Defense Against A Rear Bear Hug Attack –
Part 3

A Low Grab Around The Elbows

By Christopher Caile

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles on defenses against various kinds of bear hugs. Part 1 discussed a defense against an attacker moving into the defender and who grabs him as he is going forward. Part 2 discussed the defense against a static bear hug attack where a standing attacker grabs around the defender’s upper arms. Part 3 discusses an attack similar to that discussed in Part 2, but with the grab lower, around the arms at the elbow level.

Some readers to this series have questioned bear hug attacks, suggesting that they are unlikely. That’s not true. When emotions run hot or when circumstances are high pressure and there is ego, fear or frustrations boiling over, people often act physically if words fail them. Sometimes a person will attack with a bear hug just to vent anger or frustration, not meaning to injure – against a child, small adult or spouse.

Also, friends, family or others close to you might be kidding around and do this type of bear hug maneuver. In these situations you might just want to persuade them to cease, but you don’t want to cause injury. Here I would suggest a quick and painful pinch. See: “Ouch! The Mighty Little Pinch For Self-defense.”

Other times a bear hug is used to stop or control a person, or man-handle the defender someplace, throw them down, or hold them in place (with the arms pinned) while another person robs or attacks. While in college I got caught up in a bar fight and was suddenly grabbed from behind in a bear hug. I used the defense shown in Part 1 and the attacker was fortunately thrown forward past me. The fight didn’t end there, but that’s another story. So bear hugs do happen. You should be prepared.

A low rear bear hug at the elbow level.

This article focuses on a type of bear hug where your attacker grabs you from the rear, low around your upper arms or at your elbow level. Here, unlike the bear hugs discussed in previous articles, the defense is more difficult.

The good news, however, is that the attacker has tied up both his arms and he or she is not hurting you, scaring you possibly, but not injuring or hitting — just grabbing and immobilizing you. The attacker could, of course, try to lift you up to throw you to the ground which could hurt and lead to further assault, but this subject is left to a future article. Some of the defenses shown here, however, might interdict any lifting effort and persuade the attacker just to leave you alone.

One more comment: on stances. A reader of Part 2 of this series on the rear bear hug e-mailed me and said, “Your stances are terrible.” I wrote back, “Yes they are, but this is self-defense not karate: stances in self-defense are usually more natural.” (1) Here we emphasize what works.

The bear hug discussed in this article is a bit different from those shown in Part 1 and 2. Here the attacker grabs you low around the upper arms at elbow level or just above.

In this type of bear hug you will know immediately (by feel, or being unable to expand your elbows to allow you to slip away as in Part 2) that your defense will have to be different.

You should initiate a counter-attack. The idea is to turn the table on the attacker, to overwhelm him or her with a series of quick, powerful and painful counterattacks – attacks that can injure or incapacitate, attacks that will turn the attacker into a defender and occupy his mind and scare him.

I usually start with a rear head smash (you can usually sense where the attacker’s head is) and even if it is out of reach a movement by my head will draw his attention upward. I follow this with a foot stomp (notice that the foot is turned to the side) or series of foot stomps (dance on his toes), followed by a groin strike.

In striking the groin I shift my hips hard and fast to one side. The opponent is usually quite aware of a potential strike to the groin and a natural response is for the attacker to shift his hips to the side too (to protect his groin). This is just what you want – since if you quickly shift your hips in the other direction and strike down his groin will be exposed (an alternative is just to grab the groin or pinch it).

These techniques alone can often succeed in freeing you. Sometimes, however, more is needed to force the attacker’s arms free.

One method is to pry away the attacker’s little finger on his top hand and then lift and pry it backward. The little finger is always vulnerable because it is not strong.

A second and complementary move (which is sometimes not possible if the grab is so low that it restricts forearm movement) is to attack the long bones on the back of the opponent’s top hand.

The top of the hand is a sensitive area and these bones (metacarpal bones that run from the wrist to the first knuckles) (2) can be easily hurt, injured and broken. In this example I used an extended knuckle fist, supported with the other hand, and drove it into the top of the opponent’s hand. At the same time I extend and tighten my stomach muscles to press outward on the opponent’s grip as I simultaneously strike with a knuckle fist in the other direction.

If you are versed in aikido or jujutsu, you can also retain control of one hand and wrist in order to do a wrist lock. You can follow up with an arm bar or a kick to the face as shown here.

Footnotes:

(1) Actually the stances in much of traditional Okinawan karate are relatively higher and more natural than what most students of Japanese karate today are used to. Many old masters believed that higher stances provide greater mobility and enhanced reaction time in movement as compared to stances of many styles of Japanese karate which emphasize stability (low stances) and appearance (for kata and in practice).

(2) The back of the hand was often a target in old Okinawan karate. An old Okinawan adage goes something like “Take what is presented to you” (meaning that if someone attacks or kicks at you, attack the hand or the foot itself rather than other targets that are more distant).

About the Author Christopher Caile

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Christopher Caile is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of FightingArts.com. He has been a student of the martial arts for over 65 years.

He first started in judo while in college. Then he added karate as a student of Phil Koeppel in 1959 studying Kempo and Wado-Ryu karate. He later added Shotokan Karate where he was promoted to brown belt and taught beginner classes. In 1960 while living in Finland, Caile introduced karate to that country and placed fourth in that nation’s first national judo tournament.

Wanting to further his karate studies, Caile then hitch hiked from Finland to Japan traveling through Scandinavia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia — living on 25 cents a day and often sleeping outside.

