Should Wristlocks be Taught in Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Curriculums?
I’ve been practicing martial arts in some form or another for most of my life. Additionally, I spent 23 years in law enforcement, during which time I taught in both a police academy and an in-service setting. My focus was on defensive tactics and the use of force. I instructed what they called “transport wristlocks,” along with other variations that are still taught in academies today. As a young instructor, I didn’t know any better and simply regurgitated the phrases and techniques I could remember from my training. However, I soon realized that these techniques and ideologies were overly complicated and didn’t make sense in real-world applications. As a civilian martial artist, I had also been taught some of these same techniques, but they were always demonstrated in a routine or at low level of resistance.
Let us take a look outside of law enforcement and at the UFC submissions that I could find using Google where a wristlock was successfully used in competition, which was reportedly at UFC 232 where Michael Chiesa submitted Carlos Condit. I couldn’t remember the fight, which caused me to follow up by watching the video. The submission used was not a wristlock but rather a shoulder lock similar to a modified Kimura, which brings me to my next point. The opposite holds true when we look at a shoulder lock like the Kimura that utilizes an often two-armed approach on the person’s one arm and allows you to control much more of the person’s body, unlike the wristlock that focuses on the smaller joint and lever. You can Google “Kimura UFC finishes,” and you’ll find a highlight reel of them, one being the most popular of Frank Mir breaking the arm of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in UFC 140, when Antonio refused to tap. This topic also reminds me of the KISS method, which simply means “Keep it simple and straightforward.” We tend to lose our students and complicate things when we focus on the “tacti cool” instead of the practical. The most successful submission by the way in the UFC would be the “rear naked choke” or what we would refer to as a vascular neck restraint, which is used only in deadly force encounters for most of law enforcement.
We’ve all witnessed our favorite action stars execute wristlocks and other acrobatic moves in action films. But shouldn’t we also see these same submissions and techniques inside the MMA cage if they have a higher success rate for fighters?
In the MMA arena, we observe martial arts emphasizing standing strikes and throws, utilizing various parts of the human body to bring opponents to the canvas. Once there, fighters employ ground-and-pound tactics or submission skills to secure victory. However, it’s evident that the majority of submissions involve vascular neck restraints or more controlling locks like the Kimura.
Occasionally, we witness highlights of martial artists pulling off unique submissions rarely seen in the MMA world but more common on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappling mats, where strikes are not allowed as submission deterrents.
While opinions on this topic may differ, the fundamental concepts and techniques taught should ideally yield a higher success rate. After all, we base our understanding on the examples available to us in MMA and other videos of physical violence as well as our own personal experiences. I welcome your thoughts, even if they diverge from mine. Best wishes to you and your family!
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Author: Blue Shield Instructor Ray Beshirs
Former police supervisor with 23 years in various positions
2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brown belt in Krav Maga
Other various martial arts
Captain at Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orlando, Florida
11 个月Complexity requires frequency, and that is sorely missing from LE training. Some I know have used wrist locks to great success, but they were often very skilled long time Aikido practitioners. That training was on their time and their dime. The vast majority of LE is not willing to engage in that practice. So to your point (I think?), complex is not the correct path with sparse training time and availability. However, the current average training template will be largely ineffective regardless of techniques chosen. No one gains proficiency without repetitive frequency.
Consulting Use of Force Expert, Tactical Medicine, De-escalation, Defense and Control Tactics
11 个月In MMA fighters wrap and tape their wrists. They are protected from hyper flexion/ extension of the wrist. A more appropriate analysis would be from the BJJ and grappling sports. You will find that wrist lock submissions are rare in those. Proponents of wristlocks from police will argue that we rarely deal with trained fighters. There's some truth to that, and sometimes small joint manipulation can work. However, some places emphasize these too much. I've trained with some fantastic wristlock specialists. For them to become that good, took years of dedicated and consistent training. In my opinion, that's what it takes. I think that energy can be spent on other techniques and tactics that can be trained to an effective level in less time.
Hazardous Devices Instructor. Certified DT Instructor. Certified bomb tech. LEO diver. Certified Drone Pilot. Security infrastructure consultant. Explosive breacher instructor. Church security consultant. UC/Intel Ops.
11 个月Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the neck restraint recently get some folks in trouble? I too have been practicing martial arts my entire life. I too am a law enforcement officer for over 30 years. I do somewhat agree with you on the wrist locks but I’ve used them many times to bring someone under control and or handcuff them. True wrist locks if applied properly can bring the entire body down. Remember on the street you can be the best ground fighter in the world. What if he has a friend? It is usually not me against him but me against them. So much more to add.
Wrist locks have never been my favorite, Ray! We really only use them when controlling the release of a handcuffed subject. I feel that the “side-curl resistance/transport wrist-lock” places the officer reeeeeeeaaaaallly close to a potentially uncooperative subject. Great article, salient “receipts.”