Distilled from the verbatim transcript. Every concept is preserved; verbal filler, partner demos, and repetition are not. Each section header links to the exact moment in the Bilibili video. Volume 02 picks up directly from Volume 01 — the defensive techniques established there are now treated from the attacker's side ("how do I beat each of these defenses?"), followed by a strengths/weaknesses comparison across the five main positions, then a top-to-bottom walkthrough of the 50/50 game.

Contents

Part I — Countering the counters

1. Intro and continuity with Volume 01 · 0:00–0:59
2. Two responses to a hidden heel · 0:59–2:25
3. The forward elbow hop · 2:25–5:41
4. The forward shoulder roll to dig the heel · 5:41–12:42
5. The four-tier counter ladder · 12:42–16:55
6. Countering crossed feet · 16:55–23:25
7. Countering the shallow heel and roll-out · 23:25–26:40
8. Countering hand fighting · 26:40–29:19
9. Countering the toe slip · 29:19–31:36
10. Encouraging the escape attempt · 31:36–31:44
11. Linking the techniques recap · 31:44–34:59

Part II — Strengths and weaknesses of leg-locking positions

12. The reap · 34:59–37:05
13. Outside ashi · 37:05–38:44
14. The saddle · 38:44–42:01
15. 50/50 · 42:01–43:48
16. Outside Sankaku · 43:48–46:08

Part III — The 50/50 system

17. The five battles of 50/50 · 46:08–48:13
18. Two finishes: rotation and side bridge · 48:13–48:46
19. Open 50/50 vs closed 50/50 · 48:46–51:25
20. The five-section 50/50 curriculum · 51:25–52:36
21. Defending your own legs from heel hook · 52:36–58:53

Part IV — Knee-line battles in 50/50

22. Preventing partner from freeing their knee · 58:53–1:04:00
23. Which knee to free first: a strategy note · 1:04:00–1:04:30
24. Freeing your own knee · 1:04:30–1:09:13
25. The 80/20-to-outside-Sankaku transition · 1:09:13–1:15:09
26. When partner blocks the reaping leg · 1:15:09–1:19:25
27. The foot-across-first path to outside Sankaku · 1:19:25–1:23:00
28. The outside-ashi pivot and its defenses · 1:23:00–1:28:28
29. The Aoki lock to watch for · 1:28:28–1:29:53

Part V — Unlocking the feet and finishing

30. Unlocking the legs: the Jason Rau toe grip · 1:29:53–1:34:00
31. Unlocking from the other side · 1:34:00–1:35:36
32. The advanced feet-behind-back lock · 1:35:36–1:41:01
33. After unlocking: do not rush the heel · 1:41:01–1:41:42
34. Catching the heel from 50/50 · 1:41:42–1:45:18
35. The elbow-hop-to-80/20 finish · 1:45:18–1:48:54
36. Close-quarters: scoot-in and kick-over-shoulder · 1:48:54–1:52:22
37. Full 50/50 system recap · 1:52:22–1:58:08

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Part I — Countering the counters

1. Intro and continuity with Volume 01

0:00–0:59 · ▶ Watch

Volume 01 covered how to dig and finish the heel hook, then the defender's counters. Volume 02 flips perspective: from the attacker's side, how do you beat each of those counters — heel slips, hidden heels, hand fights, crossed feet, and the rest? Knee-line maintenance was already covered in Volume 01, so it's referenced rather than repeated here.

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2. Two responses to a hidden heel

0:59–2:25 · ▶ Watch

When partner hides the heel by pointing the toes, there are only two options:

1. Expose the heel with positioning — leg configuration does the work. Strongest from 50/50 (the crossed-leg geometry cuts across the hidden heel) or outside ashi via a reap.
2. Roll through to face the heel — if partner keeps turning, you go with them and catch as you roll.

Pull the knee across; get the chest onto mid-shin if possible; use the arm and legs together. If partner keeps turning, follow into the roll and catch the heel on the way through.

Critical detail: if the heel isn't exposed enough that you can land the elbow on top of the toes, don't bother digging. You need angle first. Get the angle, then dig.

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3. The forward elbow hop

2:25–5:41 · ▶ Watch

A specific mechanic for catching when partner has hidden the heel and you can't reach it from where you sit.

