Black Medicine Anthology

by N. Mashiro

  24-2: If his body is held straight and stiff so you can't throw him, use a hammer-fist blow to the groin, an elbow into the ribs, and/or a stomp on the foot to loosen him up a little. As soon as he is hurt or distracted, try the throw again.

  24-3: Spread and stiffen the fingers of both hands and suddenly stab backwards over both shoulders in search of an unsuspecting eye. In practice just reach back gently and feel for your partner's face. Get used to the idea that you can reach his eyes with your fingers from this position. (See Figure 37.)

  ATTACK #25

  One of the most familiar attacks from the rear is the hammer lock. In this classic attack the opponent bends your right arm up behind your back until you writhe in pain. Usually he will grip your arm at the wrist with his right hand. His left hand will either grip your arm, your shoulder or possibly your neck.

  BASIC DEFENSE #25

  When your right arm is in a hammer lock the basic defense is to bend forward at the waist and twist to your left in an attempt to straighten out your captured arm. By bowing and twisting in this manner you relieve most of the pain. Then you can decide what to do next.

  COUNTERATTACKS FOR SITUATION #25

  25-1: Use the basic defense to relieve pressure on your arm. After bending forward and twisting to the left, look back at your opponent and use your left leg to stomp at his knee, groin, or abdomen. To magnify the effect, use your captured right hand to grab the opponent's arm as you lean forward. This way you can actually pull him into the kick, and keep him from escaping while you wind up for another kick ... and another ... and another ....

  25-2: Twist sharply to your left until your left shoulder is toward the opponent. As a part of the same motion, use your left hand to deliver a hammer-fist or knife-hand attack to the enemy's temple or neck. Let your arm trail behind your swinging shoulder like a ball on a chain for added power. (See Figure 38.)

  25-3: If the attacker uses his left hand to hold your collar or hair so that you cannot bend forward away from him, try twisting to the left and striking the back of his left elbow with the thumb side of your left fist (a ridgehand attack). Another possibility would be to use a hammerfist or knife-hand attack against his left ribs. The principle is much the same.

  25-4: One of the worst possibilities is that the attacker may encircle your neck with his left arm while pressing the hammer lock with his right hand. In this case you will not be able to bow or twist at all. Your only option is to use your feet and your free arm creatively to force him to let you go.

  This will be a battle of endurance, since the pressure on your right arm will immediately increase as soon as you try to resist. You must succeed instantly in injuring and distracting him or you will sincerely regret the attempt.

  My suggestion is to start with a left hammer fist back into the opponent's groin, followed immediately by a couple of bone-shattering stamps to the instep of the foot. If you are successful he'll release your neck and step back away from you, but he'll probably try to maintain the hammer lock. At that point you should bow, twist and kick as described in technique 24-1.

  q ca ~ o 0 cd a .n O y y O ~' ~ w y m rUn O 66 N.M-i O 4p W , a?

  vas 0 o a°, z 3

  The subject of weapon defenses is probably the single most controversial topic in the self-defense field. I cringe at some of the published self-defense guides which show how "easy" it is to disarm a knifeman. I can only conclude that the authors just haven't had very much experience sparring with knife duelists. Otherwise they would not be so overconfident on behalf of their readers.

  It is essential for a self-defense student to be aware of his own limitations when facing a man who is armed with a knife or club. A stiletto in the hand is easily worth five years of karate training, a fact which scores of karate students have given their lives to prove. I do show my self-defense students how to disarm a knife or club fighter, but I only present these techniques to prove that most people cannot make them work. In my experience a self-defense student has about one chance in twenty of defeating such a person without getting killed in the process. When confronting a weapon the only safe course is to escalate, to produce a more powerful weapon. I prefer a .45 automatic!

  There is another dangerous misconception about disarming techniques which is almost never mentioned in selfdefense books. This is the fact that military hand-to-hand combat manuals sometimes show techniques which just don't work, apparently in an attempt to raise the morale of bootcamp trainees. This is a psychological effort to convince disarmed soldiers to keep fighting in spite of the odds-an admirable quality in an army but stupid in the street. Don't be taken in. Read those military manuals with more than a little skepticism. You must never use real weapons in practice! Use rubber knives and plastic baseball bats-never the real thing. It's far too easy to kill your practice partner otherwise.

  ATTACK #26

  The attacker holds the knife point down like an icepick with the sharp edge facing inward toward himself. He then raises the knife over his head and stabs downward toward your chest. This attack is the classic way in which an ignorant person handles a knife. It usually, but not always, implies that the attacker is naive and may fall for one of the simpler defensive techniques. It may also mean that the attacker is sophisticated and is trying to deceive you. It's a dangerous business.

  The following discussion will also apply to situations where the attacker is swinging a short club down at your head. In general the defensive moves are about the same, but there are differences which will be noted where appropriate.

  BASIC DEFENSE #26

  Starting with either foot, and making the first step in any appropriate direction, run for your life! Unless there is some vital circumstance which prevents flight the best defensive tactic is to run away. Knives and clubs are terrible weapons which most people do not respect sufficiently. A knifeman can kill you every bit as dead as a gunman and almost as quickly. Don't be a fool. Live to fight another day.

