Leg bar

Leg bar is the wrestling-derived name for the kneebar — the leg-lock submission that loads the knee joint by hyperextending it against the natural range of the leg.

Etymology. “Leg bar” parallels “arm bar” (armbar) in wrestling vocabulary, with both terms describing submissions that load a hinge joint past its natural range by using the attacker’s hips as a fulcrum and the limb as a lever. The naming convention reflects wrestling’s preference for descriptive mechanical labels over the geometric or person-named terminology of judo and BJJ. The term entered submission grappling through catch wrestlers and folkstyle coaches who cross-trained into no-gi, alongside other wrestling-mechanical labels (chicken wing, head pinch, single-leg). The wrestling name remains in use in catch-wrestling and folkstyle submission contexts.

Mechanics. The configuration isolates the knee by entangling the opponent’s leg between the attacker’s legs and trapping the foot under the attacker’s armpit. The attacker’s hips form the fulcrum; arching the back drives the knee into hyperextension against the natural range of motion in the joint until structural failure.

Cross-reference. BJJ and English-speaking no-gi use “kneebar” or “straight kneebar”; judo uses ashi hishigi. Full mechanical coverage on Kneebar.