• Elbow on the mat in front of the ankle line. Common mistake: people put the elbow next to the ankle. From there the heel isn't exposed enough to dig. Start too far forward — past the ankle line.
• Bridge forward. This slides partner back toward you and brings the toes into reach.
• Butt hop forward to expose the heel — lift the hips up and forward.

When to use the hop: when partner's knee is still mostly vertical or bent. Common mistake: don't hop once partner's knee has fully turned in — the angle is wrong and it won't work.

Often combined with one hand reaching over the top, or knee pinched tight to chest, to stop partner from hiding the heel further. This works from 50/50, the saddle, or anywhere similar.

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4. The forward shoulder roll to dig the heel

5:41–12:42 · ▶ Watch

When the elbow-hop alone isn't enough — partner has turned too much — you roll through forward over the opposite shoulder.

The mechanics

• Right elbow stays planted; left shoulder goes through (i.e. roll over the left shoulder, not over the right).
• Look at the heel as you dig it. Your head must turn back through the gap. Looking forward = missing the catch.
• Coming forward (rather than rolling sideways) puts weight on partner, makes their roll more awkward, and gives you time to find the dig.

Sideways roll vs forward roll

The sideways roll is too fast — partner out-rolls you and you miss. The forward roll-with-shoulder is the higher-percentage version because partner can't rotate as fast under your weight, and your eye-on-heel posture gives you the catch as you arrive.

The saddle bend-the-knee dig

Specifically for the saddle when you have time:

• Dig the elbow as far back as possible.
• Post the free foot to stop partner moving the hips forward.
• Flare the knee out; drive the hips into the back of partner's knee — counterintuitively, your hips go away from partner, even though you're trying to keep their knee line. Moving the hips away puts pressure on their knee, which is what keeps the knee line.
• Bring the right leg far out, slide the back further back. Sit on the shoulder.
• Toes on mat, knee up to the roof — this lifts and exposes the heel.
• Swim the right arm back behind the toes; let it drop so only the toes are caught; pull back to expose.

This works at seminars when taught and almost invariably the problem people have is keeping their leg flat instead of high — without the high knee, no lift.

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5. The four-tier counter ladder

12:42–16:55 · ▶ Watch

The escalating sequence — get good at the whole thing. Each tier is what to do when the previous tier fails.

1. Heel exposed → catch directly. Knee over the side, foot floating, catch the heel. Standard finish.
2. Heel turned, foot on ground → elbow hop forward. Section 3's mechanic.
3. Partner is turning too far → forward shoulder roll. Section 4. On the elbow, over the shoulder, swim through, catch.
4. Partner is getting up / coming forward → spin-through grabby roll. Right shoulder to left shoulder, inside leg comes out across the hip, lands in 50/50 with the heel hook caught.

Fifth scenario: if partner has out-rolled you completely and is past where you can catch, sometimes just stop. Partner often keeps rolling on their own momentum thinking you're chasing — and gives you the heel hook as they roll past. Otherwise, switch to attacking the other heel (which becomes the distal control sequences covered separately).

This is a sequence to drill heavily. It's how you make heel hooks high-percentage.

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6. Countering crossed feet

16:55–23:25 · ▶ Watch

The response is different depending on which position you're in.

From the saddle

Crossed feet from the saddle is trivial to deal with — just grab the top foot like a foot lock and pull, like uncrossing an ankle lock. Watch for the Aoki lock as you do this.

Older advice was to drag the far leg across, get a free shot at an exposed heel. Lachlan has come to think this is largely redundant — you eventually have to let go of the leg, and you end up in the same rolling battle you'd have had without controlling the leg at all. Instead, his preference: elbow inside, hold the far leg, do the forward shoulder roll. Just slows partner's roll enough to let you catch on the way through.

From 50/50

Harder, because the leg angle is different and you can't just yank the foot out.

• Grab the top of the toes, not the heel. Gripping the heel gives partner a hook shape to lock into — easy for them to re-grip with the other leg. Gripping the top of the toes removes the hook shape entirely.
• Reach high — near the end of the toes is generally better.
• Work against partner's back-heel pressure; lever up or reach under and open the elbow.
• Once open: elbow inside immediately, so they can't re-cross.
• Sometimes a double-block on the far foot is needed to stop them re-locking before your elbow gets in.

