From: jchristian@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: bear hug variation
Date: 19 Dec 92 17:55:10 EST
Organization:  Wright State University 

Okay, I have a question.

Bear hug from behind, trapping arms by the sides.  Normally not a big problem,
right?  But our group questioned the actual attack ("Why the hell would someone
attack you like this?") and ended up with a variation that is interesting.

Bear hug from behind, trapping arms by the sides.  Attacker has lifted you into
the air; arms are trapped just below elbow level and you cannot use the ground
for leverage.  Attacker's head is tucked against your back (near the bottom of
the neck).  Attacker's legs are not behind yours, but they're not evenly
staggered between yours either; they're sort of right next to them.  And the
attacker's grip in front of you is such that the thumb joint of the right fist
is driving into the lower part of the sternum.  (I know that sounded weird. 
But if you take the hitchhiker's hand (fist with thumb pointing up) and then
bring the thumb down so that it the tip is tucked into the crevice created by
the index finger, then you have the fist I'm ineptly trying to describe.  In
this bear hug, the fist is palm down and the thumb joint is driving
perpendicularly into the sternum.  Whew!  I hope somebody understood that.)

Okay.  Now, the trick is that the attacker is not just holding you so that
someone else can attack you from the front.  The attacker is lifting you into
the air because he/she intends to slam you head first into the ground.  Some
complicatons generated by this variation:

(1)  Dropping your weight, slamming their face with the back of your head, and
reaching their hands with yours are all nullified (you're in the air, their
head is protected, and your arms are trapped just below the elbow).

(2)  The thumb in the sternum is VERY painful.  You don't notice being
suspended in the air so much as being attacked in the sternum.  Very difficult
to tear your focus away from the thumb and to the real attack of the actual
bear hug.

(3)  You have about three seconds (a generous estimate) between the time the
bear hug commenced and the time your head is being dropped against the ground. 
Less time if you're being thrown into a wall.

We've found that the best time to deal with the attack is the moment you feel
it happening.  This is obvious, but the complications have already begun, and
the usual nice counters become rather difficult to pull off.  One of our
standard responses to a bear hug is to drop your weight to one side and lift
your arms, which is simple and gives you immediate room to play with, or to
kick your butt out and lift the arms.  The first option is pretty much
nullified by this variation, and the second one is hard to pull off because you
don't really have the leverage to jam your butt out (kinky, but true).

I'm about 5'8" and 140 lbs., but I can take down guys bigger and heavier than
me with this variation (not too much bigger and heavier, mind you, and not too
round).  It's an easy attack to pull off, and it's not too difficult to meet
your goal of slamming the other's person's skull.

Any suggestions?  The stuff we've come up with are sporadic at best (our
instructor can deal with it, which I guess I expect from a 6th dan).  Anything
reliable would be nice.

Thanks,
Jeff

Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts