23

Immobilize Someone with an Aikido Hold

Aikido is the ancient and previously secret Japanese martial art of locks and throws. A fiendish knowledge of the way the body’s joints lock together is exploited to immobilize an opponent. The idea of using the opponent’s strength against them is utilized in aikido, though there are several other equally important principles to the art. And all of them are present in nikajo, or nikyo, as it is sometimes called. This is the simplest form of wrist lock that also immobilizes the shoulder and the elbow, bringing the attacker down to their knees whimpering for mercy . . .

In Steven Seagal’s Under Siege 2 a version of nikajo is taught by the hulking brute himself. The basic form is set up by asking your “attacker” to hold you by the opposite wrist to his. You then wrap your fingers around his so he can’t let go. Once you have trapped his fingers, you bring the other hand down in cutting fashion over the wrist, making the attacker fall to the ground.

1. The entry trick is all about thinking of the wrist, elbow, and shoulder as a triangle in the same plane. If you can level all these three into a triangle you can then imagine whaling down on that triangle and as all three joints are locked together the whole body has no choice but to drop to its knees. Your power comes not from your wrists—they simply deliver power and control its delivery. The actual power that drops your opponent comes from the knees.
   
   
2. Work with someone who isn’t scared of you and preferably has reasonably robust arms. Not that you can hurt someone unless you really try in nikajo, it’s just that they will be more relaxed, and that makes it a lot easier to learn.
3. The rub-pat barrier is subtle. You have to try and make real that visualization of the triangle linking the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Then you have to try and steer into it while controlling their wrist. You will start to get a feel for the lock and the temptation will be to apply power through the arms. You need some power from here but it is more about power delivery. You need to think of the weight you have dropping when your knees flex, and that travels down your arms to control your opponent. Knee power is felt as something far stronger than mere upper-body strength, even if it is a monster crushing your wrists. You have to imagine sort of sucking the person in and down, and if they can be on the brink of overbalancing forward it is easier.
4. Nikajo is a good party trick. You do it on someone. They do it on you. Since you are trying to make it “work” rather than merely showing off, you need some cooperation from the partner. They offer resistance but sensible resistance—they aren’t trying to kick you in the nuts as you set up the move. Remember, this is the stylized form of the lock—in a fight you may only use a fragmentary version of it. But the lock helps build all kinds of useful body awareness.
5. All sorts of experimentation are needed with nikajo. Try moving backward and forward with your partner. Try keeping the elbows in and then out. Give numbers to how much wrist and knee strength you apply. All this builds awareness of how the body works. Most importantly, it builds awareness of how interconnected the parts of the body are. It is knowledge of this interconnectedness that aikido exploits.