One of the techniques we teach in combat is called Chin Jab. The Chin Jab is essentially a palm strike, and there are several different palm strikes in many systems. I think this is a very special flavor of palm strike that is perfect for fights that are extremely short. It’s particularly effective for women who, according to Melissa Soalt (also known as Dr. Ruthless), tend to get gobbled up by their attackers. As is true of most combat techniques, a practitioner does not have to rely on great skill or precision to make the Chin Jab work, which is precisely the idea! Many of the classic combat attacks of World War II had to be taught very quickly to soldiers embarking for war. Efficiency and ease of acquisition were very important, as you can imagine.
As its name indicates, the Chin Jab is applied to the chin, with the palm of the hand. Kelly McCann likes the orientation of the hand as if she were palming a grapefruit. The hit comes from below the field of view, which means that you are quite close to your target. While driving up and through an assailant’s center line (although you can throw him from an angle and it’s also taught this way), as Dennis Martin describes, move “your body from him into the hit”, accelerating through the target . The elbow remains bent, and McCann recommends keeping it pointed down. He also checks the opponent’s right arm as he steps in for the punch. In the classic text, Kill or be killedRex Applegate recommends that the fingers of the striking hand be extended to keep the palm stiff. The blow is most devastating when the chin protrudes forward and when the blow is delivered more directly under the chin.
The Chin Jab is classified as a preventative, and McCann claims he can use it while the assailant is talking. I can imagine this has an added benefit: the guy will probably sink his teeth deep into your tongue on impact. The main idea is unconsciousness, or the “6-inch KO”. The chin is a sweet spot for a knockout, and Dennis calls it an effective lever for “moving the skull” and essentially rocking the brain inside the skull. Whether he actually spirals the brain, I have no idea, but the end result has been seen time and time again. There is some discussion about the possibility that the Chin Jab also causes damage to the cervical spine. Applegate represents the simultaneous action of grasping the belt with the left hand and pulling the body forward at the moment of impact on the chin, thus causing a fracture of the neck.
Also, Applegate describes another combination: the knee strike to the groin with the Chin Jab. He is likely to lean forward after taking a devastating hit from his knee, thus producing the ideal target for the Chin Jab: the chin jutting far forward. We find it difficult to do both techniques at the same time.
Think of the Chin Jab as a surprise blow, up close, most likely delivered from a protective fence of some sort, a ready stance, or even from what Dennis calls the “listening fence”: pretending you didn’t understand what was being said. , moving. closer to hear it again, and then strike. Keep this in mind: combat principles include hitting hard, hitting fast, and using the element of surprise. I think of combatives as more self-offensive, because I don’t believe in waiting for a confirmation, like getting hit (or worse, stabbed or shot), before launching an attack, as long as you’ve perceived the threat and properly prepared. indicators of incidents of violence. Essentially, I believe in preemptive strikes, because as I will say over and over again, action is faster than reaction. In any case, I recommend that you play with this technique and exercise it with the knowledge and confidence that it is field-proven to be brutally effective.
References
Applegate, Rex. (1943). Kill or be killed: a hand-to-hand fighting manual. Rock: PaladinPress.
Grover, Jim. (1999). Jim Grover’s Combatives Series: Power Strikes & Kicks, Vol. one. [Videotape]. Paladin Press.
Martin, Dennis, et al. The classic strikes. Retrieved May 2009 from Dennis Martin’s Combatives Community Forum.