Joint Locks in Law Enforcement
Do Joint Locks Work in Law Enforcement is the title of an article by Loren Christensen. Most of the article deals with objections to the practical-application side of wrist locks.
A large faction of police officers won’t lock, thinking these techniques completely impractical … and dangerous for the law enforcement official.
Martial artists really appreciate Loren’s books; my favorite is his first one on solo training. My like for Loren Christensen stems from his willingness to help me when I was a fledgling writer. He reviewed my book for The Rap Sheet and then asked permission to have it republished in American Police Beat. It was a great boost from someone so seasoned.
In the article Do Joint Locks Work in Law Enforcement, Loren deals with the same arguments that I have written articles about for years … dangers of moving in close, locks not working when someone resists (I have a whole section on resisters in Wrist Locks), and so on.
A Great Wrist-Locks Tip
When dealing with resisters, Loren also feels that a hit or a kick goes a long way toward loosening up your attacker.
In the article, he gives a great idea for dealing with resisters — something that he had to do, once. Loren suggests stopping the resistance by throwing a mattress over the guy.
He flattens the dude by crunching him to the floor.
Then I can imagine that he reaches for a hand or leg sticking out from underneath the mattress, and then snapping on a joint lock.
What a great concept!
I can’t imagine that it would work all the time, or even very often, but it’s a great strategy to have in your bag of tricks. And of course, it doesn’t have to be a mattress; use your imagination….
Although, I’m not sure there’d be any fight left in the aggressor, if you toppled a giant bookcase on him. 😉
And I am not sure that this tip is super appropriate as a joint lock for law enforcement — imagine having to explain why you crushed the perpetrator with a piano.
Stil, good to know.
Keith
Tags: defense with mattress, joint locks, joint locks law enforcement, loren christensen, police self-defense, wrist locks, wristlocks
