I am not a big fan of looking at leg locking instructionals these days, as most of them deliver sub-par, ineffective stuff that won’t work in a kids’ class. However, once I saw the background and accomplishments of the instructor, the Owen Jones BJJ DVD dubbed Leg Locks for Short Kings peaked my interest.
I knew the name was familiar from somewhere and a short research proved that the man knows leg locks, and knows how to use them against some of the best in the world. I could recommend you pick up this easy-to-follow system immediately, but why not offer you a complete insight into what the material holds? I hope you enjoy this review as much as I enjoyed the instructional.
Key Takeaways
- A 3-part No-Gi BJJ instructional with nearly 2 hours of leg lock finishes.
- Includes transitions between different Ashi Garami positions and entries.
- 2023 ADCC Trials winner outlines his entire strategy for beating black belts as a purple belt.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
GET IT HERE: OWEN JONES LEG LOCKS DVD
Where Do Leg Locks Fit in Modern BJJ?
A question I really can’t answer precisely, to be honest. I was one of the early adopters of the leg lock game, which came as a godsend to smaller framed grapplers such as myself. Fast forward about a decade since Eddie Cummings tore through everyone and leg locks are now something I teach in my kid’s class.
People who witnessed the rise of leg locks through the Danaher system have a somewhat distorted view of how they work these days. The Ashi Garami approach changed BJJ for good, which is demonstrated in the diversity of the leg lock game since those early days. Now, people use all kinds of leg lock modifications left and right, but that inclusion comes at a cost.
While Danaher’s system was complex, it was proven to work on the biggest of stages, given enough time spent practicing and perfecting it. The modifications that emerge now, some 10 years later, are mostly weird stuff that works once or twice, and only if your build is similar to the person demonstrating them.
The leg lockers who have provided legitimate variations on the subject, such as Charles Harriott, Lachlan Giles, and Robert Degle, are few and far between. So if you’re thinking about becoming a leg locker, or you’re dusting off your rusty leg locking skills, the best approach is to find what works at the highest levels of modern BJJ and try to replicate that.
In other words, when a resource such as the Owen Jones BJJ DVD Leg Locks For Short Kings, which features an up-and-coming prodigy that beat everyone at the ADCC trials pops up, you need to grab and analyze it as soon as possible.
Up And Coming Brown Belt Owen Jones
Owen Jones might not be a name you instantly recognize if you’re not really into the competitive BJJ scene. He is a brown belt under David Cartwright-Koza, the head coach of Apex BJJ. If you were watching the ADCC European Trials in 2023, you saw Owen tear through the -66 kg division, submitting everyone and earning his brown belt on the spot.
Aged only 19, sharing the accolade of the youngest ADCC trials winner with Jozef Chen, Owen beat names such as Robert Degle and Ashley Williams on his way to the ADCC trials podium. The UK prodigy caught everyone’s attention with his aggressive and submission-oriented game.
At the trials, he acted as if the highly competitive setting of the qualifiers for the biggest BJJ competition in the world was his natural environment. He talked to the crowd, tested the opponent’s concerns, and delivered a beautiful mix of leg locks and inversions to announce that there is a new up-and-comer in the lightweight No-Gi scene.
You can now check out some of his favorite leg lock stuff in the Owen Jones BJJ DVD titled Leg Locks For Short Kings.
Full Review: Leg Locks for Short Kings Owen Jones BJJ DVD
In this modern Leg Locks Owen Jones DVD, you get just under 2 hours of quality material that shows how young Owen managed to beat seasoned leg lockers by modifying the systems already established in BJJ. There are three volumes in this Owen Jones BJJ DVD each covering a different crucial aspect of the game, and all tied in together in a very methodical and easy-to-follow way.
Part 1 – Modern Leg Lock Game Essentials
As the Leg Locks For Short Kings Owen Jones BJJ DVD kicks off, Jones dedicates the better part of half an hour to the principles he uses to set up his highly potent game. Unlike most modern coaches, the youngster seems to favor simplicity and a straightforward but effective approach.
According to Owen, the key thing when you’re hunting for leg locks is how you attach yourself to the leg. He offers several different positions you can use as efficient leg locking attachments, some outside of what most leg lockers grasp as effective.
The second principle in Owen Jones’ leg lock game is to make the opponent weak before you go for the finish. He achieves this by off-balancing them, which he does not only when opponents are standing but also on the mats. he equates lack of balance to weak resistance, allowing him to finish so effectively.
Part 2 – Finishing Leg Locks
The art of finishing leg locks, even from a strong Ashi Garami has always ended up clinging on whether or not you can dig up the ankle, heel, foot, or knee to apply the breaking mechanics. Owen simplifies that in his instructional, offering variations to the finishes, most leg lockers use.
After going through the chapters on the Aoki lock finish, the Trne locks, and the modified toe hold, it is clear why Owen was able to outperform and beat seasoned leg lockers such as Robert Degle during his 2023 ADCC Trials title run. He also connects all his modified finishes beautifully to create a cohesive attacking system.
Heel hooks details for an outside and inside finish, as well as interesting modifications to the straight ankle lock also feature in this part of the Owen Jones BJJ DVD Leg Locks For Short Kings.
Part 3 – Ashi Transitions
During the final 30 minutes of the Leg Locks For Short KingsOwen Jones BJJ DVD, the focus shifts from finishing to switching between the positions that allow you to get the all-important tap.
Most of Jones’ efforts are geared towards the outside Ashi which he prefers, and he offers different ways into it which include the K-Guard, half guard, and even the De la Riva, which is unusual for a leg locker.
He also shares the interplay between sweeps and entries to leg locking positions, using BJJ fundamentals such as the scissor sweep to reiterate his point. He also provides a blueprint for seamlessly transitioning between the outside ashi and the Saddle position, wrapping up with a set of game-based sparring ideas, rooted in the ecological approach of training which is growing in popularity these days.
Leg Locks: A Solution For Short Folks
The reason I started using leg locks back in 2014 (God, that makes me feel old) was that I am a smaller framed grappler and I don’t have much reach with my extremities. Plus, back then I liked to lift weights, so seeing Toquinho a.k.a. Rousimar Palhares scare the living daylight out of everyone with leg locks made shifting to the then “dark side” a no-brainer.
To this day, regardless of which leg locking system you’re using, leg locks remain the biggest equalizer you have in Jiu-Jitsu. Wrestlers and Judokas are scared form them like Toquinho’s UFC opponents, and those Gi-only grapplers tend to tap even if you approach an Ashi Garami.
At the end of the day, if you are small, older, or a lonely female having to grapple a room full of competitive males, leg locks provide a way to dominate everyone. It goes without saying that longer-limbed BJJ practitioners can also be great leg lockers, but there is something that makes lower body submissions the bread and butter method of tapping out people when you’re built like a T-Rex.
That makes this Owen Jones BJJ DVD perfectly titled: “Leg Locks For Short Kings”. To be honest, it really delivers on the quality of material that will make you a ruler of the mats in your gym, and perhaps even the local competition scene.
DVD DOWNLOAD: LEG LOCKS FOR SHORT KINGS
Becoming a Leg Locking King
So there it is. The verdict in terms of the Owen Jones BJJ DVD: Leg Locks For Short Kings is that you should grab a hold of it now. Whether his modifications are going to work at the biggest stage of all, as Lachlan’s did a few years ago, remains to be seen.
It won’t take long though, with the ADCC just around the corner. Keep an eye out for Owen Jones and his leg locks in the -66 kg division and make sure not to blink!
Leg Locks 101: A Guide to Positions, Submissions, Dangers, And Rules
