[quote]Robert A wrote:
[quote]idaho wrote:
ok, enough frivloity, back to work. Stay Safe.[/quote]
Well noted.
In that case here is a mea culpa. I don’t have a lot that could be all that useful to the LEO’s here, because I have never done that job. The following is enough in my wheelhouse that one of the lurkers may find some value. I suspect it is all old news to you, mapwhap, ect.
Earlier in this thread, or a different one I can’t remember, you mentioned being waved off from teaching using a pistol mag as an improvised weapon against someone’s throat. At the time I thought it was a simple, brutal, and effective thing. I am ashamed to say I missed perhaps the best part.
I have written before that I support having a “Fuck off” tool accessible to either hand, for when you find yourself tangled assholes to elbows with someone trying to do you harm. I did and still do support a small fixed blade for this, however training to use the pistol mag has huge benefit.
Most of us carry our pistol magazines where they are easily accessible to the weak/support side hand for speed/robustness when reloading. We also practice “finding” them a whole bunch. In a weapons retention or other situation where the strong side is occupied the support hand already has a shit ton of motor learning at finding the reload. Turning the reload into a yawara could be gold. This is especially true if regulation or available space preclude a dedicated offside weapon, blade, or centerline carry of same.
An additional benefit of the mag as weapon is it is less likely to be a retention hazard. I am thinking of the 2010 incident where Maurice Pierce stabbed an Auston officer with the officer’s own K-bar here. The TDI and LDK are marketed as retention tools for officers, but a good many of them carry the blades in friction sheaths on their off hips. So essentially either hip has something that has to be defended. I am sure the LEO’s here have developed a huge amount of strongside “hip awareness” because of living with a side arm, I suspect the offside isn’t as reflexively guarded.
I don’t know the specific technique idaho was demo’ing, but I have probably done something similar over the years.
In case anyone has only a passing familiarity with yawara techniques I offer the following. It is probably old news. I am not Takayuki Kubota or a teacher of yawara-jutsu.
3 Basic ways of using a yawara/kubaton or improvised yawara that you likely already know how to do.
I am going to recommend just making a fist around the stick or magazine and if you only have enough material to have it poke out on one side of your fist you make it poke out the bottom/pinky side. You can “cap” the other end with your thumb or not depending on preference/shape.
1.) As an aid to gouging - Grind, lever, or press the hard surface of the object into a part of their body that hurts. This is the most publicized way, thanks to the “no permanent injury” marketing for the Kubaton in specific and a lot of martial arts in general. It is also the least likely to be useful if we are down to using our reloads as an improvised weapon.
Not all “pressure” points are created equal and the mechanics of gouging and ripping mean it works way, WAY better when you are in balance and/or in a dominant position. If that is the case you probably aren’t needing to improvise. On the other hand if you are fighting for your life and grabbing around for weapons with your off hand…
There are entire systems based upon Dim Mak or Kyoshu points and how to fuck with them. Most of the training/exposure to this material hasn’t blown my skirt up.
Technique is to just use the damn thing like the worlds strongest/pointiest thumb or finger and poke, gauge, and rip with it. Targets that seem to be the most robust are the eyes, throat/trachea and associated cartilage, ears, behind or under the jaw, and testicles. Sometimes ripping the hard object, as a surrogate for a knuckle, back and forth over ribs or the back of a hand can “Jones” someone into doing something stupid but the kind of person this works on really isn’t the kind of person you should need a weapon in your hand for.
I wouldn’t plan on getting more than a wiggle or shift as a result when dealing with someone intent on making you dead and/or pregnant. Depending on your abilities that shift may be all you need though. Also, if it is all you have room or structure for than fight your fight until you get something better.
2.) As a hand load - The magazine probably adds more weight to your fist than most real yawara so it is not just “hard”/pointy but also a bit of a “loading” for your fist(like a sap glove you hold).
Technique is whatever strike you would be throwing anyway. If you want to hit with the yawara/magazine that is great, if you don’t that is fine too. The only draw back here is that you need the balance/structure to generate a good strike in the first place. IF you are ass over tea kettle that may not be happening.
I suspect idaho’s throat technique was in this category.
3.) As a hard/pointy surface - Pick some sensitive skin and run the mag/yawara into it. I actually think this is the most useful of the above. Option one works best when clinched/grappling and I don’t like to give up one of my “grabbers” unless it is for a piece of steel that can put holes in someone (Another plug for short blades and firearms). Option two may be redundant for folks in good shape who train a lot. This is something else.
The “strike” is almost a pecking motion. It can be more of a jab/snap if at range, but it works just fine as an “arm punch”. If anyone remembers how “wrong” Brock Lesner’s hammer fists were they get the idea. What you are doing is using the rigidity of the weapon, applied to a sensitive area, to give a response. Suggested targets are the eyes or ears. The goal is most certainly not to “end the fight” but to make the person move their head rather than focus on killing you for just a moment.
The protective reflex to pull the head away from a scratch or impact to the eyes is present in almost everyone that is alive. The ears seem to provoke a reaction even in most aggressive and adrenalized folks. In almost every case the person moves their head away from the painful stimulus initially. Use that moment to improve your position and/or bring the actual hurt.
This is basically a glorified metsubishi/distraction strike. It also works just as well with a pen, box cutter, actual knife, or any hard object. Getting their head to move away from you may seem small, but if you are nipple to nipple with someone intent on harm it can be the first step to taking their balance, or it could be kazushi in and of itself. After that it is the same rules as last year. First you take his balance, then you take the rest of him.
I don’t think any of the above requires anything apart from a little work and the type of training most everyone on this board already does. The key is to work it a few times, with some degree of frequency so if things do get that bad it registers as a “potential solution” in your mind/subconscious. The fact idaho had his people reaching for something they were already training to reach for means a good portion of this is a “sunk cost”. And if you already bought that park pass than you might as well go on every fucking ride there.
Train hard.
Please stay safe.
Regards,
Robert A
[/quote]
Robert,
Thank you. Excellent and insightful analysis and totally agree with you on having a “fuck off tool” always at your hand. I am a huge proponent of taking everyday movements or training movements and using them to defeat your attacker.
Masssive Disclaimer: Using physicl force to ram a pistol magazine into someone’s throat should only be used during a violent, LETHAL FORCE ENCOUNTER. You use this in the United States and it causes death or permanent injury, without the force being justified, you will be criminally charged and civilly sued.
Now thats out of the way, It is a simple transition from drawing a pistol and executing a proper reload, to shooting out the primary hand and grabbing the back of the neck, hair, or clothing, performing a “reload” with the magazine and delivering a strike to the throat, eyes, etc. Any everyday item you carry, you will usually perform the same moves everytime to use and secure that item. Example: On my armor, I carry a “GPS Tracker” on my left shoulder. I have turned that thing on an off a hundred times, each time with the same movement. I could propbably whip that out and slam into someone’s face, faster than I could draw my handgun. Remember the old “muscle memory” slang: 3000 movements for an “average” person, 10,000 for an “expert” . A lot of truth in that.
Since we are on the subject of using everyday items for weapons, I believe one of the most important things you can do to give yourself an edge, is to train everyday to be ambidextrous. (I would like Sento’s thoughts on this also) I know , I have made this a top priority over the last several years. Training in Kali showed some glaring weaknesses in my ability to manipulate weapons in my left hand. Since making this a priority, my overall dexterity has improved. Just some thoughts. Thanks again for a great post.
