Mikey Musumeci recently shred one of his most controversial opinions, that heel hooks should actually be legal in gi tournaments for black belt competitors. It’s a pretty hot take really, as it goes against decades of BJJ orthodoxy and is something that many practitioners would disagree with. Other than the obvious increased use of clothing, the lack of heel hooks is the only thing that really differentiates gi from no gi and many competitors would like to see it stay that way. It definitely creates a clear delineation between the two rulesets and is a big part of why they end up looking like two completely different sports.
One of the most common stalling positions in the gi is 50/50 and a big reason for that is that one major offensive tool is banned. It isn’t just that situation that the lack of heel hooks change; the other major impact is that it increases the power of the berimbolo. Inverting back-takes and leglocks are intrinsically linked and although there are many other leglocks available to use to counter berimbolos, heel hooks are the most devastating. Mikey Musumeci actually alluded to these two scenarios himself, as he said that ‘the submission percentage would most likely increase tremendously’ if heel hooks were made legal in the gi.
The main argument against heel hooks remaining banned is the idea that they are more dangerous than other submissions and although they can obviously cause tremendous damage, they can be practiced relatively safely like any other submission. The only other real sticking point is an appeal to tradition, as many will say that things should stay the way they’ve always been. The IBJJF brought in heel hooks for no gi competition in 2020 though, so they have already demonstrated that they’re capable of making huge changes to improve the sport. That was a welcome change and Musumeci himself was one of many athletes excited to develop their heel hooks as a result, so surely the approach would be the same in the gi.
Mikey Musumeci shared his thoughts on whether or not heel hooks should be legal in gi competition in a recent story posted to his official Instagram account:
