Kneebar

Kneebar from Leg Locks is a finishing attack built around a handful of repeatable controls. The bottom player is in half butterfly with the opponent's near leg isolated above the knee. Another common starting shape: bottom player has transitioned from half butterfly into a leg entanglement with the opponent's leg captured between the legs and the knee line above the hip. The ideas that hold it together are knee joint must be centered over the hips for the lever to work, foot control prevents rotational escape, and knee bar is a hyperextension at the joint, not a squeeze.

The kneebar chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Trap the opponent's leg deep in the half butterfly hook. Spin under to align the knee joint over the hip line. Pinch the knees to trap the leg and bridge the hips up to extend the joint. Isolate the leg above the knee with both of your legs. Slide your hips slightly past the opponent's knee so the joint sits on your hip. Cup behind the heel to keep the leg straight. Bridge upward to apply pressure on the back of the knee. Free the trapped foot by pummeling the knee through. The bottom player has rotated to a knee bar position with the opponent's leg extended across the hips and the knee joint loaded against the pubic bone.

Later in the kneebar, heel control keeps the leg straight, lateral ligaments lack pain fibers, so apply pressure carefully in training, and defenses that straighten the leg open kneebar finishes tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Misaligning the knee, which converts the lock into a calf squeeze. Allowing the foot to rotate free of control. Hips below the knee joint, applying calf slicer instead of knee bar. Letting the foot rotate, losing extension. The high-percentage version of kneebar from leg locks is the one you can still chain when the first squeeze is defended.