Which is where the lockdown is useful. It is a short term move to get a bit of space against a guy trying to flatten you and you cannot get to your side the normal ways. The problem with lockdown, as I said above, is that it is not good to spend much time in lockdown in a WBE. The top guy has too much freedom, which includes preventing you from getting to weapons.
All the half guard "games" - lockdown, deep half, knee shield, etc. - have a very useful place in the overall game for sure, but when it comes to the nuances and intricacies and complexities of self-defense in a WBE, the classic half guard game (think Lucas Leite) has the most utility. I am going to be doing an online webinar soon on exactly that and how it relates to SD. Well, I am going to do it as soon as I figure out how to pull it off properly that is.....