Page:Japanese Physical Training (Hancock).djvu/193

 Rh method of attack with the hands or with a stick would bring with it astonishment to the curious seeker after athletic knowledge.

A feat that can be employed sometimes, though not often, in combat, is most useful as a means of general physical toughening. One Japanese student lies on the floor, flat on his back. His antagonist bends over, seizing the prostrate one's ankles with what is known as the ankle-pinch. This consists of seizing the ankle bones with the hands in such manner that the thumb presses severely against the bone on the inner side of the foot, while the fingers give equally hard pressure against the bone on the outer side of the foot. A very little practice teaches the student how to cause a good deal of pain when the pressure is given strongly enough.

Once the principle of this pinch has been mastered,—and it is not done in a moment,—the next step is taken up. Raise the victim's feet a trifle from the floor, applying the pinch as hard as is possible without inflicting too much pain, and twist the ankles rapidly over so that the toes point outward. In this case,