Advanced Insights

Wrist Grabs by Jon Van Cleve

Wrist grabs such as in Crossing Talon and Gripping Talon, are not the kind of grabs you will probably experience. This is because, as a trained martial artist, you hopefully wouldn't let someone walk right up from the front and grab your wrist.

JVWG_FrontGrab.JPG (16895 bytes)
Classic Crossing Talon grab

What might happen instead is that you bump into each other and he grabs your wrist as you turn, which can then bring you into Crossing Talon.
JVWG_Bump.JPG (17023 bytes)
Starting with a Bump
JVWG_CrTalon.JPG (17071 bytes)
Come to Crossing Talon

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At this point, if you make the pin and step into the opponent, depending on the situation, you might find yourself in danger. (For example, his elbow, his other hand, or one of his legs might be free to strike you.)
JVWG_StepIn1.JPG (15942 bytes)
If you step in to the attacker
JVWG_StepIn2.JPG (15458 bytes)
you might be in danger
JVWG_StepIn3.JPG (15714 bytes)
because you are in contact range.
So, instead, you might want to execute a wrist lock and then step back, changing his width, depth, and height to control him.
JVWG_StepBack1.jpg (16641 bytes)
When he attacks,
JVWG_StepBack2.jpg (16236 bytes)
execute the wrist lock
JVWG_StepBack5.jpg (15423 bytes)
and step back,
JVWG_StepBack7.jpg (16790 bytes)
controlling him.

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Or, if the person tries to grab your hand, you can perform Circling the Horizon before he gets it.
JVWG_Circling1.jpg (18100 bytes)
When tries to grab,
JVWG_Circling2.jpg (18419 bytes)
move, parry,
JVWG_Circling3.jpg (18950 bytes)
and punch.
JVWG_Circling4.jpg (19403 bytes)
(Circling the Horizon)

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Next, if the attacker comes to you from the side, grabs your wrist, and tries to push it up your back, you can come around with your elbow to his head. Then, if you want, you can follow that up with a check and grab to his arm, followed by a rear kick to his midsection.
JVWG_Side1.jpg (17701 bytes)
If he side-grabs
JVWG_Side2.jpg (17788 bytes)
and pushes up,
JVWG_Side3.jpg (15965 bytes)
you can spin and
JVWG_Side4.jpg (17145 bytes)
elbow him.
JVWG_Side6.jpg (15804 bytes)
Check, grab,
JVWG_Side7.jpg (16597 bytes)
then rear kick.
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The above attack, you might notice, turns into the same attack as Locked Wing. So we can also perform that technique.
JVWG_LWng1.JPG (16743 bytes)
After elbowing,
JVWG_LWng3.jpg (18295 bytes)
perform
JVWG_LWng4.jpg (16931 bytes)
Locked Wing.
If that person makes a gesture toward you from the front and tries to suddenly grab your arm, you can also simply parry and punch him in the head.
JVWG_Punch1.JPG (18134 bytes)
When he grabs,
JVWG_Punch2.JPG (17925 bytes)
just parry
JVWG_Punch3.JPG (17724 bytes)
and punch.

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Finally, another of the many possible variations is that he might grab your wrist from the front and try to lift your arm into an arm lock.
JVWG_ArmLock1.jpg (19474 bytes)
He can grab your wrist
JVWG_ArmLock2.jpg (19892 bytes)
and lift your arm,
JVWG_ArmLock3.jpg (19777 bytes)
applying this arm lock,
JVWG_ArmLock4.jpg (19223 bytes)
which is very painful.
You can counter this by breaking his arm lock and elbowing him in the head.
JVWG_AMCounter1.jpg (17878 bytes)
As he lifts your arm,
JVWG_AMCounter2.jpg (17602 bytes)
counter-grab his arm
JVWG_AMCounter3.jpg (17441 bytes)
and press down.
JVWG_AMCounter5.jpg (17627 bytes)
Then elbow him.

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