It’s been a whirlwind first 4 weeks of the Donald Trump administration, with the whole world paying close attention to every one of the President’s moves—including his unconventional handshake. Trump has used his aggressive, jerky shake when meeting with fellow world leaders, but the results haven’t always gone smoothly.
Naturally, one jiu-jitsu school in Ohio sought to figure out how you’d defend yourself against the Prez’s power shake, and their solution is sure to grab the attention of the Secret Service.
This week, Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Columbus posted a 99-second video titled “Defense to the Donald Trump handshake,” outlining the best way to counter Trump’s awkward introduction. The defense is simple: If Trump, or anyone else with an aggressive handshake who isn’t the president, starts to pull you in, you go with him. By stepping in with your outside foot, you wrap the person’s elbow and bend his wrist in. While doing that, your other hand will wrap over the top of the person’s knuckles, resulting in the “goose neck.”
“Secret Service, I promise if I meet the President I probably won’t wrist-lock him,” said Robin Gieseler, a fourth-degree black belt and the main instructor at the academy. “Probably.” Smiling, he mumbled: “I’m kidding.”
Gieseler emphasized that this isn’t a threat, but simply a training technique for anyone who needs to counter someone who is trying to impose his will on you with his handshake. “If you have an over-dominant person who is trying to grab you, pull you in, wrist-lock him,” Gieseler said in the video. “It’ll be huge! It’ll be huge! It’s going to be so good, so great.”
