Wrist Stretches: Gateway to Solo Training

I hope that you are on Keith Pascal's mailing list. Perhaps you've heard the expression, "He's forgotten more about martial arts than most people know." That would probably be true of Keith, but for one thing: he hasn't forgotten.

Here is his video on some of the prime values of wrist stretching. After you watch it, I'd like to present what I believe is an even more important value.



As usual, Keith's advice is spot on. However, I'd like to supplement his advice with something my Jiu-Jitsu (old spelling) instructor taught me.

One day, we were discussing practicing wrist locks, when he pointed something out that I had not noticed before. He told me that every wrist stretch we practiced was also wrist lock.

For me, it was one of those "Aha!" moments. One of the big difficulties with practicing joint locks is that you need a practice partner -- you can't do it solo (or so I thought).

Below is a series of photos taken in the summer of 2009. (As an aside, my belly has shrunk somewhat since then, and now I just have the two chins.) The photos show one wrist stretch followed its application as a wrist lock.

My third daughter Raquel appears in the pics with me, and my fourth daughter Merrianna took the pics. Thanks to them both for their help.

First, a close-up of this particular wrist stretch:

Jiu-Jitsu girl meets The Incredible Bulk:

Rather than thinking of this as a technique, I think it's better to consider it one application of this particular mode of stressing the wrist joint:

Utmost concentration! When your attacker is that much bigger than you, you don't want to get it worng (intentional joke).

I want to put these photos (and others, showing different angles and more transition phases) into an e-book. The book would detail four wrist stretches that can also be applied as wrist locks.

I'd appreciate your input as to whether you think this would be a worthwhile project.