The central focus point of the seminar was to use arm locks and leg locks together to immobilisation an attacker. We started by learning alternative styles of armlocks that forced the opponent to the ground and used our legs and the full movement of our bodies to immobilise the opponent’s shoulders, arms and rest of their upper body. We then learnt how to use these different styles of armlocks in combination with each other, so that we could move smoothly from one immobilisation to the next in one sequence.

The next part of the seminar was dedicated to leglocks, which is a discipline that I do not have much experience in. Similar to the armlock immobilisations, we learned the different types of leg locks individually, starting from a kick from standing for example, with the ultimate end being to immobilise the Uke on the ground. Eventually, we pieced together the different leglocks so that they also could be done in one continual rolling sequence.

Having not seen almost any of the techniques before, the immobilisations presented in the seminar by Sensei Toby were definitely eye-opening, highlighting the positives of knowing ‘alternative immobilisations’ in that it adds something different. I also appreciated the method of using all the techniques in a combined sequence, going from one to the next, as it allowed us to experiment with what worked and practice techniques while moving instead of from a static point as usual.

Thank you to Sensei Toby for taking the seminar.