[5.6.0] Section-5 Kaishaku: Counter to Lapel Grab

[Source:] Uechi-ryu Black-belt

[Rating:] Moderate

Part-1 Attacker: Grabs Lapels (or chokes you from the front)

Part-2 Defender: Fishtail Escape

• “Fish Tail Escape” Shuto strike down on one wrist and ridge-hand strike the attacker’s other wrist upwards. [3.6.c] [3.6.b]
• Trap the attacker’s hand after he/she loosens their grip once you’ve shuto struck one of the attacker’s hands

Theory: Simultaneously striking down on one hand and striking up on the other prevents the attacker from focusing his/her strength in one direction. It is the adversary’s brain function that aids your escape.

Part-3 Defender: Palm-Heel

• Slide down the attacker’s arm and palm-heel strike the attacker’s jaw with the hand that delivered the ridge hand strike
• Grasp the attacker’s neck or head and knee strike.

[Variation-of-Technique] Palm heel strike the front of the attacker’s throat and dig in a tiger’s mouth choke. If your life is still in danger, crush the attacker’s throat and pull forward quickly.

Information: Seisan kata in other systems keep the double shuto strikes in front of the karateka’s body. In the Isshin-ryu version, the rear hand moves behind the buttocks. This change in hand position opens up other interpretations of the situational self-defense.

Warning: The Tiger’s mouth choke should not be taught to children.

Information: I spoke with an ENT doctor, and he acknowledged the effectiveness, in a self-defense situation, of striking to the throat to stun an attacker. One of the great fears of striking the front of the throat is damaging the windpipe and having your adversary suffocate. This doctor had witnessed a great amount of trauma, to the front of the throat, and his conclusion stemming from examinations of these accidents, was that this area of the throat was stronger than you would normally think. This should never be a normal targeted area, but this bit of knowledge shows this a good target area in a life preservation situation. 

[End Series]