11/07/2025
Heres a illustration from the 1934 book by George Robbins on the originator of the now there’s many misconceptions on the famous toe hold. The , a Belgian man named Karl Istaz who used the name Gotch for notoriety, many show that attacks the turtle position possibly came from him but the authentic Gotch Toe Hold is this one.
All my research on early American shows a commonality. The concept is heavy pressure top control, to control the body and PIN it in place, then isolating a limb and torquing it in an unnatural movement for a pain compliance HOOK.
Think of fishing. When you have a fish on the end of a hook, he wiggles and squirms and can’t get free. You’ve hooked him. That’s where the term comes from. You hook a guy when you have a submission hold on him and he can’t do anything to wiggle free. But, like in fishing, once you have the guy hooked, you still have to reel him in. We always said, ‘take up the slack.’ Once you take up the slack, you position the fulcrum and apply the leverage. And the big thing about it is, bulls get killed on the floor. Submission is not something you do standing up.” - Karl Gotch
