The side collar is a very dangerous strangulation technique, as are all techniques that target the airway or circulatory system. It is very similar to the guillotine strangulation, except that it is performed on a sideways plane regarding the victim.
In a street attack, this technique is meant to be sneaky, as the attacker gets close enough to his victim to pounce on him and squeeze his throat with his forearm.
A victim caught off guard will have difficulty reacting properly because of the rapidity of the attack. This is why it is important to remain vigilant with regard to your environment, to identify threats!
When the throat is caught in a grip, the victim has very little time to react. A proper side collar will compress the carotid artery, thus blocking the blood flow to the brain, and act on the cervical spine, which will limit the victim’s movements. This can cause a knockout within seconds, or even death, in extreme cases.
During a side collar, the victim is at the mercy of the assailant and his potential accomplices.
So you have to counterattack quickly and really go for it!
Table of Contents
Secure your footing
The attacker will not only use his forearm to squeeze you, he will also use the grab to make you lose your balance by pushing forward.
Thus, he briefly monopolizes your attention on the ground, while you should be focused on the attack and how you can get away from it.
You won’t know how to react under stress, so it’s important to recondition the trainees during training and teach good reflexes. Here, it is not so much a matter of putting your hands forward to protect yourself from a possible fall (which will not happen, because the aggressor has no more interest in taking you to the ground) as it is to ensure your stability by simply placing your front foot forward! Enlarging your starting position will give you enough stability not to fall and will put you in the best position to move on to the phase 2 of the defense.
Loose the flesh
In this position, the aggressor usually dominates you from above, with all his weight distributed to put maximum pressure on you.
You are leaning forward, so your posture does not allow you to force your way out of the grip by trying to get up.
The first reflex you should have in such a situation is to try to unhook the forearm. As it is, this will usually not be possible because the assailant is still fresh, but it is useful to take the extent of the grip (maybe it is not tight enough after all…).
Once you got the information (in a fraction of a second, you should not drag on), you must “relax” the aggressor.
Given the configuration, you will have to use the sensitive parts at your disposal. Bingo, you are close to the genitals!
So you’re going to hit them, either in front with the palm of your hand, or from behind, with the back of your hand! Yes, you can access them from the back…
And ideally, using both hands, going back and forth!
If you have enough room to do so, you can also try a horse kiss, or even a bite, but the ideal is to act on the most sensitive parts. And what could be more sensitive than a testicle that is accidentally within reach?
Get out of danger
The third part of the defense is the counterattack phase itself.
Once the attacker has “loosened”, his grip is weakened, it’s time to get out by unhooking his forearm with your hands if getting up don’t allow you to get out of the grip.
Next, run away as quickly as possible. Make sure to cover your escape by neutralizing the aggressor.
To do this, and only after you have extricated yourself from the side collar, swing the assailant’s head backwards using your free hand, which you place between your head and his to cause pain and “guide” the assailant backwards, by putting a finger in the eye, via the bridge of the nose, by pulling out an ear or even by acting on the cervical vertebrae by pulling the hair sharply.
The goal is clearly to destabilize him for a fraction of a second to open access to an extremely sensitive part: his throat.
From there, make a fork to the throat or a fist to the chin (remember the strike should be done according to the rules of proportionality) in order to stun him while you distance yourself to re-establish a safe area, ready to flee if the coast is clear.
