Ashi Garami Finish

Ashi Garami Finish is the judo-derived name for the outside heel hook finish — the rotational submission applied from the outside ashi garami leg-entanglement, used in modern no-gi grappling and judo-derived submission curricula to describe the finishing rotation of the outside variant.

Etymology. Ashi (足) means “leg” or “foot”; garami (緘) means “entanglement” or “wrap.” The “finish” suffix specifies the submission application rather than the positional control — distinguishing the rotational finish from the static entanglement that the position alone provides. The terminology comes from legacy judo’s kansetsu-waza (joint-lock) classification, where “ashi garami” historically covered both the positional configuration and the finishing rotation. The “finish” qualifier in modern submission grappling separates these phases for instructional clarity, with the no-gi grappling vocabulary increasingly distinguishing the position (ashi garami) from the finish (heel hook) as separate concepts.

Mechanics. From the outside ashi garami position, the rotational load is applied to the heel — driving the foot in the direction that loads the knee through external rotation past its structural limit. The position’s inside-space control orients the heel correctly for the rotation; the finish completes when the knee reaches its failure point.

Cross-reference. English-speaking no-gi uses “outside heel hook” or “OHH”; the position and finish together are sometimes called “outside ashi garami heel hook” in instructional contexts. Full mechanical coverage on Outside Heel Hook.