All leglocks are essentially joint locks directed to the joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint.
Achilles tendon Lock[]
The opponent is on their back, the attacker grabs one of the legs of a victim so that their foot is in the attacker's armpit. The attacker puts his arm under the knee of the victim, sits back and applies a leg scissor lock. Can also be done from a standing position.
Ankle lock[]
A wrestler will grab the opponent's foot and lift their leg off the ground. Then with one hand grab the opponent's toes or outside of foot, and with the other wrap around the ankle and through the "hole" created and grab his own wrist, essentially putting the opponent's ankle in a Key Lock. Then they will bend the opponent's ankle.
A variation of this move is the grapevine ankle lock, in which the wrestler applying the hold falls to the mat and scissors the leg of the opponent. This stops the opponent from rolling out of the move and makes it harder for them to crawl to the ropes but lessens the pressure that can be applied.
Argentine leglock[]
Technically known as an Over the shoulder single leg Boston crab and commonly known as a Stretch Muffler. The wrestler stands over a face-down opponent lying on the ground then lifts one leg of the opponent and drapes it over his neck. He then uses his arms to force the shin and thigh of the opponent down, thereby placing pressure on the opponent's knee. Variations exist where the attacker steps over the opponent and sits on their lower back as in a single leg crab, or crosses the opponent's leg before racking them (also known as the Cat's Cradle).
Cloverleaf[]
Carl Parker performing a Cloverleaf
Also popularly known as a Texas cloverleaf, the wrestler stands at the feet of his supine opponent, grabs the opponent's legs and lifts them up. The wrestler then bends one leg so that the shin is behind the knee of the straight leg and places the ankle of the straight leg in their armpit. With the same arm, they reach around the ankle and through the opening formed by the legs, and lock their hands together. The wrestler then steps over his opponent, turning the opponent over as in a sharpshooter and proceeds to squat and lean back. The hold compresses the legs, flexes the spine, and stretches the abdomen.
Cloverleaf with armlock[]
An armlock variation of the cloverleaf that is similar to a single leg Boston crab with armlock. This hold begins with an opponent lying face up on the mat. The attacking wrestler then seizes one of the arms and proceeds to walk over the opponent while continuing to hold the arm, forcing them to turn over onto their stomach. The wrestler then kneels down, locking the opponent's arm behind his knee in the process. The wrestler then reaches over and bends one leg so that the shin is behind the knee of the straight leg and places the ankle of the straight leg in their armpit. With the same arm, the wrestler reaches around the ankle and through the opening formed by the legs, and locks his hands together as in a Cloverleaf. The wrestler then pulls back so as to stretch the legs, back and neck of the opponent while keeping the arm trapped.
Elevated Cloverleaf[]
As the cloverleaf, but the wrestler places his knee over the opponent's neck as they turn them over on the neck. Also known as the Lasso from El Paso.
Inverted cloverleaf[]
Essentially a cloverleaf done facing the opponent, the wrestler folds one of the opponent's legs into the back of the other knee and bends that straight leg onto itself, holding that leg in place with both arms (one arm going through the hole created). The focus of the Inverted Cloverleaf is to apply pressure on the leg rather than the spine, and the wrestler often falls back and grapevines the opponent's abdomen to lock the hold. Also known as the Gorilla Clutch.
Leglock cloverleaf[]
This variation of the cloverleaf sees the wrestler, after crossing one of the opponents legs over the other in a figure four shape, lock the bent leg behind their near knee before placing the straight leg under their armpit and turning over. The wrestler proceeds to lean back pulling on the leg under the armpit. This move is also known as the Figure Four Deathlock.
Rivera Cloverleaf[]
The opponent is on his back with the attacker grabbing both of his foe's legs, crossing one of them over the straight leg's knee. The attacker steps over the victim's bent ankle then locks his hands around the bent leg (at the knee) before turning the opponent over on his stomach. The straight leg ends up trapped underneath the wrestler's armpit as he sits down on the hold; the Rivera Cloverleaf is meant to compress the spine, however.
