TRICKS THAT MAY BE DESCRIBED AS " HUMOROUS "

ONE IN WHICH THE POLICEMAN WILL SEE NO FUN WHEN HE HAPPENS TO BE THE VICTIM, UNLESS HE KNOWS THE " COUNTER," WHICH IS ALSO DESCRIBED —THE " DEVIL'S HAND-SHAKE "—HOW THE JAPANESE POLICEMAN FORCES A PRISONER TO ACCOMPANY HIM—THE VALUE OF THIS TRICK IN EJECTING A TROUBLESOME PERSON

Under certain conditions nearly all of the tricks of jiu-jitsu have their humorous aspects. This is true especially when a trick is employed with just enough force so that the victim is not made to suffer any pain, but is made to realise how helpless he would be if the feat were employed against him in earnest. And there are some tricks that are more than ordinarily humorous.

One that is of great value for combat pur­poses, but which will afford a good deal of amusement is that of stopping any one in his walk by the use only of the forefinger. If you meet a friend who is walking in the direction opposite to that which you are following, stop just as you reach him. Stand at his side and extend an arm, holding the forefinger under his nose and across his upper lip. If you stand still, and hold the finger in that position, he will find it impossible to walk by you. Of course he is able to move his head to one side and resume his walk, but as long as the fore­finger is under his nose he cannot get by. There is no trick about this. It is simply the consequence of a natural law. But it will afford a good deal of amusement, for your friend will be unable to understand why there is not more power in his whole body than in your forefinger.

Once in a great while you will encounter a man so powerful that he will be able slowly to get by you. Now, the back of your hand is up. Turn the back of the hand over toward his face, "grinding" the forefinger under his nose, and this added power will be enough to stop the progress of the strongest man.

It would seem impossible to hurt a police­man severely with his own club, and that with­out drawing the club from his belt. Yet it is a very simple and effective trick, and is easily performed. A good deal of amusement can be had when the trick is played on a friendly policeman, although it might be bad judgment to try it upon an officer who had a strong sense of dignity coupled with little appreciation of humour.

Step behind the policeman when his club is hanging in its accustomed loop at the left side of his belt. Seize his left wrist with your left hand, and hold that wrist firmly, at the same time raising the arm sideways a little. Seize the lower end of his club with your right hand, and pull it back, upward and over, making the club stand nearly upside down in the loop. The shaft of the club is to be pressed hard against the back of his left arm at a point just above the elbow. The inside of his captured wrist is toward the front.

Now, with your left hand pull his wrist back­ward, at the same time pressing forward against the back d his upper arm with the club. This combined pressure makes his arm bend the "wrong way." If you were to pull backward severely enough at his wrist, and press forward hard enough with the club, probably you would break his arm.

But it is not necessary to do this. As soon as the policeman realises how ruthlessly he is held he will give in good naturedly if he under­stands that it is all a joke. Try the trick, and you will soon see why he cannot do anything with his right hand in the way of swinging around upon you with a blow. If he tries to he will merely increase the amount of pain in his captured and oppressed left arm.

By pushing slowly forward with the inverted club, and all the while pulling back on his wrist, it will be possible to make the officer bend for­ward to the ground, and it is possible, even, to throw him directly in this fashion. Even if there be any difficulty in making him lie down, a trip with your right foot against his left will send him prostrate. Nor is the trick at an end as a piece of humour when you have thrown your good-natured policeman. There is one bit more of fun in store for you and for the policeman—provided his sense of the ridiculous has not been overtaxed. In throwing hold the club so that the head of it will be twisted into a position in front of his abdomen, and he falls with his abdomen pressing against the head of the club.

His left arm is on the ground; the head of the club is under his abdomen, and the shaft passes over his arm; your right hand is near the lower end of the club. The policeman's arm will serve as a fulcrum, his club as a lever, your right arm as the power, and his unfortunate abdomen as the weight. Press down on the bottom of the club, and the head of the club is bound to rise, pressing roughly against his abdomen. His arm as well as his abdomen will suffer.

