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- Apr 2, 2006
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The cross-action method of disarming handguns and knives.
Some call it “Banda y Banda” meaning side-to-side. Others refer to it as a scissoring action. The motion is just this, a scissoring action created by you, the defender. The results can be endless…ahh, the benefits of “conceptual thinking”. Like they say, “teach a man to fish and he’ll eat forever”. Yes my friends, look passed just techniques. Once you learn the principles, nearly any result is possible. You then become your own master.
I first learned this “side to side” from the great Datu Kelly Worden. I learned the motions of moving out of the way, and take what’s given, striking with a knife in one hand and an empty hand guiding the adversary’s weapon hand deep into my blade. Datu showed us how we were readily positioned to respond incase the adversary attacked again. The “Banda y Banda” really is a highly effective method of “entering” and counter-attacking the attacker. It sure works well with a blade in the medium range, lending itself to further “closing the gap” or disengaging completely.
Later, videos of the late Professor Remy Presas showed me the same motions, but this time with a Kali stick. Again the “live hand” was indeed pushing the weapon hand in the direction opposite to which we were moving, and into the weapon we were using. Indeed, this action flows into other follow up motions, leading to the would-be “resolution” stage of the fight. The end.
Quick, dirty and effective, that’s what this is about. The point is to get a desired result from this crossing-action. It can be done with sticks, knives or empty hand. Typically, this is shown as a “disarming concept”, we learn to “de-fang the snake”. Those who don’t know this concept, listen up. By causing a disruption to the adversary’s weapon-bearing limb, we cause the attacker to lose the weapon. Similarly, the snake, once de-fanged becomes non-threatening to our survival on this planet. That’s good!
So we see that by striking an arm with knuckles, a knife or a stick, disarming is possible. Sometimes it causes permanent damage (possibly death) to an adversary (due to bleeding out) and other times it is simply a matter of knocking the weapon out of the assailant’s hand. It all depends on what weapon we choose to use, how we use it and what effect is desired from us, the defender.
The “simple disarm” as we call it, is indeed a simple thing to do. Heck, it has to be simple, after all it’s taught to militaries across the world. If you were to learn just one disarm that you could perform quickly, that works equally well on an adversary armed with a knife or a pistol, perhaps this is it. Sure, this simple disarm is not perfect for every situation, such as someone holding a pistol with two hands, or an aggressive knife attack. However, for a heaping handful of “stationary” threats that occur in rape and mugging situations, this is really good stuff.
“Stationary” empty hand exercise #1-
Have a partner hold the pistol or knife at your face level with one hand. For this brief article we’ll say he’s right handed. Your job is simple-from an “open” position, (arms NOT crossed) now swiftly shear the adversary’s weapon from his hand. The way I recommend this is to fold his wrist inward, so that his palm ends up facing himself.
To do this properly, let’s get your positioning down correctly. What we want to do is similar to clapping your hands, the difference being that your hands do not actually touch. Not at all, if they did, this wouldn’t work! We want to SHEAR our arms, so that after this action, our hands would be crossed, with our right arm forward of our left.
To enhance this “projectile disarm” I promote tucking the thumbs in and striking the inside of the other guy’s wrist with the narrow part of your right hand. Sure, most guys slap the inner arm in a flat motion, but the fact is that you’ll bend those tendons more easily with a narrow strike. A bent or compromised wrist is much easier to disarm! This really is an easy exercise to do. Furthermore, it’s easy to teach yourself to do it against a left-handed adversary. Don’t forget to MOVE out of the way. A pistol can go off quickly, so don’t be in front of the muzzle!
Bonus! Yes indeed, this is just a mere glimpse at the tactical treats that lies waiting for you within these crossing and uncrossing principles. Since we are just dealing specifically with empty hand vs. knife or pistol in a stationary disarm, let’s not forget about the benefits of a “projectile disarm”. The fact is that removal of a weapon does not remove the man. We need to act fast and follow up so that things turn in our favor. A projectile flying into the face (such as a pistol or knife) certainly does surprise and harm the person (so wear eye protection for training).
