Can Submissions for the Street Work Against You?

 by Brad Parker

A lot of guys talk about submitting an opponent in a streetfight.  Most of the time it is in the context of putting an armbar or jointlock or similar technique on the attacker.  If he did not quit fighting or submit, then most practitioners say they would break the guy’s arm.  Especially if the guy utters the most famous words in a fight, “you let me up now or I’ll kick your ass!” 

It’s been my experience, however, that most people on the street don’t respect your submissions.  In fact, they have no idea that you have them in trouble and they don’t know enough to quit fighting at the point that you have their joint or neck at a crucial juncture in your submission technique.  If you are in a situation that is less than a self-defense scenario, your submissions could come back to haunt you.

Organized judo has had no deaths from choke holds in a hundred years.  But there are deaths on the street and in the station from choke holds gone haywire every year.  In judo or jiu-jitsu tournaments, the practitioners know they have the guy in trouble so they ease up on the technique.  The guy knows he is in trouble so he knows he’d better tap or submit.  But on the street, the bad guy has no idea he is in trouble.  He won’t stop because he doesn’t know better and you are forced to break his arm or choke him out to stop him.

Rendering someone unconscious by a choke is now classified in many areas as “near lethal force” and I guarantee that you will be sued every time if you break something on your opponent.  In many states, that can be construed as aggravated assault -- a felony.

Here are my suggestions to keep yourself out of court and to keep from maiming some drunk moron trying to fight you:

1. Gas him first.  If you’ve done any grappling arts, you know how exhausting they can be if you don’t know any technique.  We’ve probably all tapped from sheer exhaustion many times when we first started.  Turn that around and let him gas himself.  Get a superior position and use your bodyweight, gravity and friction to your advantage.  Let him thrash about, wearing himself out.  His fatigue slows him down, weakens him and tells his tiny reptile brain that he is not winning the fight.  You might have to maintain your position for two to three minutes to let him really run out of fuel.
2. If you have him in a submission hold, tell him clearly to stop fighting. Tell him that you do not want to be forced to hurt him.  Tweak the submission hold just a little to give him a dose of pain and then release.  Tell him again – CLEARLY AND LOUDLY to stop fighting.  This is also a good time to tell bystanders to call the cops (if you are a civilian).  If you are a cop, tell the bystanders that everything is okay, you have the subject in control and you’ll be holding him here for a while. (Bystanders get really nervous if they don’t understand what is happening).  Let the subject know that you are in charge, that you control his pain.  A caveat here – if you just put the hurt on him without allowing the pain to stop, you can have a major, major fight on your hands when the guy goes berserk in an effort to get away from the pain.
3. Position, then submission.  Work towards gaining a position so you can perform a submission hold that allows you to hit the opponent if need be, but does not allow the opponent to hit you in his frantic efforts to escape. If you are a cop or bodyguard, watch your duty weapon!  You might prefer a cross side or side mount here instead of a full mount.  If you are more advanced, try a knee in the stomach hold.
4. Learn how to apply any kind of carotid neck restraint properly!  And periodically release it.  You can talk to the guy to make sure his is still responsive.  Don’t apply the hold for more than 15 seconds at a time.  
5. If you have to let him up, get yourself into a position where you can release your hold and disengage from the opponent safely.   I’ve seen several incidents where the opponent got up and immediately retaliated once he was released.  I would personally hold the guy until backup or the rest of the cavalry arrives.
6. Watch for his friends.  Keep your head up and periodically scan your surroundings for his friends or relatives who probably will not be happy that you are holding the subject.  When you are looking down at the subject, you are in a vulnerable position.  Look around! You know where he is – you can feel him in your hold.  You don’t need to look down to see him.  When you are approached by others, you might need to disengage tactically from the subject to deal with the new arrivals (refer to #5 above).

Of course, if the opponent is really bent on doing you serious bodily harm, then you need to be able to work your techniques until he is no longer able to have the ability and opportunity to hurt you and your loved ones.