  Now that the sensible advice is out of the way we'll get down to the terrifying possibility that you cannot flee. Your pregnant wife is with you. She's holding your twoyear-old daughter in her arms. Your aged mother is cowering behind you. Flight is out of the question. You must stand your ground and protect them. Now what do you do?

  First you utter a silent prayer that your wife will have the sense to help you and not just stand there shrieking hysterically like they do in the movies. If she just throws a bag of dirty diapers in the attacker's face or starts whipping him over the head with her coat you will have a good chance of coming out of this alive. One outrageous tactic is to throw the baby in the attacker's arms. I know that there isn't a mother in the world who could actually do it, but think of the look on the knifer's face!

  The basic defense when meeting this attack is to step backward and to your left with your right foot in an attempt to pivot your body out of the path of the descending blade. That way you may survive even if you fail to block or parry the weapon. We'll examine three counterattacks from this posture.

  COUNTERATTACKS FOR SITUATION #26

  26-1: First I want to describe the classic response to this attack as taught in many military manuals. As the attacker steps in to stab, perform the basic defense by taking a long step back and to the left with your right foot. Use an "X" up-block to catch his forearm and block the attack. An "X" block consists of crossing your right wrist over your left wrist, palms down, and raising your arms over your head to meet the attacker's descending forearm (not the knife!). If all goes well you will trap the attacker's wrist in the top of the "X" between your wrists. (If all does not go well you get the point of the knife stuck in the top of your skull.)

  Assuming that you have been successful with the blocknot a small assumption-the next step is to grasp his forearm with your right hand and pull it down past your hip, twisting his arm to bring the back of the elbow up as you do so. With a little experimentation you will find that this is a simple, natural, and powerful motion. Finish by using a left
hammerfist attack to the back of his elbow to dislocate the joint and force him to drop the knife.

  I have a couple of comments about this technique. The first is that you should only attempt it against a total fool who happens to be both drunk and blind. Most self-defense students can't make a strong enough "X" block to stop the downward plunge of the knife anyway, and even if they could the block leaves them wide open for a disembowling stroke if the first attack was a fake.

  Figure 39: Here are two examples of how not to use the "X" upblock. No matter what the military manuals say, knives and clubs come right through it!

  On the other hand when the "X" block is properly executed it is extremely effective. I can speak from bitter experience. One time I was playing the part of the attacker when a very serious student really let me have it with an "X" block. There was a loud snap, the knife dropped to the floor, and we all looked with amazement at the new bend that had appeared in my arm. Incidentally, we were both wearing protective padding on our arms at the time, the kind some people now use for full contact karate practice. The only effect of the padding was to lead us into using dangerous amounts of force during practice.

  If you try this technique against a club you'll discover a very disconcerting fact. When you use the "X" block to stop the attackers downward swing, his forearm stops but his wrist just bends and the club comes right on down to rap you on the head. This effect is almost guaranteed to occur whether the attacker intends to do it or not. I know this from repeated experiences with practice partners who didn't really intend to hit me, but did. Don't be taken in by selfdefense books which confidently suggest using the "X" block against a club. (See Figure 39.)

  26-2: For those of you who like flashy knife defenses that don't necessarily work, there is a variation on technique 26-1 which will amuse you. Perform the basic defense, block, grab and pull as described above. Then, instead of using the hammer-fist attack on his elbow, turn to your right and pass your left arm over his upper arm. Grasp his wrist with both hands as you trap his upper arm under your armpit (effecting a straight arm lock). In this position you can put pressure on his shoulder and elbow by levering his wrist upward. Hold his wrist up high, throw your feet out from under you, and hang your whole weight on his shoulder to smack his head into the pavement. (Notice the similarity to technique 11-3.)

  This is a very dramatic finish which seems "to serve him right," but don't get too attached to it. Remember that in order to get this far you first have to work the minor miracle of catching his arm during the initial attack. Otherwise it will be you on the pavement. Good luck.

  26-3: The response I favor in this situation isn't very dramatic but it has the virtue of working pretty well. As the attacker steps in with knife upraised, perform the basic defense to get your body out of the path of the blade. Use your left hand to slap-block the attacker's arm (not the knife) to your right, which simply knocks the knife (or club) a little farther away as it passes.

  In the split second before he can recover his wits and launch a second attack he will be vulnerable. Be alive to any chance to stomp on the attacker's right knee with your left foot at this time. Your relative positions won't always work out correctly for this kick, but if circumstances permit all you have to do is rock back on your right foot, lift your left leg, and stomp down to rip apart the ligaments that hold his knee joint together. Then you can walk away as slowly as you like.

  If this approach doesn't seem to fit the situation shift into the general defense advocated later in this chapter.