Done very well, this disarm launches the weapon into the face of our menace. Through proper angling of the hands and adequate applied force, a “return to sender” is quite possible. Variations of this motion can lead to the projectile going into the crotch, foot, the face of the man in front of you, or some other target, such as another menace standing at your side. Sounds wild I know, but it’s true!
As neat as the projectile thing is, we simply cannot rely on it. Nah. In fact I train NOT to rely on this disarm at all. This initial motion is simply a good entry that may or may not send the weapon flying. I definitely recommend a quick “follow-up”, my personal favorite being the “trap & strike”. As taught in Wing Chun and the Filipino martial Arts, this act of trapping is temporarily collapsing your adversary’s elbow region to his chest. This immobilization clears the high line for a head strike, perhaps an eye-jab or punch. From here, you need to disarm that weapon! Many options exist, such as redirecting the weapon towards your adversary or stripping the weapon and then using it as you see fit. Simply running away may also be the thing to do.
Now think about what just took place. Perhaps a gun is pulled on you (right or left side requires turning to face the adversary, so do it cautiously), act somewhat surprised and drop your hands as you talk to him. Say something like “Okay, I’ll give you my wallet, just please don’t hurt me. I’ve got a wife and kids...Is this serious or are you pulling a prank?” Try and put him at ease, to loosen his grip and forget about your hands.
BANG! Out of nowhere you evade and shear simultaneously. Immediately follow up! Like James Keating taught me, don’t think of moves in a “this then this then this” fashion. Rather, think “this WITH this WITH this”. Make it flow to the “half-beat” boogie! It’s like bangbangbangbang vs, bang and bang and bang. The latter is half the speed of the half beat. We want to overwhelm our foe. Search for more knowledge on this half-beat principle, for it is gold.
In conclusion, let’s remember that there is many ways to resolve an assault. Using the shearing principle is just one method. For more information on this topic, one can seek out informational DVDs authored by noted instructors Kelly Worden, Michael Janich, James Keating and myself.
__________________
Noah G. Walt
www.thrustmagazine.net
Some call it “Banda y Banda” meaning side-to-side. Others refer to it as a scissoring action. The motion is just this, a scissoring action created by you, the defender. The results can be endless…ahh, the benefits of “conceptual thinking”. Like they say, “teach a man to fish and he’ll eat forever”. Yes my friends, look passed just techniques. Once you learn the principles, nearly any result is possible. You then become your own master.
I first learned this “side to side” from the great Datu Kelly Worden. I learned the motions of moving out of the way, and take what’s given, striking with a knife in one hand and an empty hand guiding the adversary’s weapon hand deep into my blade. Datu showed us how we were readily positioned to respond incase the adversary attacked again. The “Banda y Banda” really is a highly effective method of “entering” and counter-attacking the attacker. It sure works well with a blade in the medium range, lending itself to further “closing the gap” or disengaging completely.
Later, videos of the late Professor Remy Presas showed me the same motions, but this time with a Kali stick. Again the “live hand” was indeed pushing the weapon hand in the direction opposite to which we were moving, and into the weapon we were using. Indeed, this action flows into other follow up motions, leading to the would-be “resolution” stage of the fight. The end.
Quick, dirty and effective, that’s what this is about. The point is to get a desired result from this crossing-action. It can be done with sticks, knives or empty hand. Typically, this is shown as a “disarming concept”, we learn to “de-fang the snake”. Those who don’t know this concept, listen up. By causing a disruption to the adversary’s weapon-bearing limb, we cause the attacker to lose the weapon. Similarly, the snake, once de-fanged becomes non-threatening to our survival on this planet. That’s good!
So we see that by striking an arm with knuckles, a knife or a stick, disarming is possible. Sometimes it causes permanent damage (possibly death) to an adversary (due to bleeding out) and other times it is simply a matter of knocking the weapon out of the assailant’s hand. It all depends on what weapon we choose to use, how we use it and what effect is desired from us, the defender.
