YR Sports Lab
The false reap is a popular entry in modern no-gi leg locking: the bottom player lays one leg across the opponent's body, which from a distance looks like a banned knee reap. But it does not wrap the back of the attacked leg's thigh, so under the IBJJF rulebook definition it is not a reap. From here you can go straight to the saddle (inside sankaku), attack an inside heel hook, or take the back when the opponent turns. This entry draws on the rulebook text, instructional articles and research, and only writes what I could source.
1. Origin and Story: An Entry Better Known Than Its Inventor
Start with the name. The IBJJF Rules Book v6.1 (June 2024) defines the knee reap on page 32: the athlete places his thigh behind the opponent's leg and passes his calf over the opponent's body above the knee, placing his foot beyond the vertical midline of the opponent's body, applying pressure on the knee from the outside in while keeping the foot of the leg at risk trapped between his hip and armpit. The rulebook adds that when the opponent is standing with weight on the foot of the same leg, that foot counts as trapped.
Open BJJ's rules explainer (Kornel Dubieniecki, updated October 25, 2026) explains the "false" this way: it looks like a reap from a distance but does not meet the definition. The leg that crosses the opponent's body does not wrap the attacked leg, which is usually the far leg, so under the rulebook it is not reaping. The same article warns that if the leg slides into a true reap the referee will still call the foul, and that the IBJJF table never names the false reap, so it remains a referee's call.
No known inventor
None of the instructional articles, rules explainers or match reports I found names an inventor of the false reap, so this entry does not name one.
BJJ Coach's leg lock series (Week 9: New Era of Leg Locks) lists Kieran Kichuk, Diego Pato, Craig Jones, Jacob Couch and Jason Rau as representative users of the system and uses Kichuk's version for a full breakdown of the entry. The six steps in the next section follow that breakdown.
The rules are part of why it took off after 2021. According to a January 2021 FloGrappling report, from 2021 the IBJJF allowed heel hooks (inside and outside), knee-twisting locks and reaping in adult brown and black belt no-gi, while masters divisions and purple belts and below remained banned. For the gi, Open BJJ's rules summary notes that heel hooks are illegal in gi competition. For the related entanglements, see the inside sankaku (saddle) and 50/50 guard entries.
2. Mechanics: From the RDLR Lace to the Inside Heel Hook
BJJ Coach breaks the entry down using Kieran Kichuk's version, starting from Reverse De la Riva (RDLR). Two details matter most: first push the opponent's weight onto the back foot so the front foot goes light; and after the lace, do not rush to lock inside sankaku from behind, but use the inside leg to make a "modified saddle" that keeps distance so you are not smashed. The animation and step cards below follow that article:
- ① Start: RDLR leg controlFrom RDLR, take a calf grip on the opponent
- ② Off-balance: lighten the front footPush the opponent back with the RDLR hook so his weight lands on the back foot, which leaves the hooked front leg light
- ③ Lace: make the false reapBackheel with the RDLR hook, lean forward and lace your top leg between his legs
- ④ Invert: head under the hipsInvert so your head comes under his hips and use the off-balance to free your bottom leg
- ⑤ Distance: modified saddleMake a modified saddle with the inside leg instead of locking inside sankaku from behind, keeping distance so you are not smashed
- ⑥ Finish: expose the heelOnce the heel is exposed, finish with an inside heel hook; if he backsteps, roll with him and finish from a regular inside sankaku
The step people most often skip is ②. BJJ Coach stresses making the opponent's hooked leg as light as possible, which you do by creating kuzushi so his weight settles onto the back foot, rather than hauling him down by force. Once the front foot is light, the lace in step ③ has room.
Step ⑤ is what separates this version from the traditional saddle. The traditional approach locks the triangle tight from behind, but when the opponent drives forward the bottom player is easily flattened; the modified saddle's trade-off is distance first, then the heel.
3. Entry Timing and Setups
First, when the opponent stands in your RDLR with his weight drifting back. BJJ Coach's breakdown starts from RDLR, and the key moment is when his weight lands on the back foot and the front foot goes light; that is when the top leg laces between his legs most easily.
