The figure 4 ankle lock is a decent ladies wrestling submission hold, mostly used by Mexican Luchadoras. Indeed, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that hold used anywhere else. The hold may appear intricate, but it’s rather simple really. Some of its variants require substantial cooperation from the victim.
The attacker gets the victim onto her back then she picks up both of her legs as if she were getting ready to put her into a boston crab. She then simply crosses the victim’s legs, putting one over the other as she holds one of the legs steady. She then steps over the leg she just positioned over the other, to hold it down with the back of her knee. From that point on, she has several options to inflict torture. She can focus on the victim’s straight leg, more precisely the ankle, by twisting the foot, or she can push down on the victim’s bent knee.
In some cases, the attacker will also grab hold of the victim’s hand which is put through the figure 4 that her legs form. In other Figure 4 ankle-lock variants, the attacker is positioned facing the other way, in which case she will often kneel onto the victim’s chest or neck to further her distress.

Possible escape: once tied up tight as a drum, the figure 4 ankle lock is quite impossible to escape. I’d have to say in this instance only a quick ‘I give’ will give you a break.

Rating: the figure 4 ankle lock is a relatively spectacular hold, thanks to its tied-in-knots nature. It is a reasonable finisher too, although it may not be used to that end as often as it could be.