Weapon Dissarming
A realistic view
Over the years many articles have been written for martial arts publications on the subject of disarming a weapon wielding attacker. Each system has their own methods and ideas. Many top class martial artists have shown in photo strip their particular techniques for foiling a weapon assault, with what looks like relevant ease.
This article would like to draw your attention to the dangers of weapon disarming and the essential physical and psychological skills needed to have a chance in a real situation.
The tactics, tips and techniques I mention in this article are from the system of Ju Jutsu I teach here in Bristol called Kempo Goshin Jutsu, but they are by no means unique, nor do I try to suggest that my techniques are better than another art.
Surviving
What I do know is that I train people and drill them in my particular ideas to give them every chance of surviving, through realistic attitude and approach and spending hours training with and against all manner of street weapons.
The subject is not treated lightly or as a few magical tricks. Weapon disarming is a science, an art in itself.
For the sake of the length of this piece, I will discuss methods of dealing with an attack with a club or cosh, although the majority of the tactics and concepts discussed are relevant to most weapons.
So firstly lets make no mistake disarming an assailant in highly dangerous, not impossible but extremely hazardous. Even 25 years martial art experience or a 5th Dan black belt does not guarantee anything whatsoever.
This situation requires more than just a few physical techniques. You must cultivate the right mental attitude, you must accept the dangers, accept you may be hit, cut, stabbed, etc., accept there may be blood, pain, fear, panic, then learn to blot all that out and have just one thought, survival. Keep that single minded attitude that whatever happens you will fight on and win, you will not be victim.
Positive mental attitude can be trained by realistic practice in the Dojo or training hall. train intensely against all weapons from all angles and scenarios, put yourself on the line, pressure test yourself, perfect regularly those disarming skills and realise this is a life threatening situation not some game!
Too many instructors treat the subject of disarming lightly. At the end of a session they will produce a club or knife, have a student attack them in some fashion, flip them over and take away the weapon, then get the class to try. The said instructors are doing themselves and their students a grave injustice as well as cultivating a false sense of security. A few disarming tricks every few months will not give you any chance of surviving a weapon attack.
Constant, serious and intense training with realistic techniques are the only way to stand a chance, notice I said ‘chance’ - there are no guarantees !,br> With defences against a club or a cosh, most people will agree that maybe it is a less psychologically frightening prospect than a knife but you still must understand the injuries a club can inflict.
A club can be anything from a baton, piece of wood or pipe to a scaffold bar or a hammer. They are called blunt instruments used to bludgeon the head/neck area mostly.
Cosh
In the films you see the hero clubbed over the head with a cosh or the butt of a pistol and ten minutes later he is up and running around like a two year old with no injuries or side effects, taking on the badies and getting the girl.
Mild Blows
In the real world a hard blow to the head will result in anything from concussion, compression, skull fracture, unconsciousness, coma or even death. Mild blows will inflict cuts, bruises, headaches, double vision, dizziness, nausea and upset of balance, definitely not healthy prospects and all will give you severe problems with continuing to defend yourself.
Again we must be aware of the dangers and be mentally tough and conditioned to accept them. Next step is to get to know the types of weapons you can be attacked with, don’t only learn how to defend against them but also learn how to use them.
You will then learn their weaknesses and strengths and the different ways they can be used. When training start off with dummy ones then progress to real ones.
(This must be done under strict observation of the instructor as this practice can be very dangerous)
Live Weapon
By using these methods you can psychologically de-sensitise yourself to facing a ‘live weapon’ furthermore, you will learn to make sure you are getting out of the way properly and avoiding the weapon in addition it gives you a keen sense of safety at each stage of your chosen technique.
The advantages a club wielding attack will have over you are -A greater reach with the weapon than without it, a much more lethal impact than if it was the bare hands and a psychological edge from having a weapon and you not having one.
Remember also you are not fighting a one armed man. Obviously the weapon arm is a priority to control but remember don’t place yourself in a position where the attacker can use his other or his feet, knee, head, etc.
Many of the fancy ‘come-along’ control techniques just don’t work against a hardened street attacker. If he isn’t instantly subdued he will gouge for your eyes, knee your groin, butt your face, etc. if there is an opening. Any weapon disarming systems that rely solely on locks and come-along’s should seriously analyse their techniques, as should any other arts that could fall victim to the ‘one-armed attacker’ syndrome.
Remember you cannot be sure what the attacker is like. Is he wielding a club as just ‘front’ and ‘bravado’ or is he going to stove your head in? Will he submit after your first blow, lock, throw, etc. or will he come back twice as hard fighting?
