Wrist Grabs

MJS

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What do you think about this type of attack? I've heard views from two sides, one saying that its not a worthwhile attack and others saying that it is an attack worth knowing a defense for.

Thoughts?

Mike
 

beau_safken

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Its good for defense, like release moves. But if your intent in the wrist and not the head...your in for some trouble and not with your wrist. ;)
 

SAVAGE

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It is a good idea to learn the concept of breaking wrist holds...say for example an aikidoka grabs your punch...your going to be thankfull that you learnt how to break that hold.

I would say that for women the wrist grab is quite a common form of attack...so ithas merit there!

I also have been grabbed in the wrist in real life situation and used a joint lock sucessfully, but it was only sucessful because I learnt the technique.

A little experiment, go grab a untrained persons wrist and see how the y struggle to break free....then see how it takes you seconds because you under stand a principle!
 

Eternal Beginner

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I was a waitress in a scummy little restaurant for a while. I am very happy I knew wrist releases when I worked there.

It was very common for the more inebriated patrons to grab you wrist and try to pull you onto their laps. You didn't want to strike them (can you say bye! bye! to your job?) but you also didn't want to get on some slimy turds lap. Wrist releases were a girl's best friend.
 

bignick

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I was just commenting to my friend the other day.

"You know, Joe, I've been doing martial arts for a few years now, and if someone tried to grab my wrists...man they'd be seriously ****ed up."
 

tshadowchaser

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Wrist grabs are so commen it is almost a must to know how to get out of the it is also a good idea to know how to put on a good wrist lock
 

SAVAGE

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bignick said:
I was just commenting to my friend the other day.

"You know, Joe, I've been doing martial arts for a few years now, and if someone tried to grab my wrists...man they'd be seriously ****ed up."

HEHEHE...I know what you mean...I piiti da foo that grabs my wrist/arm/belt/shirt!
 

Jonathan Randall

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MJS said:
What do you think about this type of attack? I've heard views from two sides, one saying that its not a worthwhile attack and others saying that it is an attack worth knowing a defense for.

Thoughts?

Mike

For women (many sexual assaults are initiated via wrist grab) and average size adults, it is ESSENTIAL TRAINING, IMO. The ones who pooh, pooh it as an uncommon assault are generally football player types who don't have to worry about it as much as people like myself (I'm short), do.
 

ChineseKempoJerry

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Learning wrist grab defenses area way to teach principles that can be applied to other attacks. Once a student understands the principles, I like to show the applications for other attacks.

Best Regards,

Jerry
 

Cujo

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I think that a wrist grab is a common enough "attack" that it should be given some attention. A wrist grab isn't that big a deal, unless you can't get lose from one.
Pax
Cujo
 

beau_safken

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Those wrist techniques are really some of the best moves honestly thou. Allows access to the best lever on the body as well as a great chance for surprise. Not to mention their ease of teaching, and great effective nature but they are hella cool to pull off.
 

shesulsa

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~Moderator note:
~Thread moved to General Self-Defense
~G Ketchmark / shesulsa
~MT Senior Moderator
 

7starmantis

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I think wrist grabs most definitely need to be trained against, however I take a little different approach. Yes, reversing or breaking a wrist grab is important and usually the first thing we teach, but it’s probably one of the least effective against a full on assault. We do allot of work on disabling the grabber without putting allot of focus on the grab. For instance, a 95lb woman (like my wife) is going to be hard pressed to release a full grab by a 205lb 6' 2" man (like myself). However, if I'm really holding on that tight, my focus and energy are going to be her wrist...a nice crossing elbow to the noggin or knees to the groin, or both can be much more effective in getting me to let go than trying to break my hold. Of course my “style” is a very aggressive one and we tend to teach that once someone puts their hands on you….its over (for them or you…you must decide). So that’s my own bias to the situation. But like someone said earlier, there can be situation where striking is out, that’s when the wrist reversals and releases come in handy. You just have to feel out each situation and know which one is which.

7sm
 

Andrew Green

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Wrist grab defences are fine and good, how they are taught often is not. In martial arts classes bad guys tend to do there one thing and then stand there looking dumb while the other person hurts them.

If someone grabs your wrist they are probably not just trying to hold your hand, but using it to pull, and chances are when you start fighting they will not just stand there and let you do it.

Looking at that video, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her off, make that the drill. Grab the wrist, try to drag the person off the mat, they try to break away and run off the other side, maybe doing a little damage before the run as bigger people tend to run faster, and smaller people don't tend to grab bigger people by the wrist to drag them around.
 

shesulsa

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Actually, the drill should be to NEVER allow ANYONE to get the full grab on your wrists AT ALL.

Yes, scenarios such as that abduction should be the basis for technique (real world situations should always be the basis for technique or self-defense drills), but the bottom line is you CANNOT let yourself get there.

I do pretty well with wrist grab escapes, but there are men who could just squeeze and break my wrist - my husband is one of them. As soon as I sense they are even going to touch my arm or wrist, I intercept the attack.

Quick releases work better early on and before the grip is complete and/or solid.
 

bushidomartialarts

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in kenpo if somebody grabs us (wrist, shoulder, throat), the response is akin to thanking all the gods for such a fabulous birthday gift.

somebody grabbing you means they've committed one weapon and most of their attention to the grab. this leaves us at least one weapon with which to do something horrible to them.

once we've done something horrible to them with the free hand, then we can take the opportunity to get loose and either run away or do more horrible things, depending on the situation.

tom patire, in his book about family safety, has some additional nifty horrible things to do when grabbed.
 

stickarts

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We include defenses off of a wrist grab. It is a possible attack and should be covered in a self defense or martial arts curriculum, expecially because there are some simple and easy to teach defenses off of it.
I have had self defense students tell me that they have actually used both finger locks and wrist releases in self defense situations so for me it is not really a hypothetical question! :0) They have been used and worked (the true test)
 

scottcatchot

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I agree there are alot of reasons to learn the wrist techniques, though I have to admit.. When I first started studing aikido and I wanted to show off what I was learning, my friends and familty looked at me with a funny grin when I would thrust my hand out and say "come on grab my wrist":)
 

shesulsa

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scottcatchot said:
I agree there are alot of reasons to learn the wrist techniques, though I have to admit.. When I first started studing aikido and I wanted to show off what I was learning, my friends and familty looked at me with a funny grin when I would thrust my hand out and say "come on grab my wrist":)
Yeah, I gotta say, I still get tickled by that scene in Napoleon Dynamite:

"Grab my arm. The other arm. MY other arm." :uhyeah:
 

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