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Punishing Stiff Arm Elbow Shot

For When You’re Caught Off Guard

This technique is great for situations where an attacker has the jump on you. The stiff arm portion of the technique stops the attackers momentum and provides protection for your jaw line. The elbow shot allows you to get inside and deliver devastating close range strikes to gain the offensive and end the fight quickly.

The Stiff Arm

There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind in order to properly pull off the stiff arm:

  • When you use the stiff arm you need to make sure you have a stable stance and are on your toes with your knees slightly bent so you can absorb the impact.
  • If you try to use the stiff arm while you are on your heels, you’ll be pushed over or thrown off balance.

This stance will also enable you to spring back on the attacker to throw him off balance as Jim explains in the video. Once you’ve landed the stiff arm, you’re ready to move on to the elbow shot.

The Elbow Shot

For the elbow shot portion of the technique remember to keep your free hand up to protect your head and use your hips and torso to develop power in the elbow strike. The power comes from your core not your arm.

If you manage to deliver two powerful elbow shots to the attackers jaw and face it will without a doubt stun him and it’s very likely that it’ll end the fight. If you follow up with the horizontal hammer fist and the opposite arm elbow strike it’ll be a done deal.

Remember- don’t stop striking until the threat is gone and leave the area quickly to avoid retaliation from the attacker’s friends.

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69 thoughts on “Punishing Stiff Arm Elbow Shot”

  1. Great tech. Thank you. I’m handicapped and walk with a cane due to permanent injury to my left knee. Any suggestions?

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  4. Wkd its fast and its fight fast wot more can you ask for i teach my 6 year old girl all the moves and see got a mean elbow

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  7. Used it almost 40 years ago in the South Bronx, N.Y.

    Rest assured, it works with a big dose of adrenaline.

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  14. BEAUTIFUL Technique! You don’t need a lot of strength, just that quiet steely “moxie”, that the will to live and the additional confidence that a move like this will give you. THANX Zo

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  15. Little energy expenditure, high impact. I’m 80 and 5’6″. It’s one I’ll practice. I forward some of these to selected students with attribution if that’s all right.

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  18. Hey guys this is Jim West. I first would like to thank you for your comments. I am 60 years old now and learned a lot both in the ring and about 25 years of street fighting. Now days I make every effort to avoid fighting, however, I still train and consult. Also I have a tell all book coming out next year, my memoirs from military and civilian life.As I get older I have been refining my techniques to what works in close. I have also spent a lot of time working on a fighters intuition. How to recognize and avoid conflict and how to engage when you have a motivated attacker. As our econmoy fails and we witness the erosion of our middle class, crime is on the rise. It is time to stay prepared through training and practice. The more real world the better. If I can answer any specific question please ask.

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  19. Den, through the years I have trained with many different people. Bill “Superfoot” Wallace had a severe knee injury and became a world champion kickboxer wearing a serious knee brace. I guess you could talk to your Doctor about the best brace to stabilize your knee for some protection. Learn how to use the cane as a striking weapon. Bill explained to me once that with a bad knee he dedicated his training to practice from a position limiting his kicks from one side. He managed to develope one of the fastest round kicks ever as well as two other kicks all from the identical knee angle. The advantge for Bill was if he threw 3,000 kicks a week for practice all of the kicks and angles came from 1 knee poistion allowing him to perfect this technique. It is different for all. You have to learn from what striking angles you can best perform strikes at the same time minimizing the range of moton to what works. There are several technical and physical considerations for sure. Find out what your best position of strength is and develope your defensive/offensive stratagy from that distance, position and from as many angles as you can. Don’t waist time on techniques that you may never master. Work with what your body offers and add resistance to your training. HIT HARD!

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  20. Hey Bob; I have only one comment to make ! That is reguarding the Vet. That defenede him self against an attacker, and lost his job for that action, they should give hin a medal, and deport his BOSS 1

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  21. Thank you guys for showing up. I agree about any combat vet. Before they start locking them up, they should first determine the level of action and PTSD. Most Vets are not prepared to walk away when they feel cornered and threatened. For most this will menatlly elevate them to a condition red i.g. life or death.

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  22. FYI, Mary the culture should always be keep it simple and keep your moves up close and effective. Most avoid head contact, but I was raised as a head hunter. The quicker you can disupt someones intent and aggressive actions with pain, the more you are able to complete.

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  25. Hey guys my internet was down for 2 days. If you have shorter arms there are several things you can do. One is to get in more of a crouch position. make yourself as small as you can, still maintaing your balance and leverage, You have more power punching up than punching down. If you oponnent atempts to get to you level it will make his legs tired first or he will have to lean over to hit you. By leaning it makes your punches shorter, robbing one of his reach. If he does practice a lot this also exposes your attacker to unpretected chin shots and hook punches to the head. You may also have a takedown advatnge. Don’t be affraid to go low. Here is a fight blog link
    http://fightfast.com/blog/2014/07/a-fighters-intuition-by-jim-west/#.U8lMMbEuI9Q

    You can get my dvd’s from TRS and they have other good talent as well @ TRSDIRECT.com

    Reply

  26. Everything Jim teaches just makes sense! no fancy moves just plain and simple pain delivering blows that will allow you to survive a real fight.

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  27. Jeff, life is simple, if you can survive the initial onslaught by crashing his party loll i.e. slightly bend you knees and stay balanced and able to push back, ride out the attack or side step maybe passing to the rear of him, you can easily set yourself up for a victory. Most of it is in our mind set, you can’t be affrad to hurt somebody if you have to. That includes biting, eye gouges and maybe more. Sounds like you may have been in a few battles.

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  29. Jim, outstanding vid and always a pleasure to see a true gentleman equipped to respond to the many cads we unfortunately may encounter.
    You may already have done so, but it would be wonderful to see a defense response to a perp who is running full speed directly at you for an attack. How does one best use the forward momentum of the adversary?

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  32. Very professional & ? straight to the point… Well done guys!!! You show how everyone can protect themselves quickly & defensively… Thanks so much!

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  33. Here in the UK we’re increasingly aware that a fit young man can be killed by a single punch from somebody with no training or skill. It could get legally classified as Murder, especially if you own a “Master Of Destruction” DVD full of nasty fighting techniques. If you have training or skill, okay but you need to be totally Non-Violent until somebody forces you to change your mind.

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  36. Excellent technique. Especially against people who are used to slack resistance…big guys who never had to learn technique.

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  39. I have learned watching your videos that the basic ideas are to grab these perks and deliver before they can. Its the grabbing I like……

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  45. Absolutely brilliant. This is the missing piece to my martial arts jigsaw puzzle. Now I know what to do I’ll be practicing this daily on my B.O.B. Thanks Jim, keep em coming. Jeff

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  47. Great video Jim West is a good instructor I’ve got a great deal of respect for the man even though I’ve never met him he breaks it down for you real simple it’s easy to learn with or without a sparring partner thank you for the great video and thank you Jim West for your service

    Reply

  49. I love the way that Jim says to keep punching until they are no longer a threat.
    I have witnessed people lose fights because they have given the target what they thought was a really good hit, one that there is no recovery from and the target has prevailed, taken the “really good hit” and then beaten the tar out of the man who should have been the victor.
    The only way I end a ‘friendly’ fight is when the target can’t get off the floor, in a lethal fight if I can’t see what the target is thinking with, it’s not over.
    It is pleasing to hear someone say “keep punching”, that is the secret to winning a fight, just don’t stop.
    Very well said Jim and you explain potentially complex situations very well. I enjoy your work. Thank you.

    Chris …

    Reply