German police use wrist locks on protester

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The German police have employed wrist locks on a protester, promising to release him if he stands and walks. However, the protester is engaging in passive resistance; he’s neither attacking nor attempting to flee, but simply refusing to comply by staying down and using his body weight to resist. Despite the intense pain from the double wrist lock, the man remains unfazed and has even wet his pants, likely from being in the situation for an extended period. His commitment to his cause appears to outweigh any physical discomfort.

This scenario highlights the limitations of pain compliance techniques, which aim to induce compliance through inflicted pain. Such methods can be ineffective against individuals who are either highly committed or in an emotionally heightened state, as they may choose to endure the pain. The police could have opted for dragging the protester away, achieving the same result without causing pain. This suggests that a more effective approach for law enforcement would be to focus on mastering basic, fundamental grappling skills rather than relying solely on pain compliance techniques.

How Police Training Got It Wrong: The Failure of Wrist Locks & Armbar Takedowns

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00:05 – Intro
01:44 – Citizens arrest a man – what methods do they use?
02:21 – What are wrist locks and armbar takedowns?
03:36 – How do they differ from other methods?
04:10 – Arm drags are not equivalent to armbar takedowns
04:28 – Performance in combat sports
04:44 – So why do police train this way?
06:08 – Why do we teach police this way if it doesn’t work?
07:17 – Fighting is impossible to understand without doing it.
08:14 – Discussing examples
09:41 – Safety concerns
11:43 – Do wrist locks and armbar takedowns have any use at all? 12:41 – What should we teach instead?

School staff use armbar takedown on intruder

When an unknown man entered school grounds in this French school, a staff member used an armbar takedown to restrain him.

This clip displays two central issues with armbar takedowns:

  1. Control on ground – When the video begins, the staff member is controlling the arm while ignoring the man’s core, which allows the man to stand up;
  2. Injury – When he does stand up, the armbar takedown is effective but causes injury, slamming the man’s head into the ground, and a pool of blood is forming as the video ends.