Japanese Physical Training/10

by H. Irving Hancock

CHAPTER X

ADVANCED TRICKS OF COMBAT

One of the best tricks that can be used for the development of all the muscles is one that can be used, also, at times, for self-defence. This feat is one that could not be well employed on an asphalt sidewalk or on a hard roadway. It originated in Japan, where nearly all athletic "stunts" were then performed upon the grass. This trick is known as "throwing over the head."

Attack the opponent by seizing him by the lapels of his coat. At the same instant raise the right foot against the inside of his left thigh, and as high up as possible. As a part of the same movement hop as close to the opponent as possible. When this has been accomplished, throw yourself over backward to the ground with as much force as can be employed. The opponent is sure to go over the head of the

THROWING AN OPPONENT OVER THE HEAD.

assailant. When the fall is being made the leg that is employed against the adversary's thigh should be quickly and rigidly straightened out at the same moment that the throw is made. In this way the leg will be made to act as a lever and the throw cannot be resisted. City dwellers may practise this throw upon mattresses; livers in the country will find the hay-mow in the barn a convenient place for practising this feat.

It is not to be understood that the trick just described is intended to be used merely for purposes of self-defence. It is most valuable for the strengthening of nearly every muscle in the body. It is not to be recommended as an exercise for those who have serious heart trouble. The Japanese, on account of their mode of living, develop but little heart trouble. Persons who are afflicted with cardiac diseases may employ this exercise once in a while, but the results are to be noted carefully, and if the fall causes the least discomfort around the heart the exercise must be given up, or else its use must be greatly lessened.

It must not be inferred that this exercise will produce trouble where it does not already exist. The feat is so popular with the jiu-jitsu instructors, and is considered to be of such value, that it is generally taught in the sixth or seventh lesson. A very little practice will show the investigator how much this exercise can do for the strengthening of the muscles. The assailant must remember always to tauten all the muscles that are employed. The man on the defence has no counter beyond employing the arm-pinch that is shown in the illustration. While he cannot avoid going over his assailant's head, the man on the defence, if he employs the arm-pinch to the best advantage, will find that his chances are improved vastly if he has secured an effective arm-pinch. While the two men are struggling on the floor each should endeavour to employ whichever of the feats described or discovered seems to meet best the demands of the situation.

By the time that the student has gone thus far he is taught to try the throat-grip. This is a very simple and effective method of choking an adversary. Both hands are employed in the grip. The assailant makes a lightning-like

THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD OF TAKING AN ADVERSARY BY THE THROAT.

If the grip is secured the adversary is defeated every time.

movement with his hands, seizing his opponent inside of the collar. The second joint of each forefinger is pressed against the "Adam's apple" of the man attacked, and so severely as to effectively strangle the man on the defence. In the illustration the man who is attacked is shown to be defending himself by employing the forearm pinch. It is well that this way of seizing the throat be employed frequently for practice. The development of agility in the performance of this feat is of the utmost importance to one who wishes to know how to defeat his man. Yet great caution must be used, as, when the pressure is too long sustained, it is possible to cause death. There is an instance within the author's knowledge where a man who had newly learned the trick came very near causing death through apoplexy by the severe employment of this trick. In practice bouts pressure for three or four seconds will be enough. The continuance of a severe pressure for twenty seconds would be dangerous,—that is to say, for the beginner. A Japanese who has taken sufficient punishment of the throat is able to perform a very remarkable feat. He lies upon the floor, a heavy bamboo pole is placed across his throat, and three men on either side are allowed to press the pole as hard as they can do by any means against his "Adam's apple."

It would not be well for the beginner jiu-jitsu to attempt such a test, but if he perseveres, using the throat-grip more and more as he goes on with the work, he will find that ultimately his throat will resist any ordinary attack that can be made. In that case he will have natural defence against any usual attack on the throat.

There is a simple way of countering the throat attack. The trick is so easily executed that it is impossible for the opponent to maintain a throat-hold. When the throat is seized the hands of the man on the defence should be clasped tightly in front of the body, and then the arms thrown up energetically from the left side against and over the arms of the assailant with force enough to break the hold. This method of defence is so simple and effective that the strongest throat-hold can be broken at once. If the man who is breaking the

HOW A THROAT-HOLD IS THROWN OFF WITHOUT DIFFICULTY.

throat-hold wishes, he can force his adversary's arms away over, and then can use his clasped hands in landing as ugly a blow as he wishes under the other man's chin.

The principle of the use of the tightly clasped hands is taught most thoroughly in the Japanese jiu-jitsu schools. The blows that are possible are employed for many purposes of defence. They are used, whenever practicable, for forcing away any assailant who has secured too close a clinch. One of the best of these blows lies in the use of the clasped hands for striking a vigorous blow squarely against the solar plexus. The same blow may be employed against the pit of the stomach. There are times when the blow can be used against the heart—but this never should be done unless self-defence sternly requires it. When the hands are clasped in this fashion a very ugly blow can be administered by striking the wrist of the nearer arm against the side of the waistline. The blow should be given smartly and with instant rebound.

