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Grabs: A Simple Joint-Lock Solution

Here’s The Thing…

Grabs are really dumb moves by your opponent. Why? Because they aren’t really that much of a devastating technique because they lack aggression to the point of sending the message that the person grabbing you actually hasn’t fully committed to the idea of inflicting serious pain on you. They are, however, building themselves up to that decision. With that in mind, the moment they grab you, it’s time for you to act.

Some Background

Before we break down how this works, I want to share with you what made me write this in the first place. My young son (15) came home from school a couple days ago expressing that a good bud of his got pushed around a bit at school. They are both freshman on campus, and, as you can imagine, the seniors can be a bit intimidating due to their physical size. This is often paired with overconfidence, but that’s another blog entirely.

Anyway, my son’s friend got grabbed by the shirt and shoved around a bit by a kid who amounts to little more than a “bully”, and I seriously dislike bullies. So, here we are.

The Truly Dumb Part

Here’s the truly dumb part about attacking like this though… The attacker isn’t just giving you their hand—one of their primary striking tools—they are also communicating exactly where it is. This is to your distinct advantage. Obviously, you are inclined to use their stupidity against them.

Breaking It Down

  1. Do NOT back away from the grab. In fact, secure it by taking your off-hand (the hand that is opposite the shoulder that is being grabbed) and reach over on top and secure or trap their hand to your chest, essentially securing the grab.
  2. Use your last three fingers and your thumb to secure a grip on their hand.
  3. Once you’ve secured the grab to your chest, step backwards slightly while simultaneously turning your body to twist their wrist upside down, all-the-while maintaining the grip. In fact, as you twist to escape the grab and lock their elbow and wrist, I strongly advise you to bring your other hand up to secure the grip.

The combination of extending the distance slightly, turning your shoulders, and securing the grip with both hands will put you in a position to either escape or inflict further damage if needed to secure your own safety in the moment.

How To Pick Locks. (Who Needs Keys?)

You may find this shocking, but picking open a standard "tumbler" lock, (like the one on your front door), is pretty damn easy when you know how it's done.

And in a "meltdown" survival situation, (once the smash-n-grab crowd has stolen everything not tied-down), the food and water and secure shelter will all be behind locked doors, (which explains why Special Forces are often trained in lock picking... and why they carry a set of lock pics with them).

It's a lot of fun learning this skill, (it doesn't take long)... and kinda nice to help out that buddy locked out of his house after the wife discovered what really happened on that "no money down" real estate seminar in Vegas.

>> Check Out "Lock Picking Kit" Here. <<

The Joint-Lock Grip Has
Two Key Elements

  1. Your grip will be significantly more effective if you do NOT employ the use of your index finger. Learn to use the fulcrum created between your thumb and the opposing last three fingers of the same hand.
    Part of training this is simply to learn to point your index finger as you grip any part of a body. When gripping an opponents hand, your three fingers should securely wrap around the meaty portion of the edge of the opponents hand.
  2. Their middle “birdie” finger/knuckle is the key spot here. That’s the magic button that secures their compliance through pain. Applying pressure to the other knuckles will result in little gain. That middle knuckle is the one that gains their full attention. Refer to the video for a more detailed demonstration.

Where’d I Learn This?

Randy Wanner and Bob Taylor demonstrate this move in their TRS/Fight Fast DVD titled Fighting Chance: Secrets Of The Modern Warrior. Wanner is a Hwa Rang Do Black Belt with amazing skills and is an absolute master of using joint-lock moves to control and gain the compliance of an adversary.

Don’t forget the fairly universal standard regarding “use of force” laws. That is, you can use only the amount of force necessary to remove the threat or escape the situation. Assuming you are successful in applying this technique, your adversary will be in a highly vulnerable position for you to inflict further damage. Make good choices for your future too. 😉

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162 thoughts on “Grabs: A Simple Joint-Lock Solution”

  3. always a treat bob thanks for every tip you give, im still learning from the 7 dvd’s i have from you all good stuff

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  6. That looks very useful I wish I used this move back in High school thankyou for this video Bob I would love to try what you showed us in this video.

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  8. Great moves. I have daughters that I think these responses would work for. Sadly, girls are bullied by others girls too.

