Legs are like sex partners – two is always better than one: Controlling one leg in ashi garami is good, but your opponent will always use his other leg to defend the one you have trapped. That is why I always distinguish between the primary leg (the one trapped inside your ashi garami) and the secondary leg (your opponent's other leg). Whenever possible you want to control BOTH legs as this will severely impact your opponent's ability to use one leg to defend the other. In addition it creates an immediate SHACKLING effect where your opponent feels as though his two ankle are shackled together in a way that robs him of any athletic ability. This makes the task of CONTROL much easier – but it creates a problem for the act of BREAKING, as now you cannot attack both legs simultaneously, but rather you must release the secondary to attack the primary. This gives an opponent a window of opportunity to escape. LEARNING TO CLOSE THAT WINDOW TO THE GREATEST DEGREE POSSIBLE WHILST ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT CAN NEVER BE TOTALLY CLOSED is the heart and soul of high percentage leg locking and a subject for a lifetime of study and refinement. Here, Garry Tonon ties up both primary and secondary legs and is planning on the transition back to the break
