Joint Locks

Joint locks can be effective in women's self defense.

Joint locks are techniques used in many martial arts to inflict pain and force submission.

The basic premise is to extend the joint past their normal range of motion causing intense pain. Its a great defense for physically smaller and/or weaker people, such as women and children, to use on larger, stronger opponents.

This technique can be used on most joints, from fingers to spine. By maneuvering these joints injury can easily occur, like soft tissue tearing, dislocation and broken bones. Knees and ankles are especially vulnerable due to susceptible ligaments and the possibility of dislocated knee caps. Obviously manipulation of the spine or neck could result in paralysis or even death.

Some believe that this skill originated in China with the development of Kung Fu. The Chinese further developed “Chin Na” a study of joint manipulation. Some of the modern martial arts that include joint lock techniques are Jujitsu, Akido and Hapkito.

In some competition sparring or grappling (ground sparring) the concept is to get close enough to your opponent to grab him and hold him with this method. Once on the ground you can use your arms and legs to apply pressure to your rival’s joints until he stops struggling and/or submits.

Practicing is not recommended except under the supervision of an experienced instructor. Effective joint manipulation takes years of practice and should be executed with restraint. When practicing keep in mind that the wrist is more flexibility and therefore less susceptible to injury.

The use of pressure points makes an excellent companion technique. While the attacker is being held down with a joint lock, pressure is applied to one of the many pressure points to cause intense pain. A quick submission would be the desirable outcome.

Imagine being choked from behind or grabbed in a bear hug from behind; if you were to quickly get under one of the attacker’s fingers and jerk it backwards the rest of the hand should follow, giving you time to execute a shin scrape and escape.

I learned a few joint manipulation maneuvers when I studied TaeKwonDo. While they can be an effective means of subduing an attacker, I wouldn’t rely on this technique totally. Studying a martial art that included this techniques would be a great way to get a well rounded plan of action as well as getting in shape and gaining some self confidence.

Click here to return to Self Defense Techniques from Joint Locks.

Click here to return to the home page.

Custom Search

New! Comments