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  9. Ah, the famed second version of the kiba dachi wrist flex, the first technique taught in most jujutsu ryus. One very important point, however is NOT to put pressure on the knuckle. It is simply too easy for a larger and stronger opponent to pull out. To achieve the most pain and control you want to put your thumbs directly in the CENTER of the back of his wrist. Now for the key ingredient. Bring your hands to your “one point” (the center of gravity in your body) and DO NOT try to control him from there…..remember that in EVERY martial art EVERY technique starts from the hips. Too often beginners “over” twist the wrist and create more trouble for themselves. You want to hold his hand with your fingers in the Middle of the back of his hand with his fingers pointing straight up and KEEP that hand directly down in front of your tanden or center of gravity…then by moving with your hips you can do most anything you want with him. If you feel he could create more problems for you once you let go, raise his hand while increasing the “flex” in his wrist and drive that arm sraight toward the ground….you can hold him forever in that position. If he gets too threatening or troublesome simply tell him to look away from you. A little more pressure with your thumbs and he’ll do so quickly…then have someone get a teacher or police officer. But don’t let him up until someone in authority arrives and can see you simply defended yourself.

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  11. Very simple move. A white belt joint lock. A couple things need to be done though. Your grip needs to be around the wrist not the meat of their hand. if around the meaty part of the hand your attacker can easily pull out of the grip.By being around the wrist with your fingers you have the smallest portion using the wide meaty part as a lock. Secondly your thumbs need to push between the bones on the back of your attackers hand, this puts pain and better leverage.

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  12. I’m interested in his final statement about ‘opportunity to escape / take it and go’. It strikes me that, once you’ve executed this move, you’ve got a problem. Yes, you control the person, but what do you do with him? If you really just want to get away, how do you do that and not have the person — perhaps even angrier now — pursue? Do you wait for the person to cool off?

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  13. Bob, all of you videos have been great, but there is something very universal, magic even about this instruction. I could imagine especially many women get grabbed and should really know this technique. Your instruction is so clear and the problem so relevant i think this video could draw many more people to you, if more widely known. Best regards Craig

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  16. This is an excellent example to protect you if your grabbed. I learnt this in the British Police Force but that was a long time ago and it has brought back memories so thank you for this treat as u fever know when u may need it.

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  17. Useful move – brilliantly explained by Bob Pierce. I keep buying the dvd’s that he
    recommends even though they usually cost me an extra £13 to get them through the UK
    customs! I keep remembering the Boston Tea Party!

    Best wishes

    John Watson

    Reply

  18. Your thoughts would be appreciated on this move. Same setup, step slightly outside and hammer fist hit inside wrist with right forearm and simultaneously hit above elbow outside with left forearm. Probably not for High School … very likely to snap the elbow. Cheers.

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  21. I practiced this with my son who is very much larger and stronger than I am,he is a very physical man .. he was taken down over and over to the point enough was enough.. all the options you point out are real.. good move. the video and explanation are very clear..

    best regards and thankyou.. Dude McLean

    Reply

  22. Hey Bob,

    You know these free video clips you send are so GOOD and USEFUL, why don’t you just add a donate button to the page?? I for one would Paypal you something on a regular basis…

    PS I am a flyweight 60-year old with a black belt in karate from long ago, and you are showing me everything they never taught us, back in the dojo. What a public service!)

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  23. Another great video and explanation. Been doing taekwondo for over 15 years and judo since I was a kid. Great for sport but not always effective in the street or real world.

    What you present is real-world protection techniques. Please don’t stop. There are many of us good guys/gals that just need a few seconds to react and defuse a situation so we can escape and are not seeking to inflict pain unless prompted to so to create that get away opportunity.

    Thanks for all you do for us.
    RF Rudnick
    Secretary General, PA Taekwondo

    Reply

  24. Combining this lesson with the one of using your heart rate as a trigger mechanism really brings everything full circle. It makes me think specifically of taking action before your heart rate explodes through the 115 – 145 and you lose all dexterity.

    Best instructional website I’ve seen on the topic yet. Thank you and keep up the nice work Bob.

    Reply

  25. I am now 79 years old and was cornered by more than 1 opponent & once by ten (racial) for no reason at all. They just wanted to get the first white person to come out of the theater (me) & this was on a military base in Wyoming (USAF). They surrounded me & all I had was a Zippo lighter I opened it up & was going to gouge the first person That came
    too close to me. (1955) Then one of them shouted, I know him he is allright, They backed off & dissapeared in the night. Thank God. They could have hurt me bad. They were caught
    that night by the Air Police. All other fights I bluffed my way out of. I wish then that
    I had your emails, they would have put me more at ease. I really do not want to hurt anyone but sometimes it may not be helped. Keep your emails comming. I read & study them aall. They make me feel more safer. Thank you ==== Ross

    Reply

  26. Bob,

    This is the really good stuff. Difficult to find those who train these moves. Highly useful they are – Yoda talk – ha 🙂

    Do you know anyone in the Denver area who teaches this type of stuff?

