One of the widely misunderstood concepts of joint manipulation – as it pertains to Krav Maga – is the idea that we must apply maximum force to a joint.
This can often be seen in the way many Kravist approach weapons takes, more specifically edged weapons. For our purposes, maximum force implies that there is a powerful, yet one directional approach to “forcing” the joint to comply. And in this process, we see this approach and those that employ it struggle.
Most joint manipulation, with few exceptions, is better achieved through the activation of what I call – constant directional pressure. The term defines itself. But to achieve and maintain constant directional pressure, a Kravist must apply force on two planes – often seen in weapons takes as a push/pull combination (although there are other multi-place directional combinations that are not precisely opposing).
In the video below, I am fooling around – truth be told – in explaining how this concept can be extrapolated to a joint throw or a takedown – where the best choice is often comprised of these opposing movements. Check it out…