By very gradual degrees the Japanese student is taught to employ the same principle in systematic attack upon his comrade's abdomen and also upon the solar plexus. Pressure, rather than the blow, is employed upon the abdomen. At first this is the rule in assailing the solar plexus, but this part of the body will stand a sharper blow than will the stomach. In time the abdomen itself will withstand a very heavy blow. The stomach muscles of a Japanese master of jiu-jitsu appear to be almost as hard as iron. His solar plexus becomes practically an invulnerable spot. He does not dread the attack against either abdomen or solar plexus, and this condition of physique is brought about gradually by constant practice in the blows that are delivered with the clasped hands.

At the sides the blows with the clasped hands are practised, at first, with a good deal of moderation and caution. By degrees the student finds himself so hardened in muscle at these points that he can endure more and more forceful blows. There is a wicked blow that is not to be recommended unless the student finds himself in a position where he must defend himself at any hazard. When he can succeed

THROWING AN OPPONENT OVER THE SHOULDER.

in going under his adversary's outshot left arm it is possible to strike a blow with the edge of the nearer wrist at the base of the spine. The result of the blow is likely to be the breaking of the spine of the one so attacked. A blow equally wicked may be delivered with the edge of the hand—of course, the little finger side.

A trick from which considerable amusement may be derived is the throwing of an opponent over the shoulder. It is better that the throw be made over the right shoulder. The illustration shows the best position for the making of the throw. Of course, much must depend upon the way in which the assailant finds it possible to make the attack. In throwing over the right shoulder the assailant, standing at his opponent's left side, seizes the opponent's left arm with both hands, as is shown in the illustration. The method of taking hold is shown. The assailant, after having secured the hold, and having pinched the victim's wrist and arm muscles in the usual style of pinch, makes a sudden twist to the right in such manner that his intended victim rests over the left side of his rump. The rump gives the leverage that is effective if the assailant gives a quick twist forward, bringing his victim over his shoulder, and at the same time bending the wrist severely. The throw should land the victim on his back. When the fall has been accomplished the assailant should land with one knee, preferably the left, in his antagonist's solar plexus, and the throat-hold already described should be employed for reducing the victim to submission.

Another trick that may be practised frequently to advantage is the one shown in the next illustration. The assailant, standing at the left, seizes his opponent's left wrist, and jerks the left arm over the back of his neck. At the same time the assailant employs the flat of his right hand to push away the adversary's head. There is opportunity for the man on the defence to use his unemployed right hand in striking a heavy blow. But it will be seen that the assailant has his right leg in front of the left of his intended victim; and in the attitude in which the two men stand it is easy for the assailant to make a throw before

HOW AN ATTACK MAY BE WARDED OFF BY A CLINCH OVER THE SHOULDERS.

the blow by the man on the defence can be delivered.

No one who will practise sufficiently the feat to be described now need be afraid to attempt the disarming of one who is trying to use a weapon upon another. The illustration shows a man who has drawn a revolver upon another man. The third man, who wishes to prevent a murder, leaps forward either at the side or from the rear. With his right hand he seizes the wrist of the would-be murderer's pistol hand, giving in the same instant the most vicious wrist-pinch he can employ. Also in the same instant the peacemaker employs his left hand to secure a firm pinch-hold at the middle of the upper arm of the man with the pistol. Considerable strength must be employed in jerking the would-be murderer's arm up and over backward. As the man's hand is brought down behind his back a swift pull will secure the weapon from him. This is a feat that should be practised often—always, of course, with an unloaded revolver. A few trials are needed before the idea is grasped, but every repetition of the attempt makes the task of saving life under such circumstances more easy. The author, while seated in a hotel lobby reading his newspaper, was able once to drop the paper, spring forward, and instantly take away the weapon of a man who had drawn it for use in a row over politics. It was the first time the author had had occasion to use the feat in earnest, but it is an excellent trick to know, and yet it is valuable when it is employed merely as a means of strengthening the muscles and of increasing agility and dexterity.

None of the feats described can be made of value merely by looking at the photographs and reading this text. Every one of the tricks must be practised with great patience and frequency. No one of them can be mastered in a single practice bout, but many of them may be acquired after a few attempts. When a student has acquired one thoroughly he should pass on to another that seems more difficult, and devote most of his time to this one—but should always go back for frequent practice of the feats of which he believes himself fully a master. Eternal "keeping at it" is what

THE METHOD OF TAKING A PISTOL AWAY FROM ONE WHO INTENDS TO USE IT.

counts for him who would make himself expert in jiu-jitsu. Mention was made in Chapter IV. of the coat-sleeve trick. A fuller explanation will now be offered. In making the attack the assailant throws his hands forward, seizing the upper ends of the lapels of his antagonist's coat. Care must be taken by the assailant to get both of his arms inside the arms of the intended victim. If the man attacking throws one arm around the outside of one of the arms of the attacked man the assailant loses much of his advantage. It will be easy to understand how the one on the defence may use his enclosed arm in a vigorous outward movement that will do much to break the hold. Once the clutch on the lapels has been secured, the coat must be yanked instantly down until the sleeves confine the victim's arms tightly at a point just barely above the elbows. Then firm hold must be maintained. In resisting an actual attack, if the man who is employing the coat trick finds the leg trip described in Chapter IV. to be impracticable under the circumstances, he may secure instant advantage by using his knee to give a violent jab into the victim's abdomen. But the Japanese seldom employ this latter blow—it is a dangerous one unless self-defence imperatively demands it.

THE COAT TRICK.

Used for reducing an antagonist to helplessness.