The Bearhug Primer

Subtitle: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Bearhugs *And Were Afraid to Ask in Class

The bearhug can be a bit of an odd attack. It rarely happens without a preceding or subsequent attack, and unlike almost every other choke and grab our Krav Maga system addresses, there is no immediate danger with a bearhug. Well, that is, unless you’re grabbed by E. Honda (or Mr. Washee Washee)…

To clarify, hands around your throat present an obvious and immediate danger: if you don’t react to remove the hands, your life is in peril. The bearhug in and of itself, in most circumstances, is not a direct threat to your physical safety.

So…

Why would anyone grab you in a bearhug?

Most commonly, it is a secondary attack, typically by an untrained person.

You’ve seen it countless times: some hooligan starts swinging wildly, he closes the distance or becomes too fatigued to punch, and he latches onto anything within reach. At this point, the fight devolves into a backyard wrestling match. There will surely be awkward headlocks involved as well.

Defense: Our Level 2 Bearhug Defenses based on position and proximity.

The attacker is trying to take you somewhere.

You’ve seen this too. A van comes to a quick stop, a masked thug jumps out, snatches someone up, and throws him or her into the van. Yes, the stuff of movies, but this is a very real, very common attack especially against women.

Defense: If you’re fast enough to react before the lift, our Level 2 Bearhug Defenses based on position and proximity. If you can’t prevent the lift, our Level 3 Bearhug Defenses.

The attacker is holding you in place so someone else can hit you.

Creep #1 is holding you from behind, pinning your arms so that Creep #2 can tune you up with a pool cue.

Defense: This is an oversimplification of a very dynamic situation, but this is the basic strategy: Depending on who’s closer, either deal with the guy holding you first with our Level 2 Bearhug Defenses, then deal with Creep #2 ; or give Creep #2 a big boot to the chest or groin, then get to work on the bearhug defense. In either case, don’t forget to “stack” the attackers and be mindful of the room.

The bearhug is a setup for a takedown.

From the front or behind, there are several simple, effective takedowns that are set up by the bearhug.

From the Front:

From Behind. This video shows the Valley Drop (Tani Otoshi) starting from the front, but you can surely imagine how quickly this could be done from behind to someone unsuspecting:

Defense: If you react quickly enough, our Level 2 Bearhug Defenses will stop the takedown from the front. A surprise snatch and dump from behind, however, is very difficult to defend against, so you’re most likely going to have to fight your way back up from the ground.

The attacker really is big enough to squeeze the life from you.

Defense: Our Level 2 and Level 3 Bearhug Defenses, emphasizing combatives to the most vulnerable targets: eyes, groin, throat, ears, etc. Not even a Street Fighter character can endure a thumb jammed into the eye socket.

Key points for a successful defense

• Lower your center of gravity. This won’t make it impossible to lift you, but it will make it much harder. Maybe the attacker will throw out his back before you even have to strike!
• Get your base. As important as it is to begin throwing combatives, you cannot and should not do so without a strong base. Throwing a combative is like throwing your weight, so keep strikes short and don’t overcommit. In defending against a bearhug from the front, make sure you’ve stopped the attacker’s forward momentum before throwing a kick or knee.
• Be a wild animal. Make the attacker want to let you go by being difficult to hold and by throwing strings of combatives. Be sure to keep in mind the points from above. And don’t forget the combatives we can’t train in class like scratching, clawing, biting, et al. The extreme close range of grappling opens all these possibilities.
• Get to a dominant position as soon as possible. As soon the the attacker’s hold loosens, advance to a more advantageous position. If the bearhug is from the front, get a forearm up into the neck to secure a clinch position and create some more space for your hips. If the bearhug is from behind, turn into the attacker with combatives before securing that clinch position. As always, work to the dead side to limit the attacker’s subsequent striking and grappling options.
• Finish the fight, go home safe! When—and only when—the fight has been taken out of the attacker, assess the situation for other threats, create space, get to your exit, and contact the police.

Why would we ever grab someone in a bearhug?

I’m hard-pressed to come up with more than two reasons to actually initiate a bearhug. The first is that we’ve been attacked and are being overwhelmed with punches. Much like the untrained hooligan I mentioned above, we could reach out and grab hold to momentarily restrain the attacker before moving to a better position and striking to finish the fight.

Could we use a bearhug to restrain someone for a longer time? Say, as the “good guy” holding a mugger for the police? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t recommend it for several reasons. First, as civilians, situations in which we would be legally justified to restrain someone are exceedingly rare. Second, if that rare situation were to present itself, there are much better ways to hold someone in place. Think about it: the natural reaction of anyone being held against his or her will is the very basis of our defenses—thrash around violently! Do you really want both arms occupied while someone’s stomping on your feet, throwing headbutts and elbows?

The second legitimate use for bearhugs is takedowns. Again, it’s a very quick transition after the initial grab. I love the Valley Drop… Now, the situations in which takedowns are warranted are the subject for another post!

Bearhugs: paralysis by analysis? Maybe, but they are one of the most common types of attacks with a lot of variables you may not initially consider.

Any other bearhug-related scenarios you’d like to discuss that weren’t mentioned here? Post to the comments!

Photo credit: cight, on Flickr