The Straight Talk on Leg-Locks

Knee-bars have long been prohibited in Judo and the Kodokan has not waivered on its insistence that these techniques be limited to kata. The International Judo federation has reaffirmed this practice and does not allow knee-bars or throws that have the potential of injuring the knee in competition. There is considerable evidence to support such a conclusion, and grapplers who disregard this advice might do well to take heed. The knee is a vulnerable joint; it heals poorly if at all, it is prone to arthritic conditions, and must bear tremendous loads and forces throughout daily life. In addition, being a load bearing joint, injury to the knee is crippling and severely limits ones ability to participate in nearly all athletic endeavors.

To understand why the governing bodies of Judo allow arm-locks while omitting knee locks is not only a matter anecdotal observation spanning centuries; it is an issue of fundamental human physiology. There are four basic structures of the musculoskeletal system: bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. There are others, but they are of little relevance to this discussion. These four components vary not only in their function, but also in their ability to recover from injury. Tissues such as ligaments, tendons, and in many cases partial or complete tears of a muscle are all examples of tissue that either will not heal or will only partially recover from injury. Osseous or bone tissue, however, will nearly always recover from injury. In fact, bones will typically become stronger at the site of injury. The following is a list of tissue in order of ability to heal after sustaining an injury.
1. 2. 3. 4.

Osseous or bone tissue Muscle tissue Tendons Ligaments

The reason these tissues heal with differing efficacy is relatively straightforward: blood supply. Bones, being number one on the list, have an extensive vascular network in addition to specialized cells - chondroblasts and osteoblasts that repair damage and remineralize skeletal structure. Muscle tissue is much the same; although it is prone to forming scar tissue, and depending on the particular muscle, there can be significant variability to the extent the muscle will heal. Tendons and ligaments are different. To a large extent these tissues rely on the diffusion of nutrients through osmotic processes. This means they heal much more slowly and in many instances not at all.

With these facts in mind, we can now explore the anatomy of the elbow and knee joints, noting some fundamental differences between the two. Adjacent is an illustration of the elbow joint, which is a hinge joint, meaning that in allows only for flexsion and extension. Notice that when hyperextended the ulna cups the humerus. This in effect protects the ligaments and tendons by providing a backstop of bone. You will also notice the three major nerves passing adjacent to the joint making hyperextension of the joint both easily perceptible and painful. When fully hyperextended it is the bone that often brakes minimizing damage to the ligaments. It is also important to note that this is not a load-bearing joint. Damage, in many instances being limited largely to the bones of the radius or ulna, allows for a favorable prognosis.

Let us now compare the knee with the elbow. As you can see the knee does not have any bone to provide support if the joint is hyperextended. This places nearly all of the force onto the ligaments. You may also notice that the ACL and PCL - which are particularly prone to injury from a knee bar are deep within the knee and thus rely almost entirely on osmotic diffusion to receive nutrients. In other words, these ligaments almost never recover from injury. In addition, being a load bearing joint, injury to the knee is crippling and likely to compound over time. Taking into consideration these points, the benefit of limiting knee bars to well controlled drills far outweighs the risks incurred, particularly for grapplers who intend to practice with regularity throughout life. Couple this with the fact that, nonhealing ligaments are the number one cause of early retirement in athletes (Hauser), and you have cause for second thought. Lastly, weigh the fact that many individuals will suffer from knee pain and joint instability as a natural process of aging second perhaps only to back pain and if one further compounds the issue with the added stress of hyperextension caused by leg-locks, a negative outcome is almost certain.