Leg lockers, rejoice — history was made this weekend when Oliver Taza and Stanley Rosa took home the first heel hook victories in the IBJJF when they competed at the No-Gi Dallas International Open.
Taza, who earned his black belt from John Danaher in November, shared the news on social media, revealing that he’d won his first match with a high-wrist guillotine and the second with a heel hook, ultimately claiming gold in the middleweight division. Rosa won both of his matches by heel hook to become champion of the medium-heavyweight division.
The achievements come after the IBJJF announced last year that it would be allowing reaping and heel hooks for brown and black belts in the adult no-gi divisions from 2021 onward. The decision added a new layer of challenges for competitors and opened up more possibilities for leg lock specialists who’d avoided IBJJF competitions because of their ruleset.
