I’ve been largely absent lately because I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about the history of my art. Of particular interest has been the subject of hyung (forms) and their respective origins. I’m hoping to get to a point of where I can post about my findings; but reading a lot of other blogs out there about similar subjects, I don’t want to re-invent the wheel.
Until I get there, I’ll say that I was recently on the subject of defenses against the typical “sucker punch” and executing standing choke hold variations with my students. I originally had a very abstract concept of that subject until I spent time working as a bouncer in a night club when I was an E-Dan (2nd degree black belt). To say the least, the experience was quite enlightening. I have often recounted with my students that I took that job not for the money, but instead as a pure experiment to see what situations would call for the things that I had been studying. In other words, I plunged myself into potential no-rules violence on purpose. For the time that I was there, I got exactly what I asked for.
Our “cooler” was a man who I remain friends with to this day. A fitness enthusiast himself, he was also ex-military, towering at around the 6′ mark and hovering somewhere around 225+ of pure muscle (if not more). He was indeed a force to be reckoned with, who I once saw clothesline a guy in a parking lot brawl and literally make the guy do a 360 around his arm. His ability to escalate his abilities & the amount of force necessary to end a fight to a brutal level in a staggeringly short period of time was nothing short of scary. I, at a scant 5’3″ enjoyed being the smallest guy on-grounds. It was quite the adventure. The year or so that I spent working at that night club taught me a lot of important lessons that even today, I implement into the way that I teach certain things. One of those lessons was the importance of stopping a fight with a simple choke hold. See, our cooler, and the club owner had one prevailing rule: never take a swing at a patron, even if in the middle of an altercation. Such an offense was guaranteed to get you fired, even if the patron swung first. Security’s hands were rather tied in that regard, but some degree of protection for the oft-drunk patrons had to be implemented nonetheless. Most of the guys I worked with were well over 5’10” and 200+ pounds, so for them, choke holds were really the only option (as they normally had no formal training). It was here that I learned the value of the rear-interlock choke. As these guys were usually taller than average, they would simply walk up behind you, apply the choke (or some variation of it), lift you off of the ground, and when you passed out, toss you outdoors. No muss…no fuss. So, let’s examine the mechanics a bit.
The rear Interlock Choke – An Overview:
I think that author Mark Tedeschi, in his book The Art of Holding probably gives one of the best no-nonsense definitions of how to execute that particular choke hold; although I originally learned it from the gentleman that I often refer to as “grandfather”. That man is Sa Bom Nim (master) Joe Goss, Sr., who, lineage wise I can trace a lot of my techniques to. Master Goss is the vice president of the International Tang Soo Do Federation, and an encyclopedia of knowledge (even that description doesn’t do him justice). If you’re ever in Johnstown, PA, pay him a visit and listen to every word he says. I still train with him as often as opportunity allows.
Anyway, Tedeschi, in his book, which is part of a series on Hapkido techniques, instructs the student, once the choking arm is wrapped around the neck, to “lock your hand in the crook of the other elbow [and] place your other hand behind the head….[pushing] forward with the edge of the of the knife hand or wrist as you pull back with the choking forearm” (Tedeschi, p. 145). It’s a really nasty choke, and if you ever watch any of those mma matches, the unlucky chap that gets one usually doesn’t last long. The guys I worked with could effect unconsciousness in about 7 seconds, which is actually quite scary because they were using it as a guillotine and lifting the offender off of his feet once they applied it from behind. They were, in fact, so good at it that the owner of the bar (and the head of security himself) had to ask them to eventually stop using it before they killed someone. Still, as many times as I observed it being used, the influence stuck.
Now, me being only 5’3″, the only person I’m lifting off of the ground with a rear interlock choke is a leprechaun, so I’ve had to augment a few things in order to make it work for me (and the smaller person in general). One of the things I often preach to my students (taller and shorter) is to bring things to your center of gravity because that’s where you’re strongest. Without going into the gory details, if I can wrench the taller man down to my very low center of gravity with a palm heel strike to the kidneys while on my way to locking in the choke (for example) then I stand a better chance of putting him where I’m stronger. Entering into this technique is actually one of the first choke holds that I teach to my adult students as what I call a “fight ender” (as I learned from working at the night club).
Two Variations:
For me, there are two different uses for this choke. One is standing. Once you apply it, you can pretty much walk the opponent wherever you want him. This also gives you the opportunity to back out of a situation with a “hostage” so to speak (think about multiple opponents). The other is really for a single opponent, and it involves allowing yourself (and the unlucky person being choked) to both fall backwards. This places an extreme amount of pressure (your body weight) on the windpipe and carotid artery, and it’s dangerous. I would highly suggest only practicing
that version under careful supervision of an instructor. If I choose to use this version, then I will next wrap my legs wound the opponent to give myself even more leverage for applying pressure to the desired area. I will re-iterate though, that the second application is for a single opponent. While it may be effective for taking out one person once you fall backwards, you then have to get up and face the others (if in that situation), which could be disastrous. Still, it remains one of my all-time favorites.
Other Chokes
Another hold that I teach is something called an arm trap choke. Now, this one is based on rear naked choke mechanics. Again, referencing Tedeschi, the rear naked choke clasps the hands together once one arm has been placed around the opponent’s neck (it’s actually one of the easiest to apply, but not the most stable thing for the smaller guy). The “arm trap choke” is based on the same principle, but it waits for the opponent to swing first and gets the arm stuck in there as well. Once you set it in, you get to roll the forearm up into the opponent’s carotid artery; but be sure to duck your head down because he’s going to flail on the way out. If you’ve ever had this one applied to you, even in demonstration, then you know just how painful it is. Someone experienced with it can hit you with a yuk soo do (ridge hand) before entering into the move, making it hurt even more (my students know this all too well). I would also highly suggest finding someone to teach you the front lapel choke and the arm brace choke, which I also find to be extremely practical for ending a fight without taking a swing.
Don’t Swing!
One of the concepts that I constantly try to impress upon my students is that different situations call for different techniques. In most linear martial arts (Tang Soo Do included) the response for an attack is a straight-line punch or kick. Executed properly, a hard shot to the midsection or head can not only end the fight, but potentially send the other guy to the hospital. Believe me when I say I’ve seen it happen. Ever see a nose explode? It’s not pretty. Still, the amount of force that you use has to match the situation, and (heaven forbid) you may one day find yourself in one where the other person has not escalated it to that point. This is where the bouncers I worked with found themselves. They were unable to beat a drunkard into submission, so they had to de-escalate the situation as quickly as possible, and minimize physical damage to the offender. The choke holds worked best for them and it highly influenced one aspect of the way I teach self-defense. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Believe me when I say that this applies to a LOT of concepts in martial arts.
Master Wayne Boozer
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