Pain Compliance Techniques

Author: Odhinn Kohout

I have seen a great deal of material entitled pain compliance tactics or techniques. Sounds good in theory but it is not very practical in the sense of arrest control practices. My hesitation revolves around the topic of “do you have actual…control over this person” or are you attempting to control them through pain.

Pain is relative and completely subjective to each individual.

An offensive mindset that is totally focused on a target/goal can overcome a high level of pain. 

This is true from both sides of the coin as criminals can possess this as well.

The strategy that I teach to my students is to ensure that the JOINT of the limb is locked and not just controlled in a way that causes pain. Your knowledge of the rotational axis of a specific joint dictates the level of control. It is not a complicated theory.

You do not need to look further than traditional wrestling to see this concept in action. Different types of wrestling have their own focal points from Greco Roman, Free-Style, Folk, and Catch to name a few. Many of the submissions found in these systems lock the affected body part which in turn causes a high degree of pain and resulting control.

I teach many “cutter” techniques in which a muscle such as the bicep is compressed against the radial or ulnar bone of your arm as part of a lock. Compressing the muscle will cause a nerve such as the “Musculocutaneous nerve” nerve found in the center of the bicep head to become pinched which causes pain.

 

 

This approach will offer you the safety of control with the benefit of pain. My advice is to take a scientific approach to your defensive tactics training which means analyzing what is happening from a biomechanical viewpoint instead of merely “learning a new move.”

Train hard, stay safe.