Squeezing The Peach (Purple #11)

Squeezing the Peach is the 11th required technique to obtain your purple belt in Ed Parker’s American Kenpo. Squeezing the Peach is a defense against rear bear hug with your arms pinned, placing it in the Hugs & Holds category of the Web of Knowledge as well as the Bear Hug Family Group in the Holds & Hugs category of the family groups Grappling division.

In Squeezing the Peach due to your inability to create an angle of disturbance you resort to pain compliance as a means of distraction allowing you the time to stabilize your base.  You will use various methods of contouring such as tracking, fitting, guidelining throughout this defense as well as use a reverse bow stance as an offensive weapon for the first time.

Defense

Squeezing the Peach –  defense for a rear bear hug, arms pinned.

• Step 1
  • Pin your opponent’s hands with your right hand.
  • Step back toward 4:30 into a right neutral bow stance facing 12:00,
  • Deliver a left back heel palm strike as you grab and squeeze your opponent’s testicles.
• Step 2
  • Step forward with your left foot toward 12:00 to form a left neutral bow stance,
  • Deliver a right back heel scoop kick to your opponent’s groin.
• Step 3
  • With your right leg still in the air, stomp into a right reverse bow stance toward 7:30
  • Deliver a right snapping obscure elbow strike to your opponent’s chin.
  • Left hand checks low.
• Step 4
  • Right front crossover and cover out toward 1:30.

Additional Information

Name

The term “peach” in American Kenpo is used to symbolize the testicles. In this technique you are reaching behind to grab and squeeze your opponent’s testicles, thus the name Squeezing the Peach.

Attack

In the ideal phase your attacker is directly behind you (6:00) and applies a bear hug with your arms pinned at the forearm level and you are either being pulled back or unable to step to the side for whatever reason.

Squeezing the Peach differs from Captured Twigs and Crushing Hammers in that Squeezing the Peach can be used to answer some what if scenarios of the two techniques.  The first assumption that could be made is that your arms are pinned at forearm level where in Captured Twigs and Crushing Hammers your arms are pinned around the biceps.  Unlike these two techniques, the pinning of the forearms restrict your ability to make an effective strike with your hands and forearms.

The second assumption is that you are unable to step to the side for whatever reason.  One of the reasons could be the third assumption, that you are being pulled back, thus preventing the execution of techniques such as Captured Twigs and Crushing Hammer.

Considerations

• What if …
  • your arms are pinned high?
  • your arms are free?
  • your right arm is pinned and your left arm is free?
  • your left arm is pinned and your right arm is free?
  • your opponent’s doesn’t release his grip
  • you are pinned against a wall and unable to step forward?
  • you are lifted off the ground?
  • you are taken to the ground?
  • a second opponent is punching from the front?

Related Techniques

• Captured Twigs (Y-5)
• Crushing Hammer (P-5)
• Circling Destruction (G-3)
• Reprimanding the Bears (2Br-12)
• Spreading Branches

Historical Notes

• In the 1975 Accumulative Journal, Squeezing the Peach was Ed Parker’s American Kenpo Purple Belt Technique #12
• In the 1975 Accumulative Journal you step back toward 5:00 on the initial move.
• The 1975 Accumulative Journal also has you “deliver a right stiff leg stomp to 7 o’clock to buckle or break your opponent’s left leg” as opposed to the “stomping into a right reverse bow toward 7:30” to handle the buckle or break.
• Lastly the 1975 Accumulative Journal lists the Angle of Departure as 1:00

Historical Versions

1975 Accumulative Journal

SQUEEZING THE PEACH (rear bear hug — arms pinned)

1. With your feet together and opponent applying hug, move your left foot back to 5 o’clock (into a right neutral bow with your eyes focused straight ahead). Simultaneously have your left hand grab and squeeze opponent’s testicles as your right hand grabs and checks opponent’s arms.
2. Immediately step forward with your left foot to 12 o’clock into a left neutral bow and deliver a right rear scoop kick to opponent’s groin.
3. With your right leg still in the air deliver a right stiff leg stomp to 7 o’clock to buckle or break opponent’s left leg from the inside of opponent’s left knee with the inner portion of your right knee. Simultaneously deliver a right obscure back elbow (palm down) to opponent’s jaw while looking over your right shoulder and as your left hand checks low.
4. Right front crossover and cover out to 1 o’clock.

Notes

• Be sure to maintain your grab as you step forward into a left neutral bow stance.
• Do not lean forward when executing the right reverse bow stance, doing so will cause your elbow strike to miss.
• Consider a rear head butt  as an additional option if the situation permits.

Variations

One variation which serves as an answer to the last what if scenario goes like this…

Squeezing the Peach –  defense for a rear bear hug, arms pinned.

• Step 1
  • Pin your opponent’s hands with your right hand.
  • Step back toward 4:30 into a right neutral bow stance facing 12:00,
  • Deliver a left back heel palm strike as you grab and squeeze your opponent’s testicles.
• Step 2
  • Step forward with your left foot toward 1:30 to form a left neutral bow stance,
  • Pulling your opponent by the testicles between you and the second attacker.
• Step 3
  • Deliver a right back heel scoop kick to your opponent’s groin,
  • Clear your opponent’s hands
• Step 3
  • With your right leg still in the air, stomp into a right reverse bow stance toward 10:30
  • Deliver a right snapping obscure elbow strike to your opponent’s chin.
  • Left hand checks low.
• Step 4
  • Right front crossover and cover out toward 4:30.