THE NON-COMPLIANT UKE

 by Phillip Starr

      Should your uke (practice partner who attacks you) be compliant when you perform your defensive technique(s) or not?  Many instructors feel that he should be non-compliant; that he shouldn't “just go along with it”....that he should offer some measure of resistance so as to make the training more realistic.  Others fear that non-compliance may result in injuries, so they stress that the attacker must be fully compliant.  What to do?  Well, listen up...

     * The main problem in trying to make the practice more “realistic” is this:

 The uke knows beforehand what's going to happen.  You're practicing a particular strike, joint twist, and/or throw...and he knows exactly what you're going to do.

       So, if he's supposed to be non-compliant, it's very easy for him to do so!  He resists a technique that he knows is going to be applied.  His non-compliance is technique-specific; intended to resist the specific technique that the defender is going to apply.  On the street, however,  your opponent has no idea what you're going to do.  So, his reaction will be somewhat different.

       It's a real quandry, I admit.  Now here’s another problem:

• In a real fight, the aggressor's attention is focused on where he's going to hit you and how. If he attacks with a weapon (like a knife), his attention is focused on his weapon and where he's going to strike you with it.

The aggressor is NOT focused on your response because he has no idea what you may do, But in practice, he does...so he often anticipates your defensive maneuver and easily reacts to it. The element of surprise is lost entirely.

My students have managed to at least partially overcome this problem to some degree... Most of our knife defenses begin with an advancing movement (attacking the attack), preventing the knife from hitting its target, and a SIMULTANEOUS thrust to the face with the entire palm (directed at the aggressor's nose. The LAST thing a real assailant expects is an aggressive, forward movement, and the palm thrust/downward sort of slap to his nose is VERY painful and sends the sinuses into a sudden wave of shock...his eyes water, his nose gushes blood, he is unable to see clearly, and his attention IS NO LONGER FOCUSED ON THE WEAPON (whether it be a knife or bare hand). This provides the defender enough time to apply his defensive technique.

When working with a partner, we don't actually slap the face; students slap the attacker's forehead! No damage is done but it IS quite distracting, which is just what the defender needs. It's a good practice method that doesn't result in injuries.

“Non-Compliance” does not mean that the uke should stiffen up in anticipation of the defensive technique. If possible, he should react as he believes a real aggressor would react. Takes a bit of acting, but tightening up the whole body (which a real aggressor would NOT do) is very risky and can easily result in injuries.