Sometimes one arm is enough — just lever the elbow up with the toe grip and the lock opens.

Counter from 50/50 against a partner pulling apart your feet

Partner reaches like it's an ankle lock and starts to open your cross. Reach with your free hand toward the same ankle they're pulling, push the foot out, slip it free, and bring your elbow inside. Now your foot is open but they can't re-cross.

The shallow-heel response (50/50)

When partner keeps the heel really close to their hip and you can't dig directly: pull on the knee. As soon as the knee comes back across, the heel opens. This is why so much of Lachlan's 50/50 fighting has one hand on the knee — without it, partner pulls the foot to the hip and the dig collapses.

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7. Countering the shallow heel and roll-out

23:25–26:40 · ▶ Watch

Less common, but sometimes partner rolls toward the inside heel hook to escape.

The problem: if partner's leg is fully straight as they roll, you can't finish — your bite on the heel disappears.

The fix: shoot the right leg through and bend partner's knee. With the leg bent, you can apply bridging pressure to the knee and rotational pressure to the foot, and you end up in something close to outside Sankaku for the finish.

If you can bend partner's knee before they roll, the roll never even works — they can't generate the escape direction with a bent leg.

This applies particularly when partner is in open guard and rolls — be ready to shoot over the top, bend the knee, close in. Once your knee closes in, the roll gets hard.

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8. Countering hand fighting

26:40–29:19 · ▶ Watch

Hand fighting is mostly a 50/50 problem. Outside Sankaku and saddle largely take it off the table.

The fix once partner starts hand fighting

• False grip, chest forward, elbow back behind. Elbow goes behind your back, chest covers over the top.
• Kick partner's hand free with the foot; use your other hand to fight the hand if needed.
• Wiggle to 80/20. Push their hand free; bring your knee in front; you're now in 80/20.
• Once your leg comes in front, partner can't sit forward and hand fight properly. Belly-down position, work to finishing position or upgrade to outside Sankaku.

The key cue throughout: elbow back, chest down. When the elbow is back and the chest is locked to the top of the leg, the heel slip is gone — even with one arm attached, even more so with both connected.

If partner is in close hand-fighting hard: hand on the mat, elbow hop, chest down. Pull the knee away, chest over the top, elbow behind back. That's the recovery sequence to good attacking position.

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9. Countering the toe slip

29:19–31:36 · ▶ Watch

The toe slip requires partner to get their free leg's foot to your shoulder so they can push and slip the toes through. So:

Block the leg from reaching your shoulder. If it gets there before you're locked in, you will not catch — the toes will slip every time.

The toe slip defense is mostly about positioning before partner gets there. Once you're locked in tight, weight through the toes, everything closed off — the toe slip is dead.

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10. Encouraging the escape attempt

31:36–31:44 · ▶ Watch

A counterintuitive principle: once you have good positioning, encourage partner to try to free their leg. The act of fleeing exposes the heel. Use your hips to push their knee — feed the escape attempt — and catch the heel as it surfaces.

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11. Linking the techniques recap

31:44–34:59 · ▶ Watch

The full sequence as one connected flow:

1. Keep the knee line — bend the knee, suck the knee in, especially as you start to catch.
2. Toe grip early to stop partner hiding the heel; gets your elbow over the top.
3. Heel hidden → elbow hop or bridge motion.
4. Partner turns more → roll through and catch.
5. Partner comes up → invert through and catch in 50/50.
6. Partner out-rolls you → hold the ankle, go over the other one.
7. Heel caught → stop the heel slip: pronation flick, false grip, chest over the top, elbow behind back, no gap.
8. Stop the toe slip by killing access to your shoulder with the free leg.
9. Stop the hand fight by getting into outside Sankaku or saddle if possible; if stuck in 50/50, chest cover and use legs to kick away.

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Part II — Strengths and weaknesses of leg-locking positions

12. The reap

34:59–37:05 · ▶ Watch

The easiest leg entanglement to reach (next to single X) from an ankle-lock-like position. The hardest to finish from.

• Pro: excellent for exposing the heel. The reap geometry naturally lifts the heel.
• Con 1: very poor at preventing partner from freeing the knee. The only thing stopping it is hand and right-leg pressure, both weak. If partner pushes the inside of that knee at all, they free it.
• Con 2: very hard to finish. The heel hook geometry is bad — you need feet across to bridge, and from the pure reap you can't bridge into the side of the knee at all.