    I love to have DVDs but few will train the details of these joint manipulations.

    Your time is appreciated.

    Susan
    720-620-7137

    Reply

  27. I did this once in my younger days cept it was a guy who was trying to slap my head… guess my quick reflex caught the hand in time to yang it back & twisted him to the ground till help came to calm him down.

    I’m liking all the move you guys have.

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  28. Nice simple move. Fast, smooth, and once it’s under way everything happens so fast that they usually don’t know what’s going on. Thanks. You and your friends have some really good ideas that may come in handy should someone find themselves in a “tight spot”. Best thing to do though is to practice these moves, like you have recommended, until you can execute them flawlessly. Now, the thing is to be able to remember them if and when that time of need should arrive and that is were the practice comes in…to hopefully burn them into your mind to re-enforce them. It’s been my experience that these “Bullies” usually want to use some hands on technique like grabbing the front of your shirt and with your technique above you may have a better chance of “Matriculating them from your school of Hard Knocks.” Really you are being nice to them when you stop to think about it as you could probably do a world of hurt to them should you decide to. Again, Thanks Bob, I like to read/watch your writings. I think you will do some good for someone one day and you probably won’t know anything about it. Best Wishes. – GDH

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  29. Bob, you are a good speaker. I wish I was as good at public speaking as you. I’ve watch your explanation of this technique and I am amazed at how well you demonstrated this technique. Someone, somewhere, may one day have need of this information you have presented here and be able to save “His/Her” a_s in the real game of “Jeopardy” thanks for your efforts.

    Reply

  30. My folks had me taking judo karate and jujitsu from the time I was 8 years old. I am now 60 years old. I still feel like I could hold my own for a short period of time. lol I still remember a lot from way back then. I find your techniques very effective and easy to learn. Thanks for all you do.

    Reply

  31. This move really is very useful for anybody who is in a fistfight situation. I was in something like that short while back and the only thing it occurred to me was grab his hand and kick his leg to the point the opponent could not recover quickly and I had the chance to walk away from the scene, otherwise, everybody will gather around for more action. Thanks for your advice.

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  36. This technique was a favorite of mine as it helped me deescalate many fights as a police officer. It works and works well. Once you have that upper hand you always want to maintain it as the person you’re using this on will gladly comply as long as you keep the torque coming.
    Thanks for this valuable tip.

    Reply

  37. Bob you have a genuine passion for the work that you do and it shows.You articulate and instruct your subject matter well and that is what separates the men from the boys!I must admit I was not aware of the three finger grip,sans index finger, that you alluded toward but thanks to you I will now use it with confidence.Keep up the good work!You and your team do make a positive difference with respect to self defense.

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  38. good move Bob, I used it at a pub with good results. unfortunately I was banned from the pub for 3 months. I hurt the pub owners son who was being a squeezer(wanker).

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  41. I wouldn’t let another inside personal space { awareness } and a solid kick is as effective as. Effective move though.

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  43. This could be really effective for woman to woman combat, too. I feel threatened by some of the black women where I live and I want to be prepared to defend myself. I’m not going to put up with any of their PC crap. Thanks, Bob

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  44. This is what I have been talking about. It’s easy to train to devastate others, but that is legally and morally crossing a line. I see so many people think it’s cute to humiliate others, but that’s being a bully and feeding one’s ego. Agree or not, but I feel women are trained routinely to go too far and it’s easy to be viscous with less intimidating people, but against a brutal or criminal type, it’s a different story. There has to be flexibility in technique and mindset. We can’t just beat people to death or be too nice in other instances. Thanks Bob for touching on this.

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  45. Great advise,well thought out even to the point of not being as we say ” bloodthirsty”. You just put us in a position to be safe ourselves and escape any damage if possible. Thanks Bob

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  47. This is fantastic.Thank you so very much. Was in this type of situation not so long ago. My boss man ended things before I could react as the other guy had reached around him and the boss pushed him backward avoiding contact.
    I really do appreciate these videos since I’m unable to purchase them and though I oversee state prisoners it’s only part time and neither the state nor the county will provide training. Guess they figure @ 72yrs old it just doesn’t matter.
    Just thanks.
    Jim

    Reply
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