The History of The Heel-Hook

[ScottRay]

I am interested in the "History of the Heel-Hook". Anyone info on the roots and the evolution of the heel-hook? Everyone's thinking the heel-hook is a traditional sambo move. (I'm not certain it's even in traditional sambo?) Also funny that there is no heel-hooking in Bjj, when it was clearly meant by GM Helio to be part of their system. No wonder everyone is clueless about heel-hooks, their little known history, their infamy, their illegality, their technical difficulty.... Hmmm. Grappling historians, I call to thee, teach me the lineage of the infamous heel-hook.

[Chris Herzog]

Its always been a part of Sambo, just not legal in the sport of Sambo. That beeing said Sambo was a created from the intergration of several martial arts and combat sports. A number of wrestling styles indigenous to the former soviet union/russia along with Judo where the core of Sambo's development. Now this is my opinion and not fact, I'm of the belief the heel hook well predates Sambo. There are heel hooks in traditional Japanese Jujutsu as well, however they manner of application and positon of control is extremely different that wouldn't resemble anything that you would see in a grappling match/mma fight today. Most Katame-waza/ Ne-waza in Jujutsu was when one person was standing over the other.

[sean applegate]

Its always been a part of Sambo, just not legal in the sport of Sambo. That beeing said Sambo was a created from the intergration of several martial arts and combat sports. A number of wrestling styles indigenous to the former soviet union/russia along with Judo where the core of Sambo's development. Now this is my opinion and not fact, I'm of the belief the heel hook well predates Sambo. There are heel hooks in traditional Japanese Jujutsu as well, however they manner of application and positon of control is extremely different that wouldn't resemble anything that you would see in a grappling match/mma fight today. Most Katame-waza/ Ne-waza in Jujutsu was when one person was standing over the other.

I could definitely see why that's where it originated. Since sambo is such a melting pot of other arts, judo and Japanese martial arts being a majority of the influence, it could have just leaked over. There are a lot of guys throughout the history of the grappling arts using leg locks. Every system seems to have at least one. It had to start somewhere and trickle down.

[Kyle Spalla]

I thought it originated in Catch Wrestling? Catch wrestlers used to chain submissions (including leg locks) together and lots of Catch Wrestlers were refered to as "Hookers". I don't know of the term correlates with the move but it would make sense. I could see it have roots in early Judo though. Good thread, I have always been curious about it.

[DanConway]

Realistically, it would be very hard to track the origins of most submission... You might be able to find key examples of when they became commonplace or staples of a certain style, but So many historic grappling styles developed so similar with similar techniques, many of them with ancient roots with little data about available these days...

A hook in catch wrestling, usually reffers to a move that is so devastating, or submission applied so fast, there is no time to tap before the damage is done, ending the match via injury, as opposed to a tap.