Cruceta (La)[]
This lucha libre kneebar begins with the attacker crossing the opponent's leg over the other (forming a 4 with their legs). The attacker then locks the bent leg by stepping over it and kneeling while the opponent's straight leg is kept trapped against the wrestler's body. The attacker simply pulls on the knee of the bent leg, causing pressure against the opponent's straight leg.
In lucha libre, this can also refer to a figure four leglock; but this version of the Cruceta has no evident translation in American wrestling.
Damascus head-leglock[]
The wrestler forces the opponent to the ground and opens up the legs of the opponent, stepping in with both legs. The wrestler then wraps his legs around the head of the opponent and crosses the opponent's legs, applying pressure on them with his hands. The wrestler next turns 180 degrees and leans back, compressing the spine. This hold applies pressure on the temples, the calves, and compresses the spine. Also known as the D-lock for the capital D formed.
Figure four leglock[]
The wrestler stands over the opponent who is lying on the mat face up and grasps a leg of the opponent. The wrestler then does a spinning toe hold and grabs the other leg, placing the knee against the bent leg. The wrestler steps over ankle of the bent leg with his near leg and falls to the mat, applying pressure to the straight knee.
A wrestler may counter the figure four by rolling over on to their stomach, which applies the pressure on the original applier's legs. This counter to the figure four is often called a modified indian deathlock or sometimes referred to as a sharpshooter variant.
Crooked Figure four leglock[]
From a spinning toe hold, the wrestler grabs the opponent's straight leg and holds it in front of the bent leg, passing it through his own legs. Applying pressure by squeezing with both of his legs, the wrestler falls backwards towards the side of the opponent's straight leg, holding straight the leg that was previously in the spinning toe hold. Saluting before falling back is optional. This move is also known as the Nagata Lock I.
Elevated figure four leglock[]
Also known as the Nudo Lagunero. The opponent is on his back with the attacker grabbing both of his foe's legs, crossing one of them over the straight leg's knee. The attacker steps over the victim's bent ankle and rests the victim's straight leg on their thigh. The attacker grabs the victim's arm which is on the same side as their straight leg and pulls it across the victim's body and through the "4" in their legs (that is under the victim's bent leg). The attacker grabs the victim's other arm over and crosses it over their body, but over the leg lock. The attacker leans back and pulls the victim up off the mat while keeping their legs locked in the figure four and holding their arms.
Inverted figure four leglock[]
The opponent is on his back with the wrestler grabbing both their legs, stepping between them with one leg. The leg that the wrestler steps between is then bent behind the knee of the straight leg as the wrestler steps over the straight leg and falls back, locking the move.
Kneeling figure four leglock[]
The opponent is down on their back with the wrestler standing over one of their legs. The wrestler applies a spinning toehold, crosses the opponent's legs and kneels on them. It is commonly known as the Prison Lock or Jailhouse Lock and is sometimes confused with the Indian Deathlock.
Reverse figure four[]
From a standing figure four while facing away from his opponent, the wrestler falls to his side and rolls on his back, turning the opponent on his stomach. The wrestler pulls back on the straight leg and tries to hyperextend the knee across the bent leg.
Ringpost figure four leglock[]
The opponent is on his back and dragged so that the ringpost is between the opponent's legs (similar to when somebody 'crotches' their opponent with the ringpost). The executor then stands on the ring apron, on the outside of the turnbuckle/ropes and applies the figure four leglock with the ringpost between the opponent's legs. The performer of the hold then falls back while grabbing the opponent's legs/feet, hanging upside down from the ring apron. The ringpost assists the move, creating more damage and leverage to the opponent's knee.
Because the performer is out of the ring while the wrestler has this hold locked in, this move doesn't last long as it usually results in a count-out. This move also uses the ring post, which is illegal in professional wrestling, and a 5 count is used which leads to a disqualification.
Haas of Pain[]
A modified inverted reverse figure-four leglock variation which sees the wrestler cross one leg of an opponent under the straight leg with the wrestler holding the bent leg in place by pressing upon it with his foot. The wrestler then falls on his back, next to his opponent and thus raising his opponent's legs into the air while causing pain to their legs and lower back.
