I am grabbed from the from the front, hugged, with both of my arms pinned against me.  The grab is the strategy of the snake, and I will respond with viper snake by delivering two ridge hands to the groin.  (My next follow up move will be crane as I use a left crane hand to brace them for my right knee to their groin.)

Lesson 1: Marriage of gravity to increase leverage of movement.  By dropping your weight first then stepping back with your right foot to your left forward bow you will have much greater leverage in affecting their center of gravity and creating space away from your opponent on the opening move.  If you do not drop your weight and your opponent is holding low on your arms you will likely find that your your right leg went back but your center went nowhere!  

Lesson 2: Weapon proximity.  With both of your arms pinned, frankly your striking options are limited anyways.  However, the ridge hands are already conveniently located near a vital target so no point in making things difficult -- take the easy shot.

Lesson 3: Bracing opponent for the blow.  Our left crane hand pulling down on their right shoulder allows us keep their weight over their feet so we dealing with their knees or kicks and it fixes their weight into a position to force the target to full absorb our strike.  It is not how much power you generate that matters but how much of that energy is actually absorbed into a target.  The bracing insures that retreating is at a minimum so that energy absorption is at a maximum.

Lesson 4: Covering out by clearing your opponent.  The right reverse thrust punch at the end to the sternum is to clear our opponent away from us.  This is assuming we do not feel it necessary to deliver more damage before clearing.  Striking the sternum is an excellent target for moving an opponent backwards.  Hitting below this target area (solar plexus or stomach) would cause more folding of the opponent than actual clearing.  Wait for this sternum punch to be thrown with the actual shift to the forward bow.  DO NOT allow your punch to impact before you have planted from your knee into your forward bow.  (It can start slightly before you plant but should not impact until you have that foot on the ground and are actively driving into that forward bow.) 

METHODS OF DRILL: 

1. You need to have the biggest person in your class squeeze you in a solid bear hug and compare dropping the weight and then stepping back with trying to just step back to the forward bow. 

2. Play with varying the timing of your reaction to when the hold is first being set, almost fully set, and is fully set.  Note -- dropping the weight first is not needed if they are in the early stages of setting the hold.  In this case your expedience in creating distance will serve you better than the lowering of the center of gravity.  Also play with skipping the step back and ridge hand altogether if you intercept earlier in the hold.  The step back and ridge hand is to create distance once in the bear hug but if the hold is not fully applied that right knee will offer significant deterrence! 

3.  Have your partner stand at bear hug range while holding a kicking shield so you can apply the technique with full force.

4. In a "worse case scenario" that the hold is so substantial you cannot even apply the opening move try pinching the inner thigh to create some space. (Still a viper snake strategy.)

WHAT IS IN A NAME? The bear hug (our opponent) is countered (disabled) by our actions.

 


Comments

John Heintz
08/23/2011 19:59

Just read this for the second time. I was dropping my weight, stepping back and hitting with the ridge hands at the same time (because I could and thought I was eliminating a step for efficiency and speed) I realize that made the technique less effective. I worked on that in class tonight. Thanks

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Michael Ernst
08/28/2011 06:02

This is another technique where even though you are using a viper snake strike to a vital target, the strategy and intent behind that strike is to create space, which makes it strategically crane. Each subsequent move either drives the opponent back, thus making it a very crane technique overall.

Also, if you can’t strike the groin or feel it isn't warranted for some reason, you can still create the necessary space placing your hands on the front of the opponent's hips and pressing forward as you settle your weight and step back into the forward bow.

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Dave Campbell
08/31/2011 22:47

2 Things on this technique:

1) A common mistake I see with this technique is that students will often "jam themselves up" on that last punch. The last strike requires good form and alignment for it to be effective.

I understand that the reason students hold back on that punch is because it's a pretty strong punch to the chest, and I respect that. When I teach the technique, I demonstrate that last punch on my students to show that you can deliver the punch as it's intended to be delivered and you can knock the other person clear without hurting them through the use of proper alignment.

2) You suggested drilling this technique on the biggest person in class. What do you suggest when you ARE the biggest person in class (as I often was)?

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Michael Ernst
09/03/2011 12:56

I agree with Dave. Safety is always most important, but part of being a good partner or dummy, is performing the technique as realistically as possible. If you never fully extend the punch and push someone back in training, how can you expect to do it in real life?

As Dave and Trevor pointed out, when practicing this technique you protect your dummy by 1) targeting the sterum and 2) "hitting" with controlled force and alignment. The dummy protects himself by knowing the punch is coming and riding with it as needed.

As for Dave's question about being the "big" guy in class, the simple answer is practice with the second biggest guy. The slightly more complex answer is find the guy the best bear hug. Someone skilled in grappling will not simply grab you and squeeze you with this hold, they will use it to manipulate your balance and position. Skilled grapplers can apply leverage and force through technique that far exceeds their size.

Finally, take solace in the fact that the bigger you are, the less likely it is that someone is going to attempt to bear hug you. If I was over 7 foot tall I wouldn’t spend lot of time worrying how to defend head kicks. Learn what you can from the technique and move on.

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