That's why reaping is usually a transition: reap to expose, then shift to outside ashi to finish.

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13. Outside ashi

37:05–38:44 · ▶ Watch

Solves the reap's last problem. With the leg across, partner can't freely turn out and free the knee. Even if you catch the heel, it's now a strong finishing position — bridge into the side of the knee.

• Pro: strong finishing mechanics, hard for partner to free the knee once locked.
• Con: very hard to expose the heel in the first place. If partner focuses on turning the knee out and keeping the heel close to their body, you have little leverage to dig.

You can still work back-takes and leg drags to counter (covered later), but as a pure leg-lock position, exposure is the bottleneck.

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14. The saddle

38:44–42:01 · ▶ Watch

Excellent finishing position if you catch. Probably the hardest of all the leg positions to reach.

• Pro: with the top leg across, partner has almost no way to roll out of a caught heel hook. Catch + bridge usually equals done.
• Con 1: very hard to catch against a good defender. The geometry doesn't let you cut across.
• Con 2 (the big one): the escape direction is the same as the heel-hiding direction. Partner hides the heel by turning a certain way, and the same turn frees the knee. So every defensive movement is also escape progress. Compare to 50/50, where defense and escape pull in different directions.

The "double trouble" workaround — grab the far leg — is partial. Every elite saddle player spends most of their time trying to find a way to keep that leg control and still catch the heel; nobody has fully solved it. There's always a window where you have to release the leg to chase the heel, and partner escapes in that window.

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15. 50/50

42:01–43:48 · ▶ Watch

Good entry, lots of defensive options for partner, but the escape direction is opposite the hiding direction.

• Pro 1: very easy to reach from most leg entanglements; second only to single X for accessibility.
• Pro 2: the escape problem is solved. To escape 50/50, partner has to turn the opposite way from how they hide the heel. Defending = staying put with hidden heel; escaping = exposing the heel as they turn out. So when partner plays pure defense, you get a lot of time to attack.
• Con 1: wide menu of defenses available — hidden heel, hand fight, kick free with feet, toe slip and heel slip both work, plus partner can heel-hook you.
• Con 2: partner could potentially catch you back.

The escape-vs-defense asymmetry is the structural reason 50/50 is favored over saddle in Lachlan's modern game.

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16. Outside Sankaku

43:48–46:08 · ▶ Watch

The best position, in Lachlan's view. Solves problems that the saddle and 50/50 have.

• Solves the hand fight (50/50's main problem): with the foot across the body, hand fighting is awkward. Partner can't easily reach to slip the heel.
• Solves the knee-freeing gap (the saddle's main problem): the leg-across geometry doesn't leave the gap saddle does. Partner spins and tries to free the knee — you can follow much better than from the saddle.
• Solves the kick (saddle's other problem): with your foot across in front of partner's leg, they can't kick your leg with their free leg. They'd have to pummel underneath, which is hard from this position.
• Bonus mechanic: you can rotate partner inwards to expose the heel without them being able to hide it well — something the saddle doesn't allow.
• Easier to reach than the saddle. Often from the saddle you progress to outside Sankaku.

This is Lachlan's favorite leg-locking position; the system is built around getting here.

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Part III — The 50/50 system

17. The five battles of 50/50

46:08–48:13 · ▶ Watch

Five simultaneous fights you're always managing in 50/50:

1. If partner's legs are crossed, look to separate them. Unlock + catch heel = end of fight.
2. Defend your own legs from getting heel hooked. Either cross feet or use one of the non-crossed defensive postures.
3. Stop partner from freeing their knee. Once free, you can't catch (unless you can drag it back in).
4. Free your own knee (into 80/20).
5. Shoot your leg across to the far side (toward outside Sankaku).

The position is "even" only on paper. In practice you're trying to win all five fights at once. Some at any moment will matter more; rotate attention accordingly.

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18. Two finishes: rotation and side bridge

48:13–48:46 · ▶ Watch

Two finishing modes from 50/50:

• Rotation finish — twist the knee, at minimum until you can transition into a bridge.
• Side bridge finish — turn side-on and bridge into the side of the knee.

