Counter for "bear hug"

[Kung Fu Wang]

What's your favor counters for "bear hug"?

 

[JowGaWolf]

What's your favor counters for "bear hug"?

Good question. I don't think I've ever been in that much trouble before, other than playing around with my brother during sparring, and it usually just ends up with laughing because "I got caught slipping."

I don't know if this would work, but the only thing I can think of that I would probably actually try to do is to first drop my stance. I would want to do this so I don't get "rag dolled" and I want to prevent him from having the leverage that he need to work my back. I have been in a position like this before but it was during sparring. Someone was just showing me the bear hug and he basically tried to bend me backwards by working my spine. So right away I want to make him hold as much of my weight as possible while in a lower stance than he's currently in. I want to make his job more difficult

If I have time then I would place my arm between his neck and my body. If it's a self-defense situation then I'm going for the face after I've broken his structure and denied him his root.

Normally I try to position my guard so that only one arm gets caught inside the hug and one arm is outside of the hug. Not sure if I know of a specific Kung Fu technique to deal with that, so it looks like I'll learn some stuff today.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Thumbs. Eyeballs. Dig.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

It's easy to switch from "bear hug" to "under hook". The moment that you raise your arms, the moment your opponent will raise his arms too.

Your arms may not have that much freedom as you may think.

 

[Buka]

Have to get your hips back, if he bends your back backwards, you're in worse trouble.
Push your hands against his hips, pushing your hips back [and your stance], then step in and hip throw him. Or go hands to his face and create more space and start kneeing. Sometimes, after you get your hips back, you can get your arm inside up high and frame out against his throat, creating space and superior position for yourself as you step back and really load up your rear leg. Then it's running man dance time.

Or, if you get your arm framed against his throat you can always guillotine, or jump guillotine to guard. I kind of like that way if I'm not worried about going to the ground in that particular scenario.

 

[JowGaWolf]

It's easy to switch from "bear hug" to "under hook". The moment that you raise your arms, the moment your opponent will raise his arms too.

Your arms may not have that much freedom as you may think.

I know how to get out of this. I prefer this over the bear hug. There's a technique in Jow Ga that would work against this. It's one of those techniques that don't get much use out of in sparring because we are never in this position were we could use it.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

By switching between "bear hug" and "under hook", your opponent can do the following to you. The "bear hug" is only the beginning.

 

[Balrog]

Get a cat.

 

[dvcochran]

What's your favor counters for "bear hug"?

With your arms on the outside like the photo? If this is a MMA question why not bang away on the head? If not MMA I would try stepping back and settling in to my stance, like the opponent is. If I can get my center under his and push him back go for a front leg grab and takedown over the standing leg. Or, trap his arms, step back hard and take him down prone. You have the free hands/arms, not him.

 

[CB Jones]

What's your favor counters for "bear hug"?

Not a grappler....but I would say keep hips back away from opponent and put pressure on his grip also force him to hold a lot of my weight up.

Strikes to the side and back of his head until I could slip an arm through.

Bad idea?

 

[drop bear]

The issues that you have is if they get double underhooks you either get back bent or suplexed. Both of which are a lot worse than being punched or eyegouged. Or even just kneed to death I suppose.

The defence is kind of this.

There are cool throws and stuff. Mostly I get about enough space to re feed an arm so I am in a normal clinch.

 

[drop bear]

Otherwise and more importantly the best way to defend double underhooks is don't let them get double underhooks.


So keep your tyrannosaurus arms.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

What's your favor counters for "bear hug"?

With my arms over his, there are a few options, depending when I react. There’s a chance to lock around the arms while stepping back, which opens up some throws. If he gets the grip fully, hips back to keep from being lifted. If he raises to the lift (or under hooks) there are fewer options left, so I’m probably going for the head with both hands. If I can get his head back, I regain some control. If he gets fully inside, I might hook one of his legs to slow home down (can still get slammed, but have some control).

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I might hook one of his legs to slow home down (can still get slammed, but have some control).

In "Pain in training" thread, you didn't like this training clip that I put up.

That clip is to train exactly how to develop your leg to have "hooking (twisting) power" on your opponent's leg. Even today, I still have not found any other training that can develop this kind of "leg twisting" power.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Few would attempt to get their arms around me. I'm too big around.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Few would attempt to get their arms around me. I'm too big around.

The human's

- "bear hug" won't work on bear.
- "head lock" won't work on giraffe.
- "double legs" won't work on chicken.
- ...

 

[Gerry Seymour]

In "Pain in training" thread, you didn't like this training clip that I put up.

That clip is to train exactly how to develop your leg to have "hooking (twisting) power" on your opponent's leg. Even today, I still have not found any other training that can develop this kind of "leg twisting" power.

I’d have to look at the post in the question - it probably wasn’t the video I didn’t like.

 

[JR 137]

There’s so many variations of the “bear hug.” The one pictured above is probably the easiest to defend IMO, as they’re in front of you and both of their arms are occupied while both of yours are free.

The thing that came to my mind immediately was “lateral throw.” It’s traditionally done with one overhook and one underhook, but I’ve done it enough times in practice and during matches with double overhooks. The core mechanics are the same, but you’ve got to be a bit better at it with double overhooks.

The key in setting it up is getting your hips down enough but not too much, and pushing into your opponent. Once your opponent pushes back (natural instinct and they’re the aggressor after all), the throw is all using their momentum against them. Is this “aiki” for that crowd? The bigger they are and the harder they’re pushing, the more force they’ll hit the ground with. If you know how to do it well, you can really muscle it once they start flying to really make it hurt.

The video starts with one arm control, but goes into both arms a minute or two into it.

 

[JR 137]

Second thing I thought was “head and arm” throw. Doesn’t take much, of and strength when done right. It’s using the opponent’s momentum against them. It’s actually easier to learn than the lateral throw I linked to previously. The lateral throw is a better throw IMO in that it’s harder to counter and you end up in a better position at the end, but it takes a bit more skill.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

There’s so many variations of the “bear hug.” The one pictured above is probably the easiest to defend IMO, as they’re in front of you and both of their arms are occupied while both of yours are free.

The thing that came to my mind immediately was “lateral throw.” It’s traditionally done with one overhook and one underhook, but I’ve done it enough times in practice and during matches with double overhooks. The core mechanics are the same, but you’ve got to be a bit better at it with double overhooks.

The key in setting it up is getting your hips down enough but not too much, and pushing into your opponent. Once your opponent pushes back (natural instinct and they’re the aggressor after all), the throw is all using their momentum against them. Is this “aiki” for that crowd? The bigger they are and the harder they’re pushing, the more force they’ll hit the ground with. If you know how to do it well, you can really muscle it once they start flying to really make it hurt.

The video starts with one arm control, but goes into both arms a minute or two into it.

I'd call that aiki, though not "pure aiki" (only because of the initial counter-push). That's one of the throws I was thinking of, though I didn't have a name for it. To me, it's one of the "techniques between the techniques".