The Kempo Goshin Jutsu theory on disarming is if you have no choice go in hard, fast and brutal, do what you have to , to eliminate the threat. As I mentioned previously, this is no game. It can be a life or death situation, he longer you fool around grappling, locking or subduing, the more dangers you will face.
You must get it over as fast as possible.
Also, going up against a weapon is your last resort, no matter how skilful you think you are. Too many so called ‘experts’ have ended up in hospital or the grave, carrying that foolish attitude with them.
Use anything at hand to help you in a pub, club, etc. use a chair to defend and cover then kick low for groin, knees, shins, or push a table into attacker’s legs to unbalance them and buy time. If available throw pool balls or pick up a cue as an equaliser.
Throwing a heavy ashtray is also a good option and as a last resort throw your pint into attacker’s face (what a waste) then kick the groin. In the street dustbin lids are great shields to foil attackers and also great ‘frisbees’ to throw and escape.
These tactics are all ‘sound’ and are what real effective and sensible martial arts are all about. Remember we are not fighting for points or trophies and there are no rules. If you are bound by a set of rules or ethics be warned that you will perish in the street. If some of you reading this think these tactics are not martial arts then get ‘real’. These tactics have been used for centuries in one form or another…they work!
Out of commission
When you have no choice but to go up unarmed against a club attack then you must go in totally ruthlessly and put the attacker out of commission quickly.
The following techniques and concepts come from the Kempo Goshin Justu sysem that I teach.
If you have room then try to avoid blocks, a lot of traditional blocks will not work in a real situation. If I had an enraged man storming at me with a piece of scaffold bar intent on bringing it down on my skull I would not choose to stand my ground and use a rising block or X block, you would find nine times out of ten the scaffold bar stuck in your head and your arm broken.
Even a large man would find this method of defending extremely difficult.
Opener
If you have time and room I recommend intercepting the attack with a hard low line side kick to the knee cap. With your body leaning well out of the way, then close in with a knee strike to body and face, grab weapon arm and execute a fast sweep, throw or break the arm joint. Alternatively, use as an ‘opener’ a hard front thrust kick to knee, bladder or groin, then close the gap.
If the blow comes in a downward fashion move to outside, parrying or deflecting weapon arm down and away from you, then secure a hold on weapon wrist and follow up with hook punches to kidneys, elbow to base of skull, a knee thrust to base of spine, followed by forearm smash to break elbow joint and drop weapon.
Or, you can execute a hard, fast choke/strangle or neck lock or from the rear use a double palm slap to ears or reach between legs and grab testicles, squeeze, rip and throw opponent onto face. If you move inside a blow to the head, enter fast, parry/block arm out and down then wrap your arm around attacker’s elbow to trap and lock then you can smash a palm heel into his chin/nose and a quick knee to the groin, follow it up with a sweep or throw.
You can also move in and smash a horizontal elbow into face then go for a fast elbow dislocation and follow up strikes.
If the attacker is much taller than you as you enter instead of elbow you can knee the stomach or uppercut to testicles, as his head comes down and forward either butt it or pull it down into another knee, then smash your forearm into his elbow joint to break.
In Kempo Goshin Jutsu when confronted with weapons we avoid locking joints to control, it is safer to use fast joint dislocation so the weapon drops quickly, we have many varied and effective ways of doing this, that can be combined with rapid fire strikes and throws and takedowns.
Deflect
Again from a swing to the head you can enter fast, deflect the arm out and down and drive your free hand into the windpipe with an outer hock throw (major outer reap) this is a devastating combination.
If you have little room and you must block, move in to meet opponent’s limb so you don’t take the full force of the blow, try to damage their arm aiming to block/strike to forearm nerves, biceps and triceps to deaden muscles and hopefully drop weapon.
Close range elbows to arms can be extremely powerful, also don’t overlook biting to exposed fingers and hands if you are really close up.
If opponent winds up a big swing, with timing you can duck under blow and if you have the necessary skills you can up end the attacker with leg and body tackles then get into a mounted position to choke/strangle or strike.
When opponent is on the floor and may still have a weapon in hand do not overlook stomping the hand, or arm to disarm and follow up. Joint locks work well when opponent is stunned on the floor. There are many ways of bending his elbow against your leg/shin or thigh to get them to drop a weapon.
These are just some ideas from my own personal techniques and concepts, they are by no means the full picture.
Realistic
So in closing I hope this article has sparked some thought and interest and may get you to re-examine weapon work and make sure you are giving it the time and realistic approach it deserves, one day it might save your life!
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