The “simple disarm” as we call it, is indeed a simple thing to do. Heck, it has to be simple, after all it’s taught to militaries across the world. If you were to learn just one disarm that you could perform quickly, that works equally well on an adversary armed with a knife or a pistol, perhaps this is it. Sure, this simple disarm is not perfect for every situation, such as someone holding a pistol with two hands, or an aggressive knife attack. However, for a heaping handful of “stationary” threats that occur in rape and mugging situations, this is really good stuff.
“Stationary” empty hand exercise #1-
Have a partner hold the pistol or knife at your face level with one hand. For this brief article we’ll say he’s right handed. Your job is simple-from an “open” position, (arms NOT crossed) now swiftly shear the adversary’s weapon from his hand. The way I recommend this is to fold his wrist inward, so that his palm ends up facing himself.
To do this properly, let’s get your positioning down correctly. What we want to do is similar to clapping your hands, the difference being that your hands do not actually touch. Not at all, if they did, this wouldn’t work! We want to SHEAR our arms, so that after this action, our hands would be crossed, with our right arm forward of our left.
To enhance this “projectile disarm” I promote tucking the thumbs in and striking the inside of the other guy’s wrist with the narrow part of your right hand. Sure, most guys slap the inner arm in a flat motion, but the fact is that you’ll bend those tendons more easily with a narrow strike. A bent or compromised wrist is much easier to disarm! This really is an easy exercise to do. Furthermore, it’s easy to teach yourself to do it against a left-handed adversary. Don’t forget to MOVE out of the way. A pistol can go off quickly, so don’t be in front of the muzzle!
Bonus! Yes indeed, this is just a mere glimpse at the tactical treats that lies waiting for you within these crossing and uncrossing principles. Since we are just dealing specifically with empty hand vs. knife or pistol in a stationary disarm, let’s not forget about the benefits of a “projectile disarm”. The fact is that removal of a weapon does not remove the man. We need to act fast and follow up so that things turn in our favor. A projectile flying into the face (such as a pistol or knife) certainly does surprise and harm the person (so wear eye protection for training).
Done very well, this disarm launches the weapon into the face of our menace. Through proper angling of the hands and adequate applied force, a “return to sender” is quite possible. Variations of this motion can lead to the projectile going into the crotch, foot, the face of the man in front of you, or some other target, such as another menace standing at your side. Sounds wild I know, but it’s true!
As neat as the projectile thing is, we simply cannot rely on it. Nah. In fact I train NOT to rely on this disarm at all. This initial motion is simply a good entry that may or may not send the weapon flying. I definitely recommend a quick “follow-up”, my personal favorite being the “trap & strike”. As taught in Wing Chun and the Filipino martial Arts, this act of trapping is temporarily collapsing your adversary’s elbow region to his chest. This immobilization clears the high line for a head strike, perhaps an eye-jab or punch. From here, you need to disarm that weapon! Many options exist, such as redirecting the weapon towards your adversary or stripping the weapon and then using it as you see fit. Simply running away may also be the thing to do.
Now think about what just took place. Perhaps a gun is pulled on you (right or left side requires turning to face the adversary, so do it cautiously), act somewhat surprised and drop your hands as you talk to him. Say something like “Okay, I’ll give you my wallet, just please don’t hurt me. I’ve got a wife and kids...Is this serious or are you pulling a prank?” Try and put him at ease, to loosen his grip and forget about your hands.
BANG! Out of nowhere you evade and shear simultaneously. Immediately follow up! Like James Keating taught me, don’t think of moves in a “this then this then this” fashion. Rather, think “this WITH this WITH this”. Make it flow to the “half-beat” boogie! It’s like bangbangbangbang vs, bang and bang and bang. The latter is half the speed of the half beat. We want to overwhelm our foe. Search for more knowledge on this half-beat principle, for it is gold.
In conclusion, let’s remember that there is many ways to resolve an assault. Using the shearing principle is just one method. For more information on this topic, one can seek out informational DVDs authored by noted instructors Kelly Worden, Michael Janich, James Keating and myself.
__________________
Noah G. Walt
www.thrustmagazine.net