Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, heel hooks are useless?

I%26#039;v only been training in BJJ for less than two months so for about 6 hours a week so I%26#039;m far from knowledgable as a mere white belt but today I was rolling with my friend who is a blue belt and I had a chance to go for a heel hook and nothing happened.....this occured twice throughout the session, are heel hooks generally hit and miss or am I just screwing it up completely?

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, heel hooks are useless?
you%26#039;re screwing it up completely, I did about 2 months of catch wrestling several years ago, so I am familiar with all sorts of leg locks, then as a white in bjj I was able to sub browns with a heel hook frequently(most bjj%26#039;ers defend their legs horribly if you have experience with leg locks). however some people(very few) have very flexible ankles and aren%26#039;t affected by them, but these people are slightly less common than people who are unaffected by kimuras and americana%26#039;s(yes such people really do exist).


the other trick with the heel hook is that it is doing damage before it starts to hurt and in some people it goes directly from not feeling anything to busted knee, which is why it is not allowed in most white belt competitions, check to see if the blue belt is walking funny the next day
Reply:If you are applying the heel hook twisting then leaning backwards you are defeating your purpose.Put it on twist the ankle and lean your upper body in the direction of the twist sideways not backwards.
Reply:Your not putting the locks on correctly





It%26#039;s a very novice move to go for leg locks (heel hooks, ankle locks, knee bars, etc), you%26#039;ll notice that the higher ranks generally don%26#039;t go for them because:





you have to give up your position so much to put them on





you are very vulnerable to getting punched with most of them with little to defend yourself with





these types of lock will tap a guy out in the dojo who has to work the next day and isn%26#039;t interested damaging his knee, so he%26#039;ll tap earlier than most locks, whereas in a tourney or pro fight you%26#039;ll find leg moves work alot less.





Leg locks are like the guillotine, all the white belts are always trying to put them on people and when you gain experience you%26#039;ll move away from them.





Ken Shamrock was a leg lock specialist but now hes just the butt of many people%26#039;s awful fighter jokes.
Reply:You%26#039;re screwing it up, done properly it tears up the knee.





It is also a technique that you should probably not be doing at this point, and should also have a good deal of control with. In training this is not one you want to take to a tap as often the difference between pain and 6 months recovery time is very small. Risk of serious injury is just too high.





They are also not allowed in BJJ competition at your level, anyways.
Reply:the heel hook is a devastating hold...most likely, you may be applying it incorrectly...when applying a heel hook, it only takes a slight twist to feel the pain...the hold causes severe damage from the ankle to the knee even with someone with very flexible ankles, and that is why it is not allowed in competition. remember that you need to secure the leg, or your opponent will just turn and twist with it, and it will have no effect on him...the leg must remain stable and oh man will it hurt...i%26#039;ve seen it many times in professional mma fights where someone will try a heel hook with an opponent who%26#039;s stading up...that is very sloppy cause their is no control over the leg so just remember to wrap your legs around his, secure his leg and foot, and start applying the pressure...oh and instead of trying it only while sparring, try just going through the move before sparring...bet it%26#039;ll hurt then and he%26#039;ll correct whatever you%26#039;re doing wrong cause since he%26#039;s a blue belt he should be trying to help those of lower rankings perfect their technique and not just abuse it and take advantage of it during sparring sessions!
Reply:You must be doing it incorrectly.





Ken Shamrock finished several early UFC fights with Heel Hooks.





More recently Ryo Chonan beat Anderson Silva with a ridiculous flying scissor into a heel hook.



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