Why aren't white belts alowed to do leg locks in BJJ?

Question

I have rolled at a couple of different schools and they always freak out when you put on a leg lock. What's the deal? I was rolling with someone yesterday durring an open mat and they told me off for putting him in a leg lock...

I have a fairly extensive training histroy and a decent amount of grappling experience I'm just not graded in BJJ and the guy I was rolling with was a purple belt in BJJ, I would have though by purple belt they had learnt how to tap out?

Can someone explain the problem with doing leg locks so I can understand a bit better?

Answer 1

they were being a little to cautious  

Answer 2

...I'm actually at a lose of words for this... Maybe they were wimpy schools.

Answer 3

Usually the pain doesn't register until it pops and a lot of white belts don't know when the hold is in right. So they want people to show back up after a few months. A guy (white belt) at my academy didn't tap to a shoulder lock recently and he's gonna be out of training for up to a year, white belts have enough to worry about as it is.

Answer 4

they're too dangerous. heel hooks, knee bars, calf crushers, biceps cutters etc. sometimes with certain submissions the opponent doesn't feel the pain until it's too late.

p.s. at my bjj club we're allowed to do any submission

Answer 5

some leg locks cause damage to the acl, mcl, or other ligaments, and do not initially cause pain. only when the ligament has been damaged will pain actually register, and then it is too late. the instructor didn't think either you had the experience to keep from hurting your partner, or your partner didn't have the experience or discipline to pat when he felt his leg in a dangerous position.

however, if you already have experience, which is obviously more important than a colored belt, your instructor should recognize this and instead of 'telling you off' or scolding you, just talk to you about it to make sure you know the risks and have the discipline

Answer 6

The reason people freak out is because so many people get seriously injured by leg locks. If you don't know exactly how to do a straight knee bar it can easily turn into a twisting knee lock. At my dojo there are about half a dozen guys that have had knee surgery. I've had a minor knee injury and it is a lot more serious than getting an elbow popped. I just had my elbow hyper extendedd pretty far and i was fine a month later. My minor knee injury took months to heal. Leg locks are much more dangerous than anything else. Just ask before you roll with someone whether they want to do that stuff. You should also know that under federation rules heel hooks are illegall for everyone, kneebars, figure four toe holds are allowed for brown and black belts, and straight ankle locks are legal for all adult divisions.

Answer 7

because of the nerve structure in the leg its easy to damage tissue without feeling the appropriate pain sensation, making it hard for white belts to not know when to tap and risk injury, and also easy for an overenthusiastic white belt to put too much pressure into the technique and injure someone else.

Answer 8

The joint in the ankle/foot region isn't as strong as others.  There are many bones and ligaments there that can tear easily.

Many times, one doesn't feel the pain initially, so they continue to fight and all the while they are injuring themselves.

Practioners at higher belt usually (hopefully) understand this and tap when appropriate.  Also, higher belts usually have a "feel" for how much pressure to apply so their sparring partner doesn't get hurt.

White belts simply don't have this level of knowledge yet, except in rare circumstances.

Great question btw.

Hope this helps!

Answer 9

Because they want their students to last long enough to learn something.

Leg locks are more dangerous than your average submissions due to the ligaments. Most noobs will tap when they feel pain, however, ligaments will snap before pain registers.

New belts will either not tap quick enough thus allowing the ligaments to effectively snap, or they move in the wrong direction and make the lock worse.

Answer 10

That just depends on where you train i am a white belt and i have learned 2 leg locks so far.