johnwang wrote:I made a short video to show 2 different ways to grab on your opponent's wrist.
1. Your tiger mouth is facing toward yourself.
2. Your tiger mouth is facing toward your opponent.
What's your opinion on this?
Considering two arms there seems like 4 ways you can be grabbed; ex. left arm by his right or left, or left by his right or left. The responses would be mirrored -- but perhaps not if you have a strong side in your style. In any case, the situation is more complex when you consider that your hand could be up or down or other factors such as opponent to the left or right. So in truth there should be at least eight different basic situations you will face with a grab to the wrist alone; specifically, assuming your right hand, (1) his: left and right, (x2) each one could be thumb facing or away from you (x2=4) on the top or bottom (x2=8). If you want to be fancy, include him to the right or left (x2=16). Thats 32 basic situations, or 16 mirrored.
But the situation is actually more complex than this because most of the time the grab is in motion. This introduces a chaos factor that makes it very difficult to respond to a grab. Most people could handle the basic four types but in special circumstances or if done by suprise, especially if it leads to a lock or control, or even as origami mentioned most of the time two hands could be involved in various ways. Then a grab can be exceedingly difficult to break out of. Because quite simply you can't think fast enough to figure out what the heck is going on (where is the weak thumb, where is the tiger's mouth, which way do I step, etc) and also because with so many variations, the possibility of a feint or set-up, etc, you simply do not have time to think in order to come up with the correct response.
Thus I have developed a secret technique of kung fu in which the escape from the grab is not based on how you are grabbed but by the pressure and direction of the grab control by your opponent. By initially going along with the grab. So basically if the control shape looks like the letter S you go along with the flow but pull them into the letter C where you can terminate safely in a control of your own.
To outside observers, this looks like a "mechanical trick", and can often be taught to beginners in as little as :10. But to understand what is really going on under the hood and pull out the appropriate response without thinking in the heat of the lock, can often take between one and three years of daily training. More if you hope to pull this off against someone who has experience, in that case some people report that they do not achieve success for as many as six years.