Indian Deathlock[]
El Pozo - Charly Manson
The reverse Indian deathlock - El Pozo
Also known as the British Figure Four Leglock. The opponent is on their back, the attacker is facing away from his opponent and has his foot between their legs (often using a legdrop to the knee to initiate the move). The attacker then crosses the opponent's legs as if they were sitting "indian style", far leg crossed over near leg. The attacker will then tuck the shin of the far leg behind his own leg before standing up and turning to face his opponent, locking the maneuver. From there, the attacker can either fall back to apply pressure or reach forwards and perform many upper body submissions instead.
This move can also be initiated from a spinning toe hold, where the attacker then grabs the straight leg and passes it over the bent leg and tucks the shin against his own.
Inverted Indian deathlock[]
The opponent is face down on the mat, the attacker crosses the opponent's ankle into the crook of the other knee. The attacker uses the back of their leg to apply pressure to the opponent's leg that is up, putting their leg in between the opponent's entangled legs. The attacker can now fall back to apply pressure on the move, often standing right back up to repeat the attack.
Reverse Indian deathlock[]
The opponent is on his back, the wrestler grabs one of their legs and wraps his opposite leg around it (if he grabbed right, he'll wraps his left leg around it) while facing away from them. The wrestler reaches down and grabs the other leg, passing it through his legs from behind his thigh, holding it in front of him. Still holding, the wrestler can now spin towards the side of his opponent, landing on his back while holding the leg. Also known as El Pozo.
Tsubasa Lock[]
Similar to a Tequila Sunrise, the wrestler approaches an opponent on his back and seizes one of their arms before walking around the opponent's head to their other side, forcing the opponent to roll onto their stomach. The wrestler then kneels, clinching the opponent's arm behind their knee while grabbing the opponent's far leg and crosses it behind the knee of the nearest leg. The wrestler then folds the straight leg on itself and braces it against his own knee while lifting up and applying pressure on the bent leg.
Kneebar[]
Also called a straight legbar, the basic kneebar is performed similarly to an armbar by holding the opponent's leg in between the legs and arms so the opponent's kneecap points towards the body. The wrestler pushing the hips forward, the opponent's leg is straightened and further leveraging hyperextends the knee.
Cross Kneelock[]
With the opponent lying face down on the mat, the wrestler grabs hold of the shin of one of the opponent's legs and wraps his legs around the leg. The wrestler then twists the leg, hyperextending the knee. Very similar to the grapevine ankle lock, with the only difference that the wrestler wraps his arms around the shin, and not his hands around the ankle of the opponent.
Commonly used as a counter to an attack from behind. The wrestler flips forward down on to his back, placing his legs around one of the legs of the opponent on the way down, and thus using his momentum to drop the opponent forward down to the mat. The move can be also applied by running towards the opponent and then performing the flip when next to him.
Sharpshooter[]
The opponent starts on his back as the wrestler steps between the opponent's legs with one leg and wraps the opponent's legs around that leg. Holding the opponent's legs in place, the wrestler then steps over the opponent, flipping them over into a prone position. Finally, the wrestler leans back to compress the spine. Also known as the Scorpion Deathlock.
Spinning toe hold[]
The wrestler using this move stands over the opponent who is lying face up and grasps a leg of the opponent. The wrestler then turns 360 degrees over the leg twisting it inward. A wrestler will repeatedly step over the leg and round again to twist the knee, and ankle joint even more.
Stump Puller[]
The opponent is seated on the mat with the wrestler standing behind him, straddling the neck with his legs. The wrestler then reaches down and grabs his opponent's leg, pulling up and stretching the opponent's hamstring while compressing their neck.
Figure four stump puller[]
Same as the stump puller, but the wrestler first bends the opponent's leg over the other knee before pulling up on the straight leg while pushing down the bent leg.
Trailer Hitch[]
The opponent starts on his back as the wrestler grabs both of their legs and steps between them with one leg, wrapping both legs around his. The wrestler turns his opponent over and drops to his side, using his free leg to apply pressure over the foot nearest to him, holding his opponent's legs crossed in place.