Ever get hit with a sucker punch?

It isn’t pleasant. Trust us.

Better yet, trust 10th-degree black belt and jujitsu master George Kirby to show you how jujitsu can counter the sucker punch before impact and take down your opponent using vital targets and energy redirection!

Jujitsu is known as the “gentle art” because it focuses on submitting your opponent with speed and ease without inflicting permanent damage. It’s therefore well-suited for law enforcement, mixed martial arts and sparring applications.

In this exclusive martial arts technique video, American Ju-Jitsu Association co-founder and budoshin jujitsu pioneer George Kirby shows you jujitsu techniques to counter a sucker punch! George Kirby outlines two counterattacks to stop the sucker punch and immobilize your opponent using vital targets, energy redirection and pressure points.

The expanded edition of George Kirby’s seminal jujitsu book, Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art, is available now in our online store!

Read more about jujitsu master George Kirby below the video!

Master more empty-hand jujitsu techniques with this
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Basic Jujitsu Techniques: 4 Budoshin Moves to
Improve Your Jujitsu Weapons Training

By 1968, Seki could sense George Kirby’s potential as an instructor and told him and fellow student Bill Fromm about an opening at a local YMCA in Burbank, California. When Kirby pointed out that as brown belts they were too inexperienced to teach, Seki responded, “Now you’re both black belts. Act like it.” And so began the teaching career of one of traditional jujitsu’s most respected and beloved masters.

A year later, George Kirby followed another one of Seki’s suggestions and collaborated with Bill Fromm to form the American Ju-Jitsu Association, which has grown into a governing body renowned for bringing together jujitsu practitioners from around the world. He’s also the founder and chairman of the Budoshin Ju-Jitsu Dojo Inc., a nonprofit educational foundation, and the Budoshin Ju-Jitsu Yudanshakai, a research and educational foundation.

In 1996, George Kirby launched a new jujitsu program for the city of Santa Clarita, California, where he continues to share what he’s learned. Along the way, he perfected his craft in the public-school system, where he taught jujitsu and social studies for nearly four decades.

A prolific writer, George Kirby has penned a half-dozen jujitsu books, and his self-defense essays have appeared in numerous publications, including Black Belt.

In 2000 Kirby reached the pinnacle of his profession when he was promoted to judan (10th-degree black belt).

In recognition of his 40 years of teaching, Black Belt proudly inducted him into its Hall of Fame as their 2007 Instructor of the Year.

Small-Circle Jujitsu — Volume 4: Tendon Tricep Armbars and Armlocks	Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art — Expanded Edition	Jujitsu Figure-4 Locks: Submission Holds of the Gentle Art

You’re walking down the street when someone rushes up from behind and grabs your wrists. Which self-defense technique do you use? In a moment of panic, you realize that you cannot see your assailant well enough to figure out how to fend him off. If you were Jackie Chan, you might leap into the air, spin 180 degrees, execute a high-flying ax kick and escape over a parked car. But you’re not Jackie Chan. You’re just a normal human being constrained by normal human physiology.

You may be a normal human being, but you are also one who can learn from a martial arts master who possesses near-superhuman skills. Before you have to defend yourself for real, you’d be well-advised to partake in the wisdom of that master.

Self-Defense Technique Breakdown

In 1959 a Korean martial artist named Suh In-hyuk founded kuk sool, a self-defense system that is overflowing with methods for defending yourself when you’re grabbed from behind. The specific set of movements is called dee eue bohk soo. Although that is the Korean expression for “rear clothing-grab techniques,” numerous empty-hand-grab escapes are included.

Joe Burnett, a kuk sool instructor based in Wolcott, New York, is a master of these techniques. “There are two critical parts to dee eue bohk soo,” he says. “The first is the escape, and the second is the defensive counterattack. Each one is as important as the other, and both utilize important basic fighting principles.”

Be forewarned that dee eue bohk soo are advanced techniques that require refined joint-locking and pressure-point concepts, Joe Burnett says. To take control of a violent situation, you will need to have at your disposal sufficient speed and knowledge of the proper angles at which joint locks are performed and escapes are effected. You will also need to have developed your ability to function from a low, balanced stance.

