Inside Sankaku — Defending
Defending the inside sankaku in no-gi — the saddle with the triangle closed. Why every reliable answer happens before the lock, and what to do if it does not.
Adapted from the original page. Grappling.Games did not write this. Sources.
FamilyLeg EntanglementsLevelAdvancedPerspectiveBottomIntentDefensiveSafetyElevatedHubLeg EntanglementsMapView on graph →This technique has elevated risk. Make sure you've covered the prerequisites before attempting.
Manage injuries →Position map Connects to 2 positions across 2 relationshipsOpen in the map →12←Enters from
This is the inside sankaku from underneath: the saddle with the triangle closed. Your leg is crossed and controlled, and the attacker has locked their own legs into a figure-four around it so the control no longer depends on their effort.
The saddle is already the strongest entanglement in the sport. The triangle removes the last thing the defender had going for them, which is the possibility that the attacker loses the position by accident. Once the lock is closed there is nothing to wait for.
Everything useful on this page is about the moment before the triangle closes. After it, the honest advice is to tap on contact with the heel.
Elevated RiskInside Sankaku (Defending) is an elevated risk technique. The inside heel hook rotates the tibia against a knee that the triangle has fixed in place. The ligaments — ACL, MCL and the meniscus behind them — fail before pain arrives, and the closed triangle removes the small movements a defender would otherwise use to feel the load building. This is the shortest injury timeline in grappling. Serious injury can occur Shorter than a decision. Treat the attacker reaching the heel as the tap, not the rotation..
If you are new to this technique: read this section before anything else. Understanding the danger is part of understanding the technique.
The person applying the technique is responsible for releasing immediately.