Joint Locking

Joint locking involves manipulation of an opponent 's joints in such a way as to cause pain compliance, to take them to the ground or to control the attacker by immobilizing the affected limb or joint.

This is usually done by isolating the appropriate joint and by bending, twisting or striking, you force the joint to move past its normal range of motion or move it in the opposite direction causing varying degrees of pain.

If applied forcefully and with a quick or sudden snapping motion it can cause damage to the joint, such as muscle, tendon and ligament tears and dislocation or bone fractures. Joint locks can be divided into five general types depending on which section of the body they affect:

Small joint manipulation - Refers

Arm locks - An arm lock will hyper extend or over rotate the elbow and/or shoulder joint causing extreme pain.

Arm locks can be used to momentarily immobilize the attacker or to take them to the ground to finish them. Arm locks such as an elbow lock or shoulder lock should not be used to try to hold them in one place or to get them to ‘tap’ in a street situation because they may have a friend that is standing just outside of your field of vision ready to attack you or they may resume their assault when you let them up after tapping.

Leg locks - A leg lock is directed at the ankle, knee or hip joint of the leg. These are typically not used on the street because it leaves the attacker’s arms free to pull a gun or a knife from his pocket or jacket. On the street you would attack these joints using joint manipulation to off-balance or take them down.

Spinal locks - Cervical and spinal locks are applied to multiple joints in the spinal column, caused by forcing the spine beyond its normal ranges of motion, usually done by bending, cranking or twisting the head or upper body into unorthodox

As 'A ' blocks he immediately grabs the wrist to keep the attacker from pulling his arm back. 'A ' then brings his right arm under and behind the arm and pulls back sharply into the crook of the elbow to bend the arm and allowing him to hook the wrist with the karambit. Here 'A ' disarms the knife while still holding the wrist and thrusts the knife into the side of the neck.

Joint Lock #2 - The initial first three moves are the same as in Joint Lock #1

On fig. 4 after bending the arm player 'A 'slides his right arm through and across the chest to hook the attackers neck. At the same time he starts to apply pressure to the hand holding the knife by placing it against his own chest and pushing forward. This will drive the point of the knife into the neck while hooking with the karambit from the other side.

Joint Lock #3 - 'B ' attacks with a downward #8. 'A ' blocks, grabs and thrusts to the mid-section while twisting the hand holding the knife.

'A ' then grabs with the bottom of the hand with his right hand and continues to twist in a counter-clockwise direction. This allows 'A ' to strip the knife free as he tucks