Arriving in Japan (1962), Caile was introduced to Mas Oyama and his fledgling full contact Kyokushinkai Karate by Donn Draeger, the famous martial artist and historian. Donn also housed him with several other senior international judo practitioners. Donn became Caile’s martial arts mentor, coaching him in judo and introducing him to Shinto Muso-ryu under Takaji Shimizu.

Caile studied at Oyama’s honbu dojo and also at Kenji Kurosaki’s second Tokyo Kyokushinkai dojo. In his first day in class Oyama asked Caile to teach English to his chief instructor, Tadashi Nakamura. They have been friends ever since. Caile also participated in Oyama’s masterwork book, “This Is Karate.”

Caile left Japan with his black belt and designation as Branch Chief, the first in the US to have had extensive training in Japan directly under Oyama Sensei. As such, Oyama Sensei asked him to be his representative on visits to his US dojos to report on their status.

A little over a year later, Nakamura, Kusosaki and Akio Fujihira won an epic David vs. Goliath challenge match against Thailand’s professional Muay Thai Boxers in Bangkok, Thailand, thrusting Kyolushinkai and Nakamura into national prominence.

Back in the US Caile taught Kyokushinkai karate in Peoria, Il while in college and later in Washington, DC. while in graduate school. Durimg this time Shihan Nakamura had moved to New York City to head Kyokushinkai’s North American Operation.

In 1976 when Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura formed the World Seido Karate organization, Caile followed. Living then in Buffalo, NY, Caile taught Seido karate and self-defense at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) for over 15 years where he also frequently lectured on martial arts and Zen in courses on Japanese culture.

Caile moved to New York City in 1999 to marry Jackie Veit. He is now an 8th degree black belt, Hanshi, training in Seido Karate’s Westchester, NY Johshin Honzan (Spiritual Center) dojo. In Seido Caile is known for his teaching of and seminars on kata applications. He also produced a 14 segment video series on Pinan kata Bunkai currently available to Seido members.

Caile is also a long-time student and Shihan in Aikido. He studied in Buffalo, under Mike Hawley Shihan, and then under Wadokai Aikido’s founder, the late Roy Suenaka (uchi deshi under Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido and was Shihan under Tohei Sensei). In karate, Suenaka (8thdan) was also an in-house student of the Okinawan karate master Hohan Soken.

Having moved to New York City, Caile in 2000 founded this martial arts educational website, FightingArts.com. Twenty-five years later, in 2025, it underwent a major update and revision.

For FightingArts.com and other publications Caile wrote hundreds of articles on karate, martial arts, Japanese art, Chinese Medicine and edited a book on Zen. He also developed relationships with a cross section of leading martial arts teachers. Over the last four decades he has conducted extensive private research into karate and martial arts including private translations of the once secret Okinawan hand copied and passed on Kung Fu book, the Bubishi, as well as an early karate book by the karate master Kenwa Mabuni. He periodically returns to Japan and Okinawa to continue his studies and participate Seido karate events. In Tokyo he practiced (with Roy Suenaka Sensei) in a variety of aikido organizations with their founders – including private interviews and practices at the Aiki-kai Aikido Honbu dojo with the son and grandson of aikido’s founder, Doshu (headmaster) Kisshomaru (an old uchi-deshi friend) and his son, Moriteru Ueshiba and in Iwama with Morihiro Saito. On Okinawa he studied Goju Ryu karate under Eiichi Miyazato, 10th dan founder of Naha’s Jundokan, and also with Yoshitaka Taira (who later formed his own organization, who specialized in kata Bunkai. While there Caile also trained with Hohan Soken’s senior student, Master Fusei Kise, 10 dan as well as with the grandson of the legendary karate master Anko Itosu.

Caile’s other martial arts experience includes: Diato-ryu Aikijujitsu and Kenjitsu, kobudo, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, Kali (empty hand, knife and bolo), study of old Okinawan Shoran-ryu & Tomari body mechanics, study of old Okinawan kata under Richard Kim, study of close quarter defense and combat, including knife and gun defenses, Kyusho Jitsu and several Chinese fighting arts including 8 Star Praying Mantis, Pak Mei (White Eyebrow), and a private family system of Kung Fu.

Caile is also a student of Zen as well as a long-term student of one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chi Kung (Qigong). As one of two senior disciples of Chi Kung master Dr. Shen (M.D., Ph.D.) Caile was certified to teach and practice. This led to Caile’s founding of the The Chi Kung Healing Institute on Grand Island, NY. In Western NY, he also frequently held Chi Kung seminars, including at SUNY Buffalo and at the famous Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. His articles on Chi Kung also appeared in the Holistic Health Journal and in several books on alternative medicine.

Caile holds a BA in International Studies from Bradley University and MA in International Relations with a specialty in South and Southeast Asia from American University in Washington, D.C. While in Buffalo, NY he also studied digital and analog electronics.

In his professional life Caile also worked in public relations and as a newspaper reporter and photographer. Earlier he worked in the field of telecommunications including Managing a Buffalo, NY sales and service branch for ITT. He then founded his own private telephone company. This was followed by creation of an electrical engineering company that designed and patented his concept for a new type of low-cost small business telephone system (which was eventually sold to Bell South). The company also did contract work for Kodak and the US space program. Simultaneously Caile designed and manufactured a unique break-apart portable pontoon boat.

Most recently Caile co-founded an internet software company. Its products include software suites with AI capability for control and management of streaming media, such as video and music, an all-in-one book publishing software product for hardcover, eBook and audio book creation and security software for buildings and government use.

For more details about Christopher Caile’s martial arts, work experience and life profile, see the About section in the footer of this site.