Also known as: Clear the Knee Line · Boot and Pummel Escape · 411 Escape
Survive the honey hole: hide the heel, free your knee past their leg triangle, and come up top passing — the escape is a sequence, and it starts the instant you feel the entry.
Escape · No-gi · Difficulty 4/5 · Usually learned at Purple belt
Starts from Saddle as the defending player → lands in Open Guard.
The details that make it work
"Put the boot on": flex your trapped foot and turn the heel away from their catching arm.
Hand-fight their gripping arm while your free leg pushes their triangle lock down your thigh.
The escape is done when your KNEE clears their knee line — then immediately come up and pass the leftovers.
Where it goes wrong
Spinning or yanking the foot while the knee line is still trapped — that rotation finishes their heel hook for them.
How opponents counter it
Re-pummel to the knee line as it slips
Switch to the toe hold on the bootted foot
Is the Saddle Escape legal in competition?
Legal in all major rulesets at all levels (IBJJF, ADCC, sub-only). Rules change — always confirm against the current official rulebook for your event.