Ankle Pick

Takedown

The ankle pick is a takedown where you control your opponent's posture and reach down to grab their ankle, pulling it toward you while driving their weight over that foot to off-balance and topple them. It can be initiated from standing guard or from seated guard by using grips to stand into range, and it works in both gi and no-gi situations.

Quick Reference

Key principles

  • · Drive your opponent's weight over the targeted foot before picking the ankle so they cannot simply retract it.
  • · Use a collar tie, sleeve grip, or post on the head/shoulder to break their posture and control their upper body alignment.
  • · Level change with a penetration step rather than bending only at the waist to maintain your own base.
  • · Angle slightly off-center to avoid a direct sprawl and create a diagonal force line.
  • · If they step the foot back, follow with a snap-down or transition to another shot rather than chasing the ankle.

Execution

  1. 1 From standing guard or after standing from seated guard, establish a collar tie or sleeve/collar grip with your lead hand to control their posture and push their weight onto their lead foot.
  2. 2 Step your lead foot to the outside of their lead foot while simultaneously pulling their head/shoulder down and toward that side.
  3. 3 Drop your level by bending your knees, reach with your free hand to cup the back of their lead ankle at the Achilles area.
  4. 4 Pull the ankle toward you and across your body while driving forward and laterally with your upper-body grip to topple them.
  5. 5 Follow them to the ground, landing in side control or a dominant top position while maintaining upper-body pressure.

Common mistakes

  • × Reaching for the ankle without first loading the opponent's weight onto that foot, allowing them to easily withdraw the leg and sprawl.
  • × Bending at the waist instead of changing levels with the knees, which compromises your base and exposes your neck to guillotines or front headlocks.
  • × Releasing the upper-body grip when grabbing the ankle, losing the ability to direct their balance and letting them recover posture.

Do it from

Positions and situations where the Ankle Pick shows up.

Seated Guard Standing Guard

Where it lands

The position you end up in.

Side Control Top