for john wang and other headlockers...

[johnrieber]

headlock. it's instinctive and it works pretty damn well in a one-on-one.

how do you personally get it? what are the entries and setups you've learned from painful experience not to attempt? what are you paying attention to, to get the sweetest headlock possible? and is there such a thing as an 'internal' headlock?

i know i sound like i'm trolling or something. but i'm really not. i think i must be having a senior punk moment.

[bigphatwong]

off a right:

Hook Punch (or slap to the ear) - Elbow Strike - Headlock - Tai Otoshi (Body Drop)

It's a natural progression and flows really well.

[Josealb]

One thing i want to ask Fong or John, about this..

The last time i headlocked a training partner i got two quick taps in the kidney with his free arm, that made my day. I know theres not much power in that position and i know he got lucky (he wasnt aiming there)...but is there anywhere around this?

[Ian]

what are you paying attention to, to get the sweetest headlock possible?

-for my 'non-locking' arm to be working as hard as the locking arm
-to crush whatever I have; if I don't have the neck, to squeeze the guy until his jaw/nose/cheekbone feels like it's about to break
-to kink the neck in addition to locking the head

[RobP2]

Also move - don't keep the guy static, but shake or move him around

[johnwang]

Either drag his feet forward with you or spring one of his legs to force him into a bow arrow stance. This way it will be harder for him to pull you back. The key is to "put your opponent's head right in front and under your chest". Also use another hand to control his free arm. It will have less pressure on your opponent's head but this will take most of his counters away.

[bruce]

i love head locks!

you can see some examples here of some entries etc that i use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0TDZpJM ... annel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdmSCzk ... annel_page

i refer to my head locks as hugs.

[GrahamB]

One thing i want to ask Fong or John, about this..

The last time i headlocked a training partner i got two quick taps in the kidney with his free arm, that made my day. I know theres not much power in that position and i know he got lucky (he wasnt aiming there)...but is there anywhere around this?

Heh

I remember the Fong headlock well! It's a bitch!

My natural reaction to it was to sink my weight to stop him throwing me (and avoid going into a bow/arrow stance) and punch him in the balls. Like Bruce, he's bigger than me so picking his leg up wasn't really an option, and I didn't want to go to the ground with him still having the headlock on me - that would have been game over.

What to do? The kidney shot didn't seem to be available to me, but the balls shot was. I didn't want to be a dick and just punch him hard in the balls so I warned him I was going to do it, so he was cool with it and he tried grabbing my punch as a counter. We did it a couple of times. I managed to stay on my feet and he eventually let go, but I think we just arrived at a stalemate rather than anything decisive either way.

There's a picture somewhere on the Net

It's interesting - there's no way I'd want to headlock somebody bigger than me, like Fong - I think I'd just end up getting lifted up and dumped. It's quite nasty getting headlocked - as always the thing to do first is not panic, and try and fix your own posture as much as you can - that make a big difference to what you do next.

[Josealb]

After seeing John do some tree hanging, i really dont think theres anything you can do to get out of that.

[johnwang]

Since the head lock may be the most common used move in SC, there are more counters to head lock than any other moves. Counters such as.

- tie
- embrace
- send away
- spin
- sharpen
- eyebrow mop
- under hook
- ...

But counters are only the 50% and Gong is the other 50%. Without Gong, no matter how perfect that you execute your counter, it may not work as you expect. Since you and your opponent's body are connected, your intention for your counter can be sense very easily by your opponent's Tinjin.

[qiphlow]

Heh

I remember the Fong headlock well! It's a bitch!



There's a picture somewhere on the Net

[nianfong]

the kidney shot is not available if it's done right. the free hand that graham has, I should have wrapped up when i moved in, but I was being sloppy haha.
either way, if he starts trying to resist like this, you turn around and use an inner hook when he sinks his weight down. depending how things go, I might have to go down with it, and we were just playing around anyway

[johnwang]

My natural reaction to it was to sink my weight to stop him throwing me.

I'll suggest the opposite approach instead. You should straight your legs as much as you can and lift his feet off the ground. The harder his head lock is, the easier it is for you to pick him up. His head lock will become your free contact point for your embracing. When you sink and bend your leg at your knee joint, your opponent can help you to sink down even more by making your leg bend side way instead of vertical downward. If he twists on your leg and then "sit" on it, since your knee is bent side way, it could crash your knee joint and that may cause some permanent injury. The moment that you sink down and bend your legs, it will be very difficult to recovery from it if all your opponent's weight will crash down on your knee joint. The human's knee is just not very strong side way.

[Josealb]

Graham, why the hell are you wearing glasses? lol

[Josealb]

Only Sifu Z can pull that off...