Outside Sankaku is almost always the side-bridge finish, because you're already side-on to the knee. From 50/50 you usually rotate first, then bridge.

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19. Open 50/50 vs closed 50/50

48:46–51:25 · ▶ Watch

Strong preference for open 50/50 — legs apart, knee held in place by hand pressure rather than leg lock.

Why open

If you're fighting partner's attack with hand-fighting and sitting forward, you have no offense available — pure defense. If you can get comfortable defending with just your legs (foot fighting, leg positioning), then your hands are free to attack at the same time. Closed-and-tight 50/50 feels safer but is harder to offensively work from.

The drill

Train without hand-fighting at all. Don't even cross your feet — open feet position, partner attacks, you practice not getting heel-hooked using leg position and foot fighting alone. Once that's automatic, your hands are free for offense.

Best side

Right side preferred — side-on to the knee, good bridging pressure available. But both sides are attack-able. Lachlan focuses more on the positional battles than which side he's on.

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20. The five-section 50/50 curriculum

51:25–52:36 · ▶ Watch

How the rest of Volume 02 is organized:

1. Defend your own legs from getting heel-hooked.
2. Free your own knee line (into 80/20).
3. Prevent partner from freeing theirs.
4. Progress to outside Sankaku — either knee-free-first or foot-across-first.
5. Unlock partner's locked legs, then work to catch and finish.

Outside Sankaku has a similar but simpler battle structure and is covered after.

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21. Defending your own legs from heel hook

52:36–58:53 · ▶ Watch

The full defensive menu from 50/50.

Cross your feet

Effective — partner can't heel hook crossed feet. Don't lock at the knee — that opens the toe hold. Lock closer to the ankles. Limits your mobility somewhat. To make uncrossing harder, tuck the top foot behind your back; partner has to overextend to reach it, giving you time to attack.

Open feet — foot positions

Foot dangling out to the side is where you get caught. Better options:

• Heel close to the hip. Pulls the knee back; partner can't dig because the toes don't reach under the armpit. Toe slip should work easily if they try.
• Foot up on the shoulder. Gives the most time to react; you can start to defend with the other leg as they pull it down.
• Foot all the way across to the other side. Like an open guard position.

While in any of these, actively kick the shoulder with your free leg. If you can keep partner's shoulder above your toe line, they can't catch.

Hide the heel

If the leg is on this side and you can't kick free: point toes, turn the heel toward your body. Just like in saddle. If partner rolls to chase, roll with them to keep the heel hidden.

Why this isn't your first choice: hiding the heel is great defense but kills your offense. You're turning away from partner; you can't attack their heel from there. Better to use foot-fighting defense from the open posture and stay offensively live.

Heel slip / toe slip

Covered in Volume 01 — still available as a last resort even when caught.

Hand fight (last option)

Control the elbow, keep it close, give little room for the reap to come across. Then use your foot to kick yourself free.

A specific warning on crossed feet

Don't cross right at the knee — toe hold disaster. Cross lower, near the ankles. To make the cross harder to attack, hide it under your back.

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Part IV — Knee-line battles in 50/50

22. Preventing partner from freeing their knee

58:53–1:04:00 · ▶ Watch

If partner frees their knee, the offense is over — unless you have a strong chance to drag it back in (sometimes Lachlan lets partner think the knee is free, because they relax their heel defenses, and the heel becomes catchable).

Methods to stop the free

1. Cross your feet with inward pressure. Don't rotate too far — that opens the toe hold. Foot wide but pinching inward. Strong against the back-heel.
2. Open 50/50 hand-on-knee. Reach underneath the line of the knee and cup with your hand, elbow tight to your ribs, hand pressing the knee down. This can replace the cross — pure hand pressure keeps the knee trapped.
3. Wedging pressure. Pressure down on the ankle drives the knee back up. Can be applied with the torso (allowing the hands to keep digging the heel) — pull the right knee in tight and let body weight do it.
4. Far-leg under-hook with the forearm. Reach the forearm through, grip partner's far leg, use that anchoring to keep the knee up via elbow pressure on the ankle.

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23. Which knee to free first: a strategy note

1:04:00–1:04:30 · ▶ Watch

When on the right side, free the knee first, then take the foot across. When on the left side, take the foot across first (or to neutral), then free the knee. Different sides → different progressions.

