Ashi Hishigi

Quick Facts

About

Ashi hishigi (足挫) is a judo ankle lock, translated into English as the straight ankle lock. The same lock is also called akiresuken gatame in judo, and according to the source ashi hishigi is an alternative name based on the way it is applied. The attacker isolates one of the opponent's legs with his own legs, tucks the opponent's foot into his armpit, and presses his forearm on the lower calf and the Achilles tendon; at the same time he pulls the hips forward, forcing the foot into plantar flexion and creating a lock on the ankle. The forearm serves as the lever, and its bony edge increases the pressure on the Achilles tendon. The technique belongs among kansetsu waza, the joint locks of judo, and the English Wikipedia lists it in their list alongside sankaku garami as a separate technique. It differs from the calf slicer in that the latter presses with the knee or shin on the calf and the back of the knee, not with a lever directly on the ankle. In competitive judo matches, joint locks are restricted to the elbow joint; additional rules from 1916 banned leg locks (ashi garami) together with neck cranking. Locks on joints other than the elbow appear in judo today only in katas. The source notes that the lock exerts strong pressure on the Achilles tendon, especially when the bony edge of the forearm is used, and can cause injury. We have not been able to document who introduced the technique.