Grappling is one of the most basic reactions, a new born baby instinctively has the reflex to grasp objects, perhaps an instinct received when our ape like ancestors came down from the trees in Africa to the grassy plains. Due to this a human being will grab another human being to impose their will upon them. In the course of his or her duties a security guard may be grabbed in a multiple attack situation, where one holds you so that the others can hit you more effectively, or they can hold you so they can hit you more powerfully with their other hand, head or feet. The most common hold to be applied to you is a head lock, your head will be encircled by his arm and they will either hit you with their other arm or try to wrestle you to the ground by dropping to the ground taking you with them. To avoid the first cover your face with the palm of your hand, the hand that is further away from them, block the punch and grab the crook of the elbow from behind his back with your other hand, this prevents him launching any more attacks by this method. To break the hold punch or palm heel him in the groin; another method which is sometimes successful is with the hand nearest them pinch from behind with thumb and forefinger the fleshy part of the inner thigh, this should cause them to release the hold, unless they are insensible due to drink or drugs, or a combination of both. The method which is taught by certain police forces is to force your little finger edge of your hand underneath the philtrum, the area between the upper lip and the nose; the arm which is nearest the person who has you in a head lock must snake around his shoulder from the back, with your other arm you grab hold of your opponents nearest leg and combining the action pushing with the edge of your hand that is under their nose and lifting with the hand that is under their leg, the person will be levered over your that is at the back of them to the floor. Another attack I have seen people do from a head lock is to grab your head and go down with you to the floor, known as bulldogging they wrestle you to the ground; the counter to this move is to hit them between the shoulder blades with the hand nearest them (palm heel strike) and with your other hand snake it around the front of his leg and grab the sensitive part of the leg that is found on the inner thigh mid way along (femoral artery) pushing with the hand between the shoulder blades and pinching holding the leg, you will force the person to stumble forward on to his face.
                 The other most common hold is over the arms, either from the front or from the rear. If the front is used put your thumbs in the creases of the groin where their legs meet their pelvis, the fingers are on the legs and your thumbs are on the groin bring your knee into their testicles, you should manage it if you push them back with your thumbs; you can in addition head butt them on to the bridge of the nose, with the top of your brow line at the top of your forehead, this should cause them to let you go; however if they are quick they will you up and throw you to the ground, to avoid this put one of your legs between their legs this will prevent them lifting you up to throw you to the floor. When you are grabbed over arm from the rear encircle their hands with your hands so they cannot let go, hit them with your buttocks as hard as you can, this will break their balance, then from bending forward after hitting them with your buttocks straighten up fast and do a rear head butt to their face, this should make them let go. If they try to lift you up to throw you to the floor raise your feet off the ground and kick back to their groin; or you can grape vine, encircle their leg with your leg from the outside of the leg to their inside hooking the back of their calf muscle with your instep, this will prevent them picking you up. If you can raise your elbows to the sides horizontally while you sink your weight, this should free your arms sufficiently to step across one of your opponents legs and you should have enough free play to grab his ankle and by pushing back with your buttocks and pulling up on their ankle you will throw them heavily on their back.
                 I hope these scribbling will be of use to anyone who has to wear a security guard uniform.
                                                                              Yours in budo.
                                                                                                   Ian "Lurch" Durie.             

Martial Arts according to Lurch