Outside Ashi Might Be The Best Leg Entanglement in Jiu-Jitsu

Quick review of an overlooked position

---

“Outside ashi is dead” was probably what Lachlan Giles and Craig Jones said in their video explaining why it’s a bad position if you can’t expose the heel. I recommend checking it out here.

Their main argument was that from outside ashi, defenders can easily counter with leg drags, wedging back takes, or katagatames. All three have been used repeatedly at top competitions (even Craig got caught a couple of times).

Here's an example of Craig getting his back taken by Kaynan Duarte from outside ashi.

For a while, that became the narrative: outside ashi was a weak position where the top player could expose the back or enter a leg drag. Until now.

The Resurgence of Outside Ashi

Today, outside ashi is back. Mateusz Szczeciński breaks foots with shotgun ankle locks and Aoki locks; Jacob Couch won trials by alternating between outside heel hooks and belly-down foot locks; and Mikey Musumeci just became UFC BJJ champion with an outside heel hook after cranking an inside heel hook from the saddle for almost an entire round without response. Just think about it.

But… What Changed?

Look again at the sequence where Kaynan took Craig’s back: Craig's back was fully exposed, with no frames in place, and had a scoop grip that gave him less control over the knee.

In Jason Rau’s old outside ashi instructional (not the new one, which I haven’t watched yet), he explains you should always:

1. Maintain an Achilles or shotgun grip.

2. Keep your inside knee in the center, framing and maintaining distance.

   

From any straight ashi variation without strong secondary leg control, you never want a scoop grip on the primary leg, as it allows wedging back takes. Instead, the Achilles or shotgun grip gives you better control over the knee-line and lets you follow your opponent if they attempt a wedging back take, so you can counter their counter with a leg lock.

With your inside knee in the middle, you completely avoid leg drags and back exposure. If your opponent beats that knee, focus on holding your Achilles or shotgun grip while using your other arm to frame and create space, then pummel your knee back to the center.

But Why Use Outside Ashi?

Okay, that's how you use outside ashi safely, but I haven't told you yet why use outside ashi. Here's why:

1. Accessibility: You can enter from many positions, and it’s easier to get into than the saddle for example.

2. Finishing Power: It’s the strongest position for the outside heel hook—Mikey couldn’t finish Gabriel from reap but did from outside ashi.

3. Submission Dilemma: The heel hook/foot lock dilemma. To avoid a heel hook, the defender plantar-flexes and rotates the knee outward; to avoid a foot lock, they dorsiflex and rotate the knee inward. Separately, these are manageable, but combined, your opponent is screwed either way.

Jacob Couch demonstrated this at the ADCC Trials with a perfect 7–0, 7-submission run using this system (though not all finishes came from outside ashi, it was his primary strategy).

It also connects easily to 50/50 if you can get the leg across, and you can reap—especially against standing opponents—to increase heel exposure.

Some opponents will sit down and accept outside ashi instead of standing; you can then do a outside heist, go belly-down, and catch for the heel with ease. Then you simply roll back to your side and finish the outside heel hook. Here's a good example of it. It’s my favorite attack from outside ashi: simple and highly effective. You'll be surprised at how unfair it feels.

The word that best describes outside ashi is unfair. Many don’t know how to defend it; others use old defenses (wedging back takes or leg drags), which no longer work against the modern approach to outside ashi.

It’s not perfect: like in 50/50, you can get counter-leg-locked (Lachlan did it to Gordon Ryan with a 90/10), your guard can still be passed (Giancarlo Bodoni is great at it), and you'll find people who eat ankle locks and outside heel hooks because the plastic gold medal is worth it. Even so, it’s undeniable that outside ashi is an overlooked position and in my opinion arguably the best leg entanglement.

So…

I just wanted to share my thoughts on outside ashi. I’ve been playing it for a while, and I love it—give it a try.

About the outside camping guide (which I might be procrastinating on a little), I already have the general idea, but I’m working out how cross scoop grips and duck-under passes fit into the system. It’ll be ready soon.

Anyway, that’s all for today—have a great day!