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24. Freeing your own knee

1:04:30–1:09:13 · ▶ Watch

The single biggest place people lose the knee line — both players try to free at once and end up out of 50/50 entirely. The goal is you free, they don't.

Mechanics

Partner has crossed feet with leg pressure preventing your knee from freeing. You're not strong enough to push the leg open with raw force. Instead:

• Block the blocking knee with your same-side hand.
• Hand on the mat for base.
• Foot wide on the mat for a hip escape.
• Hip escape around the corner. Not straight back — sideways, around the corner, so your knee comes out.
• Tuck the freed knee back in tight to your chest.

Cautions

• Block low on the ankle, not high — high gives partner a toe hold during your escape.
• After freeing, don't leave a gap between your legs. Partner can work through that gap. Suck the hips away; pull the knee tight under.

When partner counters

Partner's main response is bringing their free foot in to kick your hold loose. With cross-feet locked, they can't really do this — your cross blocks their kick. With open feet they can hip out. If they do, push down on the ankle — keeps their knee elevated. This is excellent timing to catch the heel.

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25. The 80/20-to-outside-Sankaku transition

1:09:13–1:15:09 · ▶ Watch

You're in 80/20. The goal is outside Sankaku.

The key warning

Don't leave your right foot dangling assuming you're safe just because your knee is free. Partner can dig back for a heel hook from that foot. Pull the leg up and tight before moving forward.

The mechanic

• Foot up first, not straight to the middle. Lifting the foot gives space without letting partner attack as you unlock.
• Stay tight at the leg even as you lift; downward pressure on partner's ankle so they don't free their knee.
• A straight opponent leg makes it nearly impossible for partner to hip out and free the knee — straighten their leg if you can.
• Foot to the middle, knee stays tight, then shoot the foot across to outside Sankaku.
• Never open the cross to give partner's knee room to move. Pinch on top the whole time.

Why outside Sankaku changes the geometry

Once you're across, if partner tries to drag your knee back in, they're just pulling your foot into their stomach — no leverage. Hand fight and knee-drag both massively reduced. Partner would have to fall backward and clear, which gives you plenty of time to shoot over.

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26. When partner blocks the reaping leg

1:15:09–1:19:25 · ▶ Watch

You're in 80/20 trying to reap across, and partner blocks your left leg.

Don't swing wide. Going wide opens room for partner to free their knee.

Instead: take your foot to the other side first. Get the foot across, then work to scoot around the corner. As the angle tightens, you find ways to keep fighting:

• Foot inside with knee retracting.
• Or — different from before — go crossways: flare the knee outward and cut across with the right leg. The cut turns you into outside Sankaku.

If partner is trying to free the knee during this transition, hold the top of the knee to stabilize; then shoot over.

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27. The foot-across-first path to outside Sankaku

1:19:25–1:23:00 · ▶ Watch

The alternate progression when starting on the left hip (or centered).

Mechanics

• Foot fight; keep partner's shoulder away. With the shoulder clear, you can lift the foot up.
• Use left hand on the knee to stop hand fighting (not pinching, since pinching kills foot fight).
• Once partner's right side is committed: retract the knee back. More knee retraction = tighter chest-to-thigh connection = harder for partner to free.
• Kick up and over to the far side. Foot lands on the other side of partner.

Sometimes straight over; sometimes hold first, dig the heel as partner reaches; sometimes flare the knee or go inside — context-dependent.

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28. The outside-ashi pivot and its defenses

1:23:00–1:28:28 · ▶ Watch

After foot-across-first you land in something like outside ashi from partner's perspective. This actually favors you — outside Sankaku is one step away.

Defending while in this pivot position

Only the outside heel hook or a straight foot lock threaten you.

• Point your toes, knee on your side of partner's body.
• Heel tight to the ribs.
• Left leg over partner's shoulder to block any heel-hook reach. If you put it under their armpit you're tappable; over the shoulder, you're safe.
• Bridge up and forward. Lifts the hips, turns the knee further out, hides the heel further.

Slipping into outside Sankaku

As partner gets a poor dig at the heel, lift hips and rotate; the heel slips, the knee slips out, and you lock into outside Sankaku.

Pulling-away response (straight ankle attempts)

If partner goes for a straight ankle lock instead (rare and dumb from here, because their feet can't step on your hips), come up, dig between the legs, catch their heel, finish.

