Positional Game · GAME-LEI-01
Inside Sankaku — Finish or Advance
Rung one of the inside-position leg-entanglement ladder, run finish-first. The attacker starts in inside sankaku with the ankle already gripped — the most locked-down inside control — and only has to finish or hold, so they feel a won entanglement before learning to earn one.
Start position
POS-LE-INSIDE-SANKAKU
Round length
1:30 rounds
Reset rule
Reset when the attacker forces a tap, or the defender clears the heel and a knee to neutral. Role rotates after each reset.
Top wins by
Force a lower-limb tap — the foot-and-ankle line, or the knee line where heel hooks are agreed.
Bottom wins by
Hide the heel and clear a knee to escape toward a neutral 50/50.
Game Description
This is the top rung of the inside-position ladder, and it starts at the finish. The attacker begins in inside sankaku — the triangled, most locked-down inside control — with the ankle already gripped. Nothing remains but to finish or hold the dominant position. Starting here lets a grappler feel what a won inside entanglement is before they ever have to dig one out. That is the logic of running the ladder in reverse.
How to Run This Game
Setup: Attacker in inside sankaku, triangle sealed, the near ankle gripped. Defender’s heel exposed on the inside line.
Top wins by forcing a lower-limb tap — the foot-and-ankle line, or the knee line where heel hooks are agreed. The sealed triangle holds the hip line so the finish does not have to be chased.
Bottom wins by hiding the heel and clearing a knee to escape toward a neutral 50/50.
Score: One point per win condition. Role rotates each reset. Default: no heel hooks unless both partners have agreed and shown tap-release reliability.
Coaching Notes
The rung isolates the finish from the hunt. Most failures are the attacker reaching for the tap before the inside space is sealed — the heel spins inside a loose triangle. Win the connection first, then finish. Elevated tier: the inside heel hook has the shortest tap-to-injury window in grappling — tap early, release instantly.
Progressions
Down the ladder the control loosens. The next rung is cross ashi with the ankle gripped — the saddle, before the triangle is closed. For the full ladder, see reverse phase progression and the phase-ladder library.