Chris Covington

"They have been conditioned to take pain and drive on and press a good fight under pressure. They have been tested. A finger poke or testicle kick, may or may not stop them...we really don't know that until it happens do we?"

I am very suspect of ball kicks, eye pokes and in general pain compliance techniques used alone, if they do not use kuzushi. I feel like adrenaline is enough to keep a halfway engaged fighter in the fight. From personal experience I have injured myself and never realized it until the fight was well over.

When I was in high school I was in a judo match and went to throw taiotoshi. My foot wasn't down in "live toe" position but was in a dead position and the kid fell on my foot breaking four of my small metatarsus in 7 different places. Didn't feel a thing; I choked the kid out on the ground and won the match. My foot couldn't support my weight when I stood up so I knew something was wrong. It didn't start hurting for a good hour after I got home.

More recently I was in a foot pursuit with my partner. At some point I sprained my ankle (not really sure when). My partner and the suspect went down a flight of stairs. My partner's hand went through a plate of glass in a door and he almost served his hand clean off. It was held on by the inside wrist tendons. Bone and everything else was cut. He kept on the guy trying to make the arrest even with the cut hand. His hand was trapped in the door frame which restricted his movement or else he may have been able to hold the guy til I got there (I don't run as fast as these guys did). Suspect got away but I was able to follow after him until other units could catch up in vehicles and we got our guy. Another officer stayed with my partner. I didn't notice the ankle sprain until I was sitting with my partner's wife in shock trauma.

So yeah... ball kicks and eye pokes... not so much in the thick of it.

Cheers!