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29. The Aoki lock to watch for

1:28:28–1:29:53 · ▶ Watch

When you've brought your foot across, watch for the Aoki lock — a rotational lock where partner pulls your heel up in front.

If you hide the heel too aggressively in one direction and partner gets your heel in front of their Aoki position, you can tap to it.

The recognition cue: as soon as you feel partner trying to pull your heel up rather than catch it from the side, point your foot back straight — convert to a "straight ankle" geometry. No real risk of a straight ankle because their feet can't post on your hips, but it kills the Aoki.

It's a small gauge battle: keep the heel hidden against the outside heel hook attempt, but the moment Aoki becomes the threat, switch postures.

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Part V — Unlocking the feet and finishing

30. Unlocking the legs: the Jason Rau toe grip

1:29:53–1:34:00 · ▶ Watch

Unlocking partner's locked feet is a 50/50, 80/20, and outside Sankaku problem all at once. Solve it once.

The two principles

1. Work against the hamstring (the muscle holding the back-heel). Hamstrings are not the strongest muscle in the legs; long levers against them work.
2. Eliminate the hook shape. Most people grab partner's heel — but that is the hook, easy for them to grip into. Grab the top of the toes instead; no hook shape to lock onto.

The mechanic

Reach underneath the toes; left hand shoots through (not gripping the heel) to the top of the toes. Then row back — your forearm levers against partner's hamstring. The toe grip alone can pop the cross.

Right hand can join: both hands gripping the top of the toes.

Credit: Lachlan first learned this from Jason Rau. Since picked up watching Tex Johnson, Philippe, and others using the same toe grip principle.

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31. Unlocking from the other side

1:34:00–1:35:36 · ▶ Watch

When you're on the left side and partner locks a deep triangle, partner doesn't have to worry about the toe-hold reverse, so they can lock tight.

The variation

• Left hand stays on the top of partner's knee.
• Right hand pummels under.
• Grip the top of the toes; elbow works against the hamstring curl.
• Sit up; once unlocked, hand goes between to block re-locking. Sometimes covering the inside of the foot is enough.
• Immediately dig the heel as the gap opens.

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32. The advanced feet-behind-back lock

1:35:36–1:41:01 · ▶ Watch

Advanced players lock with knees tight together, heels pulled down toward your hips — minimal gap, strong back heel, hard to reach the toes.

The fix

• Hip escape: hold the knee, escape away slightly to open a gap.
• Push under the back heel to open from below. This back-heel pop is the key — it works against the back heel directly.
• Once the gap opens, grab the toes; come up; start the pinch.

After unlocking — the cover-and-control sequence

When you unlock, do not go straight for the heel. Partner will bring the free leg in and kick, and you lose everything. Instead:

• Chest over the top.
• Both elbows on the inside of the shin (or one elbow in + other holding the knee).
• Now if partner re-connects or kicks, you have control of the leg.
• Once locked, then catch the heel.

Same idea on the other side: if partner has the feet locked tight to their hip, body away + hips forward gives you a better angle to reach.

A note on far feet

If partner's heel is near your hip (50/50 or outside Sankaku) — too many defenses (hand fight, heel slip, re-cross). Don't try to catch from there. Instead, under-hook and pull the foot away first. Then catch.

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33. After unlocking: do not rush the heel

1:41:01–1:41:42 · ▶ Watch

Restating the principle from §32 because it's the most common mistake: once you unlock the feet, don't immediately chase the heel. Cover, control the leg, prevent re-locking, then catch. Rushing loses everything.

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34. Catching the heel from 50/50

1:41:42–1:45:18 · ▶ Watch

You've unlocked the legs and caught the heel from 50/50. How to finish.

Two main finishes

• Rotation finish — twist, then bridge once partner's knee is side-on.
• Side-bridge finish (after turning into 80/20).

Pure bridge without rotation = partner's knee bends and pressure doesn't build. So always rotate first.

Stop the hand fight before it starts

If partner hand-fights, your bridge dies. So if you catch early:

• Roll shoulder-in, not sideways. Like you're doing a forward roll, but tight.
• Elbow stays closed throughout. All motion comes from the body.
• The rotation itself can finish, or it brings partner's knee side-on so the bridge works.