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Human Pressure Points: 3 Jujitsu Techniques by
Small-Circle Jujitsu Founder Wally Jay

Executing the Self-Defense Technique

A typical scenario involving dee eue bohk soo could unfold as follows:

An assailant approaches from behind and grabs your wrists. You raise your hands as high and as far forward as possible. That action twists his hands outward, placing pressure on his thumbs and loosening his grip. At this point, you can easily slip loose and attend to the business of defending yourself using conventional kicks and punches.

Now for the details.

According to the gospel of kuk sool, the first thing you should do when your wrists are grabbed from behind is step backward with one leg so your foot is behind the assailant’s foot.

This movement accomplishes several things:

First, it places you much closer to the attacker and lessens his leverage. The assailant will expect you to pull forward in an effort to fight against the grab, and that sort of reaction would give him increased leverage and control. When you step backward, however, you reduce that leverage and take away much of his power.

Second, stepping back as you move your hands forward positions them in front of your body. That means you will probably be able to see exactly how your attacker is holding you. Of course, if you so choose, you will also be able to see your own hands as they perform the rest of the dee eue bohk soo.

Third, repositioning your arms in front of your body means you must exert momentary pressure against his muscles. That can give you a quick measure of his power.

Fourth, stepping behind the attacker’s leg sets him up for a trip, throw or some other takedown. Moving into his space immediately shifts control of the situation from him to you.

Strike Back

Kuk sool teaches that the next phase of this martial arts technique is to open your hands and spread your fingers as wide as possible. This action is intended to augment the circulation of ki (internal energy) in your hands, fingers and wrists by expanding your tendons and ligaments.

The energy boost strengthens your wrists and helps you extricate them from the grab. Although spreading your fingers does increase the muscle tension in …

Based on their acclaimed best-selling book of the same name, Jean Jacques Machado and Jay Zeballos’ highly anticipated three-DVD set, The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques, serves as a martial arts multimedia companion wherein the two Brazilian jiu-jitsu masters demonstrate takedowns, chokes, holds and submissions in living color and in exhaustive detail. Filmed at the Jean Jacques Machado Academy in Los Angeles, this set will offer multi-angle coverage (front, three-quarters and overhead) of each technique with step-by-step instructions, contextual explanations for each technique’s application, and an optional on-screen subtitle track with page-specific book references for an even deeper learning experience!

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU DVD TRAILER VIDEO
Jean Jacques Machado and Jay Zeballos’ Upcoming Three-Disc Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu DVD Set Demonstrates Techniques Found in The Grappler’s Handbook: Gi and No-Gi Techniques Book

Special features in this set will include the following:

• Jean Jacques Machado’s Belt-Promotion Ceremony, Featuring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Icon Rickson Gracie
• Behind the Scenes of Shooting the Printed Book
• Previews of Black Belt Martial Arts Books and Martial Arts DVDs
• Optional Subtitle Track Detailing Corresponding Page Numbers in the Printed Book

Techniques featured in this set will include (but certainly will not be limited to) the following:

• Closed Guard to Back Control
• Gi Choke Using Sleeve Control
• Omo Plata Reversal When Opponent Posts One Leg
• Guard Pass Defense to Brabo Choke
• Arm Drag to Back Control to Rear-Naked Choke
• Progressive Attacks From Leg-on-Shoulder Closed Guard
• Double-Underhook Pass to Crucifix
• Leg Sweep Butterfly-Guard Pass
• Side-Control Escape Counter to Armbar
• Tripod Choke
• Anaconda Choke From Turtle Top
• Jumping to Closed Guard
• Butterfly Guard
• Arm Trap to Shoulder Lock to Strikes
• Reversal From Closed Guard
• Standing Guard Break With Pass
• Triangle Choke From Open Guard

DO YOU HAVE THE BOOK? … NO???!!! … STEP UP TO THE MAT!
If you’re interested in these upcoming DVDs, the book on which they are based is available in our online store! World-renowned teacher Jean Jacques Machado highlights the secrets behind gi and no-gi techniques for martial artists of all levels to successfully transition between styles.

Jean Jacques Machado has won every major Brazilian jiu-jitsu title in Brazil. Renowned for his grappling skills, the world-champion BJJ instructor shares his winning strategies with you in his new book, The Grappler’s Handbook Vol. 2: Tactics for Defense, available today!

