About Joint Locks

Joint locks are martial arts techniques that instill pain on an opponent and encourage compliance. The basic principle is to extend joints past the point where they normally stop bending. This is unbearably painful and impossible to ignore. Joint locks allow small and weaker fighters to subdue much larger and stronger opponents.

Types

Joint locks can be performed on any joint in the body. They are usually focused on the major joints in the elbows, wrists, shoulders, knees and spine. By moving the joint the opposite way, pressure on nerves, ligaments, muscles and tendons causes extreme pain. If the person in a joint lock does not comply, the consequence can be soft-tissue tearing, dislocations and broken bones.

Identification

Joint locks are common to many martial arts. Many are devoted primarily to the manipulation of joints locks. These include Aikido, Hapkido and Jiu Jitsu. Mixed martial arts also makes extensive use of joint locks to submit opponents. Joint locks are taught to soldiers and police officers for peacekeeping and crowd-control situations. In combat, joint locks are used to disable opponents. A joint lock to the neck or spine can kill.

History

Joint locks date to the beginning of martial arts. Kung Fu, Wushu and Budo all developed around the principles of joint locks for self-defense. The Chinese developed a study of joint locks called "Chin Na." It breaks down into four categories: "Fen Jin" for attacking muscles and tendons, "Cuo Gu" for pulling joints the wrong way, "Bi Qi" for preventing an opponent from breathing and "Dian Mai" for cutting off blood vessels.

Effects

When a joint lock is applied, the body sends a signal to the brain that imminent danger is posed to the body. There is an involuntary, instinctive reaction to protect the joint being locked. Even very large and strong opponents will panic when placed in a joint lock. A martial artist can grab a single finger on an attacker attempting to choke them and bend the joint backward. Even if the attacker is much bigger than the martial artist, the attacker will stop rather than have their finger broken. The martial artist does not need to fight the entire opponent. She only needs to apply a joint lock to a single finger to end the confrontation. This is the beauty of joint locks.

Warning

Effectively manipulating joint locks requires years of practice. This should always be done with great care and restraint. It is easy to injure a practice partner while performing joint locks. It is tradition to "tap out" when a joint lock becomes painful. All joint locks must cease when the tap on the mat is applied. Do not perform a joint lock in a real life situation unless you have no choice but to break an attacker's bones.