Toe holds and kneebars also appear from the position, and a belly-down kneebar is a common transition when the trapped leg rolls to the top.

One point worth understanding is that the position controls the leg, it does not, by itself, finish anything. The submission still has to be applied with care, and which finishes are legal depends heavily on the ruleset, a topic covered further down.

Outside ashi garami vs. standard ashi garami

The two positions look almost identical, and the difference comes down to a single foot. In the standard ashi garami, one of the attacker’s feet crosses to the inside of the trapped leg while the other pushes on the hip. In outside ashi garami, both feet stay on the outside.

Feature	Standard ashi garami	Outside ashi garami
Foot placement	One foot inside the leg, one on the hip	Both feet outside the leg
Control of the leg	Good, but more escape routes	Tighter, more locked structure
Best-known submission	Straight ankle lock	Outside heel hook
Straight ankle lock	Primary finish, easy to reach	Possible, but harder to set up
Exposure to counters	Lower	Higher, feet sit more open

For many grapplers, the standard version is where they first learn to attack the leg, and outside ashi becomes an option once they want a tighter hold for the heel hook.

Outside ashi garami vs. 50/50

Outside ashi garami and the 50/50 guard get confused because both place the attacker’s feet outside the leg. The real difference is symmetry. In 50/50, the opponent’s leg passes across the attacker’s body, and the two grapplers end up in mirror-image positions, so each has the same attacks available to them. In outside ashi garami, the attacker keeps a clear positional edge, with the opponent’s foot isolated and no matching entanglement on the other side.

Aspect	Outside ashi garami	50/50 guard
Symmetry	Attacker has the advantage	Mirror image, both players equal
Opponent’s leg	Trapped on the outside	Passed across the attacker’s body
Counter-attack risk	Moderate	High, the opponent has the same submissions

Some players actually move from 50/50 into outside ashi on purpose, looking to break the symmetry and keep the foot isolated, where they hold the upper hand.

Is outside ashi garami legal in competition?

The position itself is legal almost everywhere. What changes between rulesets is which submissions a grappler may apply from it, and the heel hook is the dividing line.

Under IBJJF rules, heel hooks and knee reaping were banned for years. That changed on January 1, 2021, when the IBJJF began allowing heel hooks and reaping for adult brown and black belts in no-gi competition (IBJJF; FloGrappling). The same techniques remain off limits in the gi at every belt level, and in no-gi for any belt below brown, as well as for masters competitors (Evolve Daily).

Many other promotions are more permissive. ADCC and a range of submission-only events have allowed heel hooks for far longer, and organizations like NAGA permit them as low as the intermediate level (You Jiu Jitsu). The straight ankle lock, by contrast, is legal under most rulesets, which is part of why newer grapplers often meet outside ashi garami through ankle attacks well before they touch heel hooks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is outside ashi garami the same as outside sankaku?

Yes, they are the same position. Outside sankaku, double outside ashi, and the 80/20 are all alternate names for the configuration where both feet trap a single leg from the outside.

Why do people say outside ashi is stronger than standard ashi?

The closed leg structure clamps the trapped leg tighter, so the opponent has a harder time pulling free. That extra control is the main reason grapplers choose it.

What submission is outside ashi garami used for most?

The outside heel hook. The position holds the foot still while the attacker rotates it, which makes it a favorite setup among heel hook specialists.

Is outside ashi garami good for beginners?

It can be, for learning leg control and the straight ankle lock. Heel hooks from the position carry a genuine injury risk, so they are usually saved until a student has experience and trains under a ruleset that allows them.

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Sources

1. International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. “New Rules Updates.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://ibjjf.com/news/new-rules-updates
2. FloGrappling. “The New IBJJF Rules For Heel Hooks And Leg Reaping in 2021.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.flograppling.com/articles/6856722-the-new-ibjjf-rules-for-heel-hooks-and-leg-reaping-in-2021
3. Evolve Daily. “Where And When Are Leg Locks Allowed In BJJ?” Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/where-and-when-are-leg-locks-allowed-in-bjj/
4. Evolve Daily. “Basic Ashi Garami Positions Explained.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/basic-ashi-garami-positions-explained/
5. BJJ Universe. “BJJ Leglocks: Ashi Garami Vs Outside Ashi.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjjuniverse.com/bjj-leglocks-ashi-garami-vs-outside-ashi/
6. BJJ Eastern Europe. “An Introduction To BJJ’s Basic Leg Lock Positions.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.bjjee.com/articles/an-introduction-to-bjjs-basic-leg-lock-positions/
7. You Jiu Jitsu. “Heel Hooks Now Legal in IBJJF No Gi.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://youjiujitsu.com/heel-hooks-now-legal-in-ibjjf-no-gi/
8. Wikipedia. “Ashi garami” (Kodokan Judo classification and etymology). Accessed June 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashi_garami

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