If the directions are carefully followed, and the trick be practised thoroughly, a guarantee goes with the performance of the feat. The same piece of mischief may be played on a military officer who is wearing his sword at his side. Practise the trick by tying a girdle around a friend's waist and passing a stout stick through the girdle. Read this text over carefully, practising the trick step by step until you have it mastered, and bearing in mind, 'always, that the victim's wrist must be kept to the front so that the arm will be made to bend "the wrong way."

As it is quite within the bounds of possibility that a law-breaker might attempt this trick in earnest against a policeman, it is only fair to the blue-coat to advise him as to the counter that must be employed. The next paragraph, therefore, is addressed to the policeman.

Get a friend to seize your wrist and club and place you in the hold already described, omit­ting the throw. As soon as you feel yourself seized bend slightly forward. The forward bend should be just sufficient to enable you to carry out the further directions that are to be given. Still in bending position, twist your right leg and the right side of your trunk around in front of your assailant. Your right leg should be bent a little, and the front of the upper part of this leg should be slantingly across the front of the assailant's left leg just above his knee. Pass your right hand in front of the aggressor's right leg, and around in back of it just above the knee. The thumb side of this hand should be down, so that you are able to take a grip at the back of his leg, just above the knee, with the thumb pressing the back of the leg, and the fingers of the hand gripping the inside of his leg. It may be preferred to pass the hand around the inside of the leg and gripping at the back of the knee. Having obtained this position, rise with a jerking movement to an erect position, and follow this by bend­ing over backward. Then the assailant who thought he had you will find himself thrown over backward.

And, as the policeman will find that there will be many abroad in the land who will try the assault upon him in a more or less humor« ous way, it behooves him to practise this effec­tive counter most diligently.
It is best, too, that the policeman should acquire another trick that will make his work easier. Here is a feat that is valuable to all jiu-jitsians, and it will enable a policeman to force a troublesome prisoner into going along with him.

In Japanese Physical Training the author has described the "come along." This trick is sometimes varied in the following manner:
With the left hand seize the intended victim's left wrist while standing at his left side and facing in the same direction that he is looking. Draw his left arm toward your own left side. At the same time throw your right arm over his right arm, and then under the upper half of his right arm. Rest your right hand on your abdomen. See to it that the inside of his left wrist, which you hold with your left hand, is up. Now, press downward against his left wrist, forcing his left arm to '' bend the wrong way." Now, you can force the victim for­ward, and he will be glad enough to go where he is ordered to go. If he attempts to hang back, increase the pressure on, and the pain in, his left arm, and he will surrender. He cannot strike with his right hand, for you control his movements from his left side.

The same principle of causing pain by mak­ing the arm "bend the wrong way " is at the bottom of the bit of mischief known as "the devil's hand-shake." Photograph No. 25 makes the operation of the trick clear.

No. 28. STRAINING AN ARM AS A STOP TO FIGHTING.

No. 29. A F^-AT USED EITHER AS A HOLD OR FOR A THROW.

Approach the intended victim and take his right hand in your own as if about to shake hands with him. Throw his arm up, swing around at his side, and at the same time thrust your extended, rigid left arm under his cap­tured right. Your left arm will assist in throw­ing his right arm up. See to it that the inside of his wrist is uppermost. The illustration will make this plain.

Now, bear down on his right hand while holding the victim's arm up with your own rigid left arm. There will be a quick shoot of pain through the victim's captured arm, and it is possible to apply the pressure so severely that he will rise on his toes. If you walk for­ward you can force him to go with you, and you have so much leverage upon him that he cannot swing around and use his left hand in defence. This trick should prove of value in ridding one's home or office of an annoying caller with whom it is not necessary to use very much ceremony. He will go, depend upon it, if urged in this fashion.

There are almost endless methods of apply­ing this trick of "bending the arm the wrong way." By exercising his ingenuity the stu­dent will be able to devise many combinations, several of which will be found to impress any man whose sense of humour in not impaired by the fact that the joke is on himself.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….