When partner can't hand-fight (because the rotation has them committed), they'll start to roll — which sets up your bridge into the side of the knee.

When you can post

Sometimes you don't have your feet planted on anything — just step anywhere reasonable. By rotating, partner's knee is now side-on enough that a bridge attacks both knee and ankle.

If you can do the rotation-into-side-bridge immediately, go for it.

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35. The elbow-hop-to-80/20 finish

1:45:18–1:48:54 · ▶ Watch

Heel is caught but partner is close in and getting ready to hand fight.

Straighten the leg to kill the hand fight

The further you can straighten partner's leg, the harder it is for them to reach in to hand fight.

• Elbow hop — not by opening the elbow. Post on the left hand and move the elbow away. Chest down over the top of the leg. Keep the false grip the whole time.
• The leg straightens; the hand fight dies; the foot fight is also harder.

Now upgrade

You're effectively in 80/20.

• Lift foot up into partner's armpit.
• Put the foot to the middle.
• Don't leave the foot dangling — pull it tight; partner can drag your knee back in or even catch the heel from there.
• Reap across; back-heel; finish.

If partner does connect their hands

Cover with chest, false grip, kick partner's hand free with the foot. Sometimes one elbow-hop-and-cover is enough to free the hand and restart the sequence.

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36. Close-quarters: scoot-in and kick-over-shoulder

1:48:54–1:52:22 · ▶ Watch

A special-case finish when partner has pulled you in close and grabbed your head — no room to bring the leg across, no room to bridge.

The fix

• Scoot in closer, not further away. Counterintuitive.
• Point the knee up. Creates a small gap.
• Now you can kick over partner's shoulder; potentially get the leg to the other side of the head, which sets up a bridge finish.

The crucial caveat

Hide your heel before you kick. If you try to kick over the shoulder with your heel exposed (e.g. on your right hip with the heel sticking out), partner will catch your heel as you move — counter is stronger than your attack.

Sequence: turn the heel up, point the knee up, scoot in, kick over shoulder while the heel is hidden.

Once leg's across

Sometimes partner's leg is fully straight after this — bend the knee slightly with a knee-up motion to get a workable bridging angle, then come in.

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37. Full 50/50 system recap

1:52:22–1:58:08 · ▶ Watch

The whole system in one pass.

Defensive options

• Cross feet (lock low, not at the knee).
• Open-style 50/50 (Lachlan's preferred).
• Keep the foot close to the hip, or on the shoulder, or across to the other side. Don't leave it dangling.
• Always working to take the foot to middle or far side to remove the heel-hook risk.

If partner catches: kick the shoulder for toe slip, or twist outward for heel slip, depending on the angle of attack.

Stopping partner from freeing their knee

• Left knee jams (watch toe-hold angle when doing this).
• Left hand pulls tight on partner's knee.
• Wedge: pull knee back, downward pressure on ankle to keep their knee elevated.

Freeing your own knee

• Cross feet first.
• Post inside of partner's knee; post your hand; foot out wide; cross near the ankles (toe-hold safe).
• Hip escape around the corner — sideways, not back.
• End in 80/20.

From 80/20 to outside Sankaku

• Downward pressure on partner's ankle to keep their knee elevated, or straighten their leg out.
• Foot up to the armpit, across, scoot into outside Sankaku.
• If partner blocks the top leg: foot all the way across first, then swing over using a knee grip.

From the left hip

Kick the shoulder to make space, bring the leg across to the far side first.

From the outside-ashi pivot

Reap across, lift hips, free the knee into outside Sankaku. If partner goes for ankle lock, dig and catch.

Unlocking partner's feet

• On the right side: two toe grips, lever the elbow open, separate, cover.
• On the left side: hold the knee, palm under, elbow near the ankle and up to the toes, leave open, cover, catch.

Catching the heel

If exposed: take immediately, rotate, get the bridge in. Otherwise elbow-hop away, chest cover, kill the hand fight, transition to 80/20-style finish.

If partner locks hands and you can't escape: cover chest, free hand, hop away, restart. If close-in with head grabbed: scoot in, knee up, kick over shoulder.

Last layer

If partner has turned and hidden the heel deeply, look for outside Sankaku positioning — elbow hops, then roll-throughs. The sequence continues into Volume 03.

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End of Volume 02.