Second, when the opponent backsteps to get out. The same breakdown notes that the backstep is a common reaction; the attacker does not need to drag him back but rolls with him and finishes from a regular inside sankaku.
Third, switch to the back. Open BJJ notes that besides the inside heel hook on the far leg, the false reap can also "come up on the back," rising out of the entanglement toward the opponent's back. This entry's inference: when the heel is hidden and the leg lock is not there, this route keeps the entry from being wasted.
4. Strengths and Limits
| Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|
| Goes straight into the saddle / inside sankaku system and the inside heel hook (BJJ Coach, Open BJJ) | The heel hook finish is legal in IBJJF only for adult brown and black belt no-gi; masters and purple belt and below are banned (FloGrappling 2021), and it is illegal in the gi (Open BJJ) |
| The modified saddle keeps distance and is harder to smash than a tight lock from behind (BJJ Coach) | If the leg slides into a true reap the referee still calls the foul; the table does not name the false reap, so it is the referee's call (Open BJJ) |
| If the heel is not there you can come up on the back, so there is more than one route (Open BJJ) | If the defender turns away and puts his weight on top, he can pass or take the back instead (BJJ World, citing Ethan Crelinsten) |
5. Common Counters and Defenses
A November 2022 BJJ World article summarizes Ethan Crelinsten's defense against the false reap. His key point runs against instinct: do not turn toward the opponent; turn your chest and hips away from him.
Counter one: turn away, then put your weight on top. Post your hand behind his back and use your hips to drive your full weight onto the leg he is reaping with, so he cannot invert.
Counter two: trap his bottom leg with sticky hooks. Hook both feet behind his bottom leg so it cannot slide behind your trapped leg, cutting off his route to the saddle.
Counter three: pick a side and counter. Crelinsten gives two outs: underhook his top leg and sprawl your hips to pass, or reach for the neck with your far hand, switch your hips and roll toward his back.
As for the common backstep, BJJ Coach's breakdown warns that the attacker can roll with it and finish from inside sankaku, so a backstep does not guarantee an escape: start it early and hide the heel first.
Follow-ups after a counter (attacker's view, this entry's synthesis)
He backsteps: per BJJ Coach's breakdown, roll with him and look for the heel from a regular inside sankaku.
He hides the heel and sits up: per Open BJJ, switch to the come-up-on-the-back route rather than forcing the heel.
He turns away and puts his weight on top: the leg lock window has closed; rather than hold on and get passed, rebuild distance back in RDLR. This is this entry's synthesis, not a source's instruction.
6. Frequency in Competition and the Rules
I found no data that counts false reap entries specifically (checked November 2026). Competition stats usually record only the final submission, not the entry, so this entry gives no frequency figure for the false reap.
What can be referenced is its main destination, the heel hook. BJJ Heroes' data compilation for ADCC 2024 (August 26, 2024, third-party statistics) records 45 submissions in total, a 34% submission rate; of these, only 4 were heel hooks (3 in the adult men's divisions), against 5 in 2022; the share of lower-body submissions fell from 28–30% in the past to 22%. These figures show how many heel hooks were actually finished at top no-gi level; they say nothing about how often the false reap is used.
7. Safety Notes
The false reap itself is only an entry; the risk comes from the heel hook it leads to. A study by Piekarski and colleagues in Sports Health (2026, PMID 41549501) compared 2021 IBJJF brown and black belt competitors who were and were not exposed to heel hooks (legal in adult divisions, banned in masters): athletes exposed to heel hooks had a knee injury rate of 26.5 per 1,000 matches, against 2.2 for those not exposed, a relative risk of 12.0 (95% confidence interval 1.5–96.1), while ankle injuries showed no significant difference. The confidence interval is wide, so the figure itself is imprecise, but the direction points clearly at the knee.
