Alias · Leg Locks
Gyaku Ashi Garami
Also known as Aoki Lock — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Japanese — reverse ashi garami
Japanese — 逆足緘 reverse leg entanglement
Gyaku Ashi Garami is the judo-derived name for the Aoki lock — the inverted leg-entanglement submission that loads the knee complex from a reversed leg-trapping configuration relative to the standard ashi garami entries.
Etymology. Gyaku (逆) means “reverse” or “opposite”; ashi (足) means “leg”; garami (緘) means “entanglement.” The combined term — reverse leg entanglement — appears in legacy judo and submission grappling vocabulary as the label for the inverted-leg variant of the standard ashi garami family. The “Aoki lock” name attached to the configuration in MMA-era vocabulary through the 2008 fight in which Shinya Aoki used the technique to win by submission; the gyaku ashi garami terminology predates that naming and remains in active use in judo-influenced submission curricula.
Mechanics. The configuration traps the opponent’s leg in an inverted entanglement that loads the knee through rotation against the natural range of internal rotation. The reversed leg position changes the angle of force application relative to standard heel hooks and kneebars, accessing the knee’s structural limits from a direction the defending player typically cannot anticipate from inside the entanglement.
Cross-reference. English-speaking no-gi uses “Aoki lock” or “reverse ashi”; submission grappling occasionally uses “inverted ashi” descriptively. Full mechanical coverage on Aoki Lock.