OUTSIDE ASHI-GARAMI

Outside ashi-garami is the leg-entanglement position in which the attacker's legs are entangled around one of the opponent's legs in a configuration where the attacker's body is positioned outside the captured leg (rather than inside, as in saddle/4-11). The position is one of the canonical leg-attack control positions in modern no-gi competition and is the structural foundation for outside heel hooks, straight ankle locks, and kneebars. The Danaher Death Squad systematized the position as part of the broader ashi-garami family (single-leg-X, saddle, outside ashi, 50/50) that defines the modern leg-lock pedagogy.

The mechanics involve the attacker on the side or back with both legs wrapped around one of the opponent's legs from the outside — the attacker's inside leg passes under the opponent's near thigh and the outside leg crosses over the opponent's near thigh, with both feet meeting on the outside of the opponent's far leg. The configuration controls the captured leg's hip and knee position while keeping the attacker's body geometry on the outside (away from the captured-leg side). The position is structurally weaker than saddle for inside heel hook finishes but stronger for outside heel hooks and for straight ankle lock attempts. The control is sufficient to deny the opponent's standard escape mechanics while the attacker sets up the finish.

Notable practitioners include the broader Danaher Death Squad / New Wave roster, Lachlan Giles, and various modern no-gi specialists. The position pairs particularly well in the ashi-garami transition chain where the attacker can flow between outside ashi, saddle, and single-leg-X depending on the opponent's defensive reactions. Defensively outside ashi is countered by hand-fighting the leg-entanglement entry, by hiding the heel and rotating the captured leg inward, by attacking the attacker's exposed leg with counter-leg-lock entries, or by stepping away from the captured-leg side to disrupt the geometry.