Self-Defense: Escaping Headlocks

Series Summary

Self-defense is a system of combat techniques used to prevent another person from causing harm to your person or property. There are many forms of self-defense including women's self-defense, karate, judo, jujutsu, tae kwon do, and other forms of martial arts. Some forms of self-defense teach non-violent techniques like verbally de-escalating confrontations in order to avoid the use of force, but most utilize strikes, throws, locks, punches, kicks, elbows, and other close combat attacks. In this free video series, an eighth-degree black belt will demonstrate a number of self-defense techniques to protect against various attacks. Escape from headlocks, Full Nelsons, wrist locks, chokes and prevent from getting picked up. With these martial arts tips and techniques, self-defense will become a strength to lift the heads and build confidence in any person who has ever felt physically threatened.

Video Transcript

"Hi everybody, I'm John Graden, from the Martial Arts Teachers Association. Let's talk a little bit about self-defense. We're going to demonstrate a defense, against a Side Headlock. Understand, every situation is different. Things that could affect this: Are you on the beach? Are you covered in suntan lotion? Is it wintertime? Have you got a jacket on? So we're just going to show you a basic defense against a headlock, and then we can go to work on various scenarios and variations, so joining me is my good friend Moss, who's going to choke my head with a headlock. Whenever somebody grabs you, the first question you have to ask yourself. The first thing we want to do is, two questions we're going to ask ourselves. Number one, what targets are available? Well, that's interesting. His groin is available. I can reach in between his leg and pinch real hard. I can reach up here, and grab his eyes, so there's lots of targets available. Number two, what weapons are available? While he's squeezing my head, my arms are available, so I want to make sure that I'm using my arms, to attack his target. What I want to have happen, is that, as soon as Moss grabs me, it's like he grabbed a hot pan. He wants to let go real quick, and one of the best ways to do that, is to reach through, grabbing the testicles, and squeezing as hard as you can, or sometimes you can just grab the inside of the thigh, and twist real hard. That will get him to jump, but let's imagine he's squeezing pretty hard, and he's still holding on. The first thing I do is turn my chin towards him, to relieve the pressure on my neck, so I can breathe. Second, I'm going to reach up, out by his ears, and if he has enough hair, I'm going to grab a hold of it. If he doesn't, and he doesn't in this case, I'm going to go to the inside to the eye. When you practice this, do it on the forehead, but in reality, I'll be digging my middle finger right into his eye, and scratching the back of his head. As I push back, I'm going to step this leg around, peeling him away. Notice my balance. I'm in a good Horse Stance, maintaining strong balance. I've taken his balance away, and I've established mine. This hand is free to strike the groin, or come up high into the throat. One more time. He grabs my head. Arm up, into the eyes. Step around, pull. Smash the groin. Smash the face. I'm John Graden, with Moss, and that's defense against a Side Headlock.Thank you."