・Drill the entry at full speed, but always finish the heel hook slowly and through a small range
・When you are entangled and feel load on the inside or outside of the knee, tap at once; do not try to spin out
・When drilling the backstep or turning away as the defender, go slowly; turning the wrong way delivers your own knee into the twist
・White and blue belts should drill the position and entry first, not the heel hook finish
・Check the official rulebook for that year for legality in competition
For the knee mechanics and injury mechanisms of the heel hook, see the heel hook mechanics article; the finish itself is broken down in the heel hook entry; for knee risk when you are pushed back in 50/50, see the 50/50 and reaping knee injury article.
FAQ
Is the false reap illegal?
The false reap itself does not meet the IBJJF rulebook definition of a reap, so it is not a reap. But the rules table does not name it, and if the leg slides into a true reap the referee will still call the foul; the heel hook it leads to is legal in IBJJF only for adult brown and black belt no-gi.
Why is it called a "false" reap?
Because it looks like a reap from a distance, but the leg crossing the opponent's body does not wrap the back of the attacked leg's thigh, and the attacked leg is usually the far leg. Per Open BJJ's rules explainer, that does not meet the rulebook definition of a reap, hence a "false" reap.
What is the difference between the false reap and the saddle?
The false reap is the entry; the saddle (inside sankaku) is the control position after it. In the Kichuk version broken down by BJJ Coach, after the lace you first make a modified saddle to keep distance rather than rushing to lock inside sankaku from behind.
How do I defend the false reap entry?
Per Ethan Crelinsten's defense as summarized by BJJ World, turn your chest and hips away from the opponent, post a hand behind his back, put your weight on his reaping leg, trap his bottom leg with your feet, then choose to pass or take the back. If your knee is already loaded, tap.
Can white belts train the false reap?
They can drill the position and entry first, but the heel hook finish is best left until a coach is watching and both partners tap reliably. In IBJJF competition the heel hook is legal only for adult brown and black belt no-gi, and research shows a clearly higher knee injury rate in athletes exposed to heel hooks.
References
1. IBJJF. Rules Book, Version 6.1 (June 2024). ibjjf.com (checked 2026/11; supports the page 32 knee reaping definition, the Severe Foul for crossing the body limit and the stop-and-reset rule for purple belts and below)
2. Dubieniecki K. What Is Reaping in BJJ? (updated 2026/10/25). open-bjj.com (checked 2026/11; supports the reading that the false reap does not meet the reap definition, that heel hooks are illegal in the gi, that sliding into a true reap is still a foul, that the table does not name it so it is a referee's call, and the far-leg heel hook or come-up-on-the-back routes; a third-party rules explainer)
3. FloGrappling. The New IBJJF Rules For Heel Hooks And Leg Reaping In 2021 (2021/01/14). flograppling.com (checked 2026/11; supports heel hooks, knee-twisting locks and reaping allowed for adult brown and black belt no-gi from 2021, with masters and purple belt and below still banned)
4. Iturriaga E. Week 9: New Era of Leg Locks, False Reap (BJJ Coach, 2023/03/20). bjjcoach.substack.com (checked 2026/11; supports Kieran Kichuk's six-step entry, the modified saddle, rolling with the backstep and the list of representative users)
5. BJJ World. Ethan Crelinsten: How To Defend The False Reap (2022/11/09). bjj-world.com (checked 2026/11; supports the turn-away, weight-on-top, sticky hooks and pass-or-back-take defense steps)
6. BJJ Heroes. ADCC 2024 After Math: Data Compilation and Analysis (2024/08/26). bjjheroes.com (third-party statistics, data year 2024, checked 2026/11; supports 45 submissions, a 34% submission rate, 4 heel hooks and a 22% lower-body share)
7. Piekarski M, et al. (2026). Knee Injury in Competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Athletes: Implications for Training. Sports Health;18(4):890–897. PubMed 41549501 (supports a knee injury rate of 26.5 vs 2.2 per 1,000 matches in brown and black belts exposed to heel hooks, RR 12.0, with no significant difference for ankle injuries)