Saddle Kneebar

Manage injuries →Position map Connects to 4 positions across 3 relationshipsOpen in the map →1234←Enters from

The kneebar taken from cross ashi — the saddle, the honey hole, the 411 — and from the 70/30 offset that shares its geometry. The attacker already owns the inside line; the kneebar is what they do with it when the heel is not available.

That is the whole character of this instance. From an outside position a kneebar is a primary attack you build toward. From the saddle it is a conversion: the defender has hidden the heel well, the inside heel hook has stalled, and the leg is already deep enough that extending it is faster than fighting for the foot.

The mechanics are ordinary kneebar mechanics. What is not ordinary is that you keep the saddle throughout — a failed extension returns you to the strongest control in the sport rather than to a scramble, which is why the risk profile here is nothing like the risk of chasing a kneebar from the feet.

Elevated RiskSaddle Kneebar is an elevated risk technique. Straight hyperextension of the knee, loading the posterior cruciate and the joint capsule rather than rotating the tibia. Slower to arrive than an inside heel hook and no less capable of ending a season — the saddle removes the hip movement a defender would otherwise use to feel it building. Serious injury can occur Slower than the heel hook that shares the position, which tempts people into riding it. Treat the hip driving through the back of the knee as the deadline..

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.

Communicate before drilling. Know your partner's experience level with this position.