Defending Against All Manners of Multi-directional Chokes (Yellow-Black Belts)
If an aggressor is able to close the distance on you and violate your personal space, the aggressor can grab or choke you. Once your attacker grabs you, the attacker can inflict a life-threatening choke hold. Other types of close-contact grappling include headlocks, and bear hugs—each of which can put you in an extremely vulnerable position. Grabs and chokes are optimally defended using long-range preemptive linear kicks or upper-body strikes to prevent the attacker from seizing you.
If your preemptive strike defenses do not work and/or you were caught in the “-5” (you did not react in time), when secured by an aggressor who then pulls or pushes you, you must move with the push or pull. Moving with the momentum, rather than resisting it, helps you to fight back to use your attacker’s momentum against the attacker. In other words, by moving in the direction of the pull or push, you use the attacker’s momentum against him, allowing your punches, elbows, kicks, knees, and headbutts to connect with greater force. For example, if an attacker grabs one of your arms, strike back with your free arm or one of your legs targeting the attacker’s vulnerable anatomy. As the attacker pulls you in one direction, move in the same direction to enhance these counterattacks. If your attacker still does not let go despite your barrage of strikes, you can employ an arm grab release to disengage yourself.
In a less aggressive and more de-escalation mode, krav maga employs direct releases to force your attacker to let go without injuring the attacker. The key is to find your attacker’s grip’s weakest angle and work against the thumb, the weakest digit. Do not work against the combined strength of your attacker’s remaining four clutched fingers. Arm grab releases build the foundation for choke releases, one of the most life-threatening methods of attack.
With practice, you will begin to recognize where the opening in an aggressor’s grip is. You can then work against this with the help of your opposite arm to break a hold. To show this simple principle, bring your right thumb to your right index finger, creating a circle or an “okay” gesture. Insert your left thumb underneath and through the circle. If you had to create an opening in the circle with your left hand, you would not be able to do it by pushing against the web of your hand. Rather, you would have to pull it against the tips of your thumb and forefinger, the weak link in the circle.
The same principle works to release arm grabs and choke holds. You will work against the attacker’s thumb placement to break your attacker’s grip. In many techniques in this chapter, you will find the opening by plucking your attacker’s hand or hands. Do this by cupping your hand, as if you were holding a glass except fold your thumb into your grip. In other words, you do not wrap your thumb around the attacker’s arm. With your cupped hand, secure the attacker’s hand or forearm from underneath or over the top to forcibly remove it in the direction of the opening.
Note: For all of the techniques presented in this chapter, were the attacker to grab your opposite arm with his opposite arm, you would simply mirror the technique and counterattack using the opposite side of your body.
Practice Suggestions: