Alias · Leg Locks
Hip lock
Also known as Z-Lock — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Descriptive term for the mechanical family.
Descriptive — names the hip as the target joint
Hip lock is the descriptive name for the Z-lock — the rare lower-limb submission that attacks the hip joint rather than the knee, which the label names directly.
Etymology. “Hip” specifies the target joint; “lock” attaches the submission category. The name is unusually accurate for a leg-lock alias: where most lower-limb names imply a knee or ankle target, the Z-lock genuinely loads the hip, so the descriptive label points where the force actually goes.
Mechanics. The trapped leg is rotated and levered so the femoral head is driven against the hip socket’s natural range, reaching the joint’s structural limit faster than the surrounding musculature can resist.
Cross-reference. “Hip slicer” is a colloquial sibling. Full mechanical coverage on Z-Lock.