The “Danger Hug”

It’s difficult to articulate why, but when connecting with uke (our attacker)  if we think of hugging them to us, it is far more effective than thoughts of “pulling”, “yanking”, or “grabbing”. 

The thought of hugging implies a disarming softness.  We automatically are more attentive to the state of the huggee.  We can better sense their balance and mood (ki).  Uke resists less, or more accurately, has difficulty understanding where how to resist.

We often describe it as like hugging your teddy bear.  A strong yet gently endearing force difficult to contest.