The Grappler’s Handbook Vol. 2 teaches you how to defend against the most dangerous submission tactics and strengthen your attack strategy. Learn how to execute defensive strategies and BJJ techniques to ensure escape with color photo  sequences and detailed instructions.

“Jean Jacques goes over a variety of different options on how to properly defend yourself from submissions, back control, the guard, amongst other common positions you may find yourself when getting dominated by your opponent.”

—Monta Wiley, USCombatSports.com

The Grappler’s Handbook Vol. 2: Tactics for Defense includes subsections for easier referencing and sidebars illustrating proper and improper postures on the mat while performing these techniques.

“In this book, you won’t find any tricky or advanced ways to protecting yourself. However, you will be enlightened on some basic fundamental techniques that will help you easily learn, retain and apply the moves highlighted in this book in your training.”

—Monta Wiley, USCombatSports.com

Learn how to tune in and anticipate your opponent’s next moves and defend yourself against them before he even has the chance to try.

With Machado by your side, you’ll have the confidence to escape any BJJ position or submission!

About the Authors:

Born in Rio de Janiero, Jean Jacques Machado captured every major Brazilian jiu-jitsu title in his home country before moving to the United States. Upon arriving, Machado dominated the local and international tournament circuit, eventually winning the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. Today, Machado is one of the most admired and respected grappling instructors in the world.

Co-author Jay Zeballos is a Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009 gold-medalist black belt under Machado. He has been training with him for more than a decade.…

For the last move in our jujitsu techniques series, check out the very first jujitsu weapons technique George Kirby learned.

Here is what the jujitsu master had to say about it:

“Believe it or not, this was one of the first techniques I learned under Seki and it was for a knife thrust. There are lots of body movement and footwork skills that are learned in the process of executing this throw properly. Does it work? Ask one of my black-belt high-school girls who was attacked with a knife at a bus stop and broke the attacker’s wrist.”

Jujitsu Technique No. 10: Basic Hand Throw

Japanese Translation: TE-NAGE

1.) Assume a ready position as you are threatened with a knife.

2.) Pivot your right foot back, thus moving your body out of the way of the straight knife thrust. (Note the arrow indicating the movement of the right foot.) After his knife hand has passed your left hand, reach for the wrist of his knife hand from behind.

3.) Your left hand grabs the attacker’s right hand on top of his wrist—so he can’t bend his hand— with your thumb between his third and fourth knuckle on the back of his hand. (See inset 3A.) Both thumbs may be put between his third and fourth knuckles, or you could strike his knife hand with your right kneecap to dislodge the knife.

4.) Step forward with your right foot as your right hand strikes the back of his hand with your thumb still in place.

5.) Pivot your left leg back (as indicated by the arrow) in a counterclockwise direction and push his bent hand with your right hand.

6-7.) Turn his hand in a counterclockwise direction while you continue to pivot your left foot back until you bring your opponent down.

8.) For a wrist-snap or elbow-snap submission, place your right instep tight against his right armpit with your foot on the ground and his elbow just below your kneecap. Keep his wrist bent down (and his arm straight) and turn it to the left as you turn to your left. Have your left leg away from the attacker for balance.

9.) If the attacker still has the knife, take it away from him before releasing him. For the submission (see inset 9A), place your left thumb next to your right thumb behind his hand. This hold also can be used for the throw.

George Kirby’s Top 10 Jujitsu Techniques

Technique No. 1: Shoulder-Lock Hip Throw

Technique No. 2: Rear Leg-Left Throw

Technique No. 3: Basic Drop Throw

Technique No. 4: Elbow Lift

Technique No. 5: Shoulder-Lock Come-Along

Technique No. 6: Shoulder-Lock Rear Takedown

Technique No. 7: Sleeve Pivot Throw

Technique No. 8: Outer Rear Sweeping Throw

Technique No. 9: Armbar Rear Throw

(George Kirby is the author of Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art —Expanded Edition. He is also the co-founder of the American Ju-Jitsu Association, an educational foundation, as well as a tactics consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department and organizer of the popular Camp Budoshin in California.)…