  26-4: There is a fun variation of the previous technique with which more advanced students like to experiment. As the knife or club attack comes in toward your upper body, sidestep and slap the attacker's wrist to the right as before. This time, however, use your hand to grab his wrist and ride it down. By adding your downward force to his own, you can encourage the attacker to stab himself in the groin or thigh. If he is using a club he winds up whacking his knee. Either way he deserves it. This trick requires timing and confidence on the part of the defender, but beyond that it is not especially difficult to perform. (See Figure 40.)

  ATTACK #27

  During a knife holdup, the attacker holds the knife in his right hand with the point at your throat. He grips the knife like a fencing foil, and seems to delight in shoving it in your face to see you flinch. This kind of behavior is fairly common among teen-aged terrors whose confidence in their own manhood is not very great. Alternately, you can sometimes provoke a more cautious robber into this kind of behavior by judicious insults. Of course, that can also get you killed.

  Figure 40: If you have good timing and a lot of nerve you can convert an overhand knife attack into a devastating surprise for the attacker. This is one of the techniques which works better in real life than in practice because of the power which a real assailant puts into the attack.

  Figure 41: One of the few knife defenses which really work is this response to a hold up. The slapping motion shown in the second photo usually breaks the attacker's grip and sends the knife spinning to the ground, but if not there is always the knee.

  BASIC DEFENSE #27

  The basic defense in this situation is to raise your hands in the classic "hands up" posture, but hold them no higher than your head. Now take a look at the attacker's hand. If he is holding the knife so that the point almost touches your throat or face you have a respectable chance of disarming him without getting hurt. If he's holding the knife farther away the odds are against you.

  The following technique is best applied when the attacker's attention has been distracted a little, but in many cases even average students can perform the trick faster than the opponent can react, distraction or not. Bring your hands together hard in a clapping motion, catching the back of his fist with the palm of your left hand and striking the inside of his wrist with the palm of your right hand. If you succeed in bending his wrist in toward the inside of his forearm it will involuntarily open and release the knife.

  This is one of the few knife disarming techniques which actually seems to work well enough for me to recommend it without conscience pangs. If you can just tease the robber into raising the blade to your face you can clap your hands on his fist and disarm him faster than he can react. Unfortunately, not all knife-bearing attackers are content to threaten before attacking, nor are they stupid enough to hand the weapon to you on a silver platter like this. But just in case you get lucky, this one seems to work now and then.

  COUNTERATTACKS FOR SITUATION #27

  27-1: Use either your left or right hand to deliver a knife-hand chop to the attacker's throat, or a hammer-fist attack to his temple. Executed with enough force these attacks can be lethal. You don't mess around with a guy who is threatening your life.

  27-2: Here's a risky back-up technique in case your initial clap doesn't knock the knife out of his hand. If you fail to bend his wrist far enough to make his hand open up you'll probably wind up holding his fist in your hands. Quickly shift your grip so that both of your thumbs are on the back of his fist and your fingers curl around either side toward his palm. This is similar to technique 11-2. Now pull his hand toward you with your fingers, press it away from you with your thumbs (putting painful pressure on the wrist joint), and twist his hand violently to your left. If everything works he'll drop the knife and fall on his right shoulder.

  This technique is fun to practice but heaven help you if you ever really need it. I just can't see that mythical attacker standing still and allowing you to play with his fist like that. All he has to do is rip his arm back out of your grip before you get the hold applied and he'll be free-and you'll lose a couple of fingers in the process. Not a good situation.

  27-3: As an alternative to 27-2 I suggest the following counterattack. If you didn't succeed in disarming him with the clap just let your hands get a good tight grip on his arm instead. Your right hand in particular can get a powerful grip on his wrist, and your left hand can obtain a less effective grip on the back of his fis
t. Note that this does not involve fumbling around for new holds after the clap. Your hands just grab whatever they catch.

  With this two-handed grip established the attacker will have a much harder time yanking his hand out of your control. Be assured that he will try, however, and that his whole attention will momentarily reside on getting his knife hand free. This is your opportunity.

  Yank his hand to the side over your right shoulder as you step in slightly to the left of him with your left foot. He'll never see your right knee coming up. (He'll feel it, though.) (See Figure 41.)

  ATTACK *28

  The following techniques are for any time someone threatens you with a knife or club in any way, but particu larly for those times when the attacker really seems to know what he is doing. This section contains a miscellaneous collection of techniques which have seemed more effective than most. One of them might save your life.

  Figure 42: The best expedient defense against a knife attack is a straight-backed wooden chair. It is every bit as effective as it looks.

  BASIC DEFENSES #28

  28-1: Don't wait for him to attack! Sling things at his legs-lamps, stools, garbage can lids, fire irons, chairs, golf clubs-anything in reach that can hurt his legs and slow him down. If you can reduce his mobility enough, you may be able to walk away in safety.

  28-2: Don't wait for him to attack! Pick up a light chair and rush him with it, lion-tamer fashion. Aim one foot of the chair at his throat and the opposite foot at his groin. The seat of the chair serves as a very reliable shield to protect you from the knife. Remember to thrust or charge with the legs of the chair. Don't make the TV mistake of swinging the chair like an axe or club. (See Figure 42.)