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Imagine you’re about to set down at your favorite table felling winded after that last trip around the dance floor, when whom should you spy heading your way but Bubba, your ex-boyfriend.
Bubba reaches over with his left hand and grabs your left wrist, pulling you towards him and insisting you go along with him. He has twisted your hand in such a way you are in pain anytime you attempt to move. This submission hold he has you in is called a wristlock. What are you going to do?
The first thing you need to do is remember no one has the right to touch with out your consent Then you need to decide on a course of action depending on how badly you want to hurt him while you are doing it.
A wristlock is a submission technique that involves an opponent placing pressure on the nerves and bones of the wrist. A small amount of pressure can cause enough pain to cause the victim to be willing to give into almost any thing to escape. If the attacker applies more pressure, he can actually break the wrist itself.
Great care is needed to escape the wristlock so you don’t break your own wrist by accident. The beauty of a wristlock is that most techniques depend upon the victim fighting the hold.
When a person attempts to fight, he or she usually tightens the muscles and tendons in the hands and wrists. By doing this an opponent is given the advantage of basically disabling you due to the pain radiating from your wrist into your hand and arm so the best thing to do is not to give him the upper hand.
If you can keep your head and stay calm, it is possible to allow your arm, wrist and hand to relax and go limp. By doing this, the pressure and submission causing pain is removed allowing you to issue a well-placed kick, punch, bite or strategic knee strike. The fact you are able to do this will often be a surprise to your opponent, so take immediate advantage of this momentary confusion. If his or her hold on your hand is loosened, attempt to jerk your wrist away by going against the thumb.
The single digit of the thumb is much weaker than the rest of the hand. By rotating the radius bone in your arm so you have extra torque and yanking your hand against the thumb, you have an excellent chance to loosen the grip. Once you have freed your wrist, you have managed to add several more weapons to your arsenal. These weapons include a fist, elbow, fingers and nails as well as the palm of your hand. Use these weapons to punch your opponent, gouge or poke eyes and rake the face.
There is one technique that will work against many holds and grabs. It is true the thumb is the weakest part of a grip but remember the pinkie is the weakest finger in the hand. If you can possibly cover his hand with your free hand, reach over and grab the last section of his or her pinkie. Then using a sudden, sharp snapping motion, make the back of your opponent’s pinkie meet the back of their hand. This move while very affective must be done with feeling. This isn’t the time to feel sympathy for your attacker’s pain.
Especially since they have already shown no regard a total disregard for your thoughts and feelings, they have given up any right to any concern on your part towards them.
Another way of getting free is to use the nerve at the top of the attacker’s arm against them. Now remember speed is of the essence so you can’t afford to hesitate even for a second. The faster you respond the less chance he has of firmly establishing his grip so you will need to practice this move many times until it’s right and you could almost do it in your sleep.
If your attacker is the big, dumb, and strong type you may have to use two hands in order to break the hold he has on you. What your going to do is reach down with your right hand and grasp your left wrist above his hand and move your arm in an upward counter- clock wise half circle motion keeping your hand stiff as if you were about to swat a child’s butt. If he grabbed your hand at around your navel area then when you finish your half circle your hand aught to be some where around your breast bone area bring the edge of your hand down sharply against his radius and continue down ward until the grip is broken. This should be done quickly if he’s resisting your half circle move kick him in the shin. He should have keep his hands to him self any way.
Lets assume the attacker has made it clear he plans on hurting you. You are going to do the same move with only a couple of minor differences. You will need to reach down with your right hand and cover his left hand and move your arm in an upward counter-clock wise in a half circle motion while keeping your hand stiff as if you were about to swat a child’s butt. If he grabbed your hand at around your navel area then when you finish your half circle your hand aught to be some where around your breast bone area place your four fingers across his radius and go in a sharp down ward motion bringing your hand not only down but toward your own body at the same time. Be careful when you practice this with whom ever or your training partner may end up with a broken arm.
Practice this with a variety of people. Some people have to rotate the arm slightly one way or the other depending on the size of their opponent. You may even need to take a step back to give yourself some working room. Remember don’t let the hand that your covering slip off of your arm and most importantly, if you get free, don’t stand around admiring your handy work. If you are indeed in a public area, ask for help. If you are on a darkened street, get away and go to a public area where you can get help or call the police.
The above methods have assumed you were in a wristlock from a crossways grab. If your attacker has grabbed you in a straight grab, an eye gouge is a good way to begin if you’re truly scared afraid for your safety. Use this only when necessary because it’s a terrible burden to blind a man for no reason. One way to get out of this grab is to turn your body so that your free handed side is away from the assailant and pull your arm away from him while twisting both your upper torso and your wrist bringing your arm to your waist. This move opens the bad guy up for a back fist to the nose, or jaw or you can hit them across the throat with the edge of your hand.
These are just a few of the possible moves against a wrist lock and in no way can replace the actual one on one instruction with a qualified instructor. They can be an aid in escaping an attacker when no other training has been available.
It is important to remember that no one technique works 100% of the time in all situations so you should be prepared to back up these movements with other strikes or techniques.
Remember, all of you have more weapons than just your feet and fists, so use them to give you the best advantage. possible.
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