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The material in this article is my personal take on trap hands.  I have been exposed to trap hands through several arts and systems but my primary understanding of trap hands comes from my training in Filipino Kali.  I will, though, in this article reference some Chinese terminology (Jun Fan or Wing Chun) because most people familiar with trap hands have been exposed to these.

My understanding of trap hands has been influenced by many people but there were two really big influences I'd like to mention.  The first was my instructor, Guru Ken Pannell at Asian Fighting Arts in Dayton, Ohio (visit http://www.asianfightingarts.com for more information on him and his school).  The second was Guro Dan Inosanto.  While I've never trained as a student of Guro Dan, I've attended many seminars with him over the years and he has had quite a bit of impact in my evolution both as a martial artist and as an instructor.  For people unfamiliar with trap hands I hope this article will serve as a useful introduction.  For people familiar with trap hands this material will be very basic and only my personal terminology/organization of it will be new to you (and even it may be familiar) but I hope you will find a useful nugget in my ramblings that you can use.

First, I'll define what "trap hands" means to me so that we're all on the same page for the rest of the article.  "Trap hands" is a broad term that, to me, simply means "obstacle removal."  I want to place my weapon (i.e.: foot, knee, head, elbow, hand, stick, knife, etc.) on a target (i.e.: my opponent's nose, eye, throat, solar plexus, etc.) and there's an obstacle (i.e.: his parry, his footwork, etc.) preventing it.  If I remove the obstacle and place my weapon on the target then I have successfully applied trap hands.

I break trapping into 2 categories:  Passive and Active.  I've heard these terms used by others, but in a different way.  For me, an "active" trap might be the classical Jun Fan "slapping hand" (Pak Sao) trap.  I trap his arm, for instance, to his body and actively hold it there long enough to hit him.  A "passive" trap might be from a Jun Fan "jerking hand" (Jut Sao) where I jerk his arm down with my right hand, then "bounce" off his arm with a right uppercut into his chin.  I'm not actively holding his arm out of the way but it can't get back into the action quick enough to prevent my hit.

In my personal method, trap hands have six timings; one training timing and five applied timings.  The training timing is, of course, for training and tool development.  It might be from a static posture such as was illustrated in "Enter the Dragon" by Bruce Lee on Bob Wall (connect hands wrist-to-wrist then train the trapping from there).  Or it might be from a more fluid and mobile platform such as Wing Chun's Chi Sao drill or the Filipino Higot Hubad Lubad drill (where my personal understanding of trap hands was developed).

The five timings in application are:

1. I set the timing with a tactile reference (Set/Tactile)
2. I set the timing without a tactile reference (Set/Non-Tactile)
3. I steal his timing with a tactile reference (Steal/Tactile)
4. I steal his timing without a tactile reference (Steal/Non-Tactile)
5. Interception

To illustrate these timings, I'll use the slapping hand (Pak Sao) except in the illustration of an interception.

1. (Set/Tactile) As he punches, I lift my right arm in a block/deflection and this sets a "tactile reference."  As it touches, my left hand slaps the forearm of his punching arm and traps it to his body (active trap).  My right hand (without retracting or chambering . economy of motion is critical to the application of trap hands) fires a punch to my target.
2. (Set/Non-Tactile) As he punches, I slap immediately with my left hand to the forearm of his punching arm and trap it to his body while my right fires a punch down the now unobstructed line.
3. (Steal/Tactile) As I punch with my right, he lifts his right arm to block/deflect and gain timing.  As it touches my arm, I "steal" his timing with my left hand and slap the forearm of is right arm, trap it to his body, and my right punch continues to its target.
4. (Steal/Non-Tactile) As I punch with my right, he lifts his right arm to block/deflect.  Before it touches my arm, I "steal" the timing with my left, slap, trap, and my right hand continues toward its target.
5. (Interception) He throws a right cross.  I throw a left jab.  My left forearm connects with his right forearm tangentially (this would usually be accomplished with a body shift to my left so that when I fire my left jab straight toward his face, it cuts the line of his right cross at a slight tangent).  This moves his right cross off-line and causes it to miss its target while my left moves straight to its target.

Now, by and large, I've only addressed "active" trapping.  Here is an illustration of an application for a "passive" trap.  He throws a right cross.  I bring up my left hand as if to do an outside parry.  Instead of a parry toward my right, though, I reach over his hand and slap the thumb side of his hand to knock his hand to my left.  I continue the circular momentum of that slap and turn it into a left hook which runs right up the inside line of his arm to connect with his jaw.  I'm not actively restraining his right arm . but it can't get back in time to help.  This is Set/Non-Tactile timing (timing 2) because there's no tactile reference PRIOR to the trap . I don't make contact until I'm already initiating the trap.

Another "passive" trap in application:  I punch with a right cross toward his face.  His left hand comes up to parry.  Just before it contacts with my hand, I drop my hand about an inch, circle it to my right, and turn it into a hook.  As I drop it, his parry misses and when I circle over for the hook, his left hand is still expecting to parry my right hand and it won't be able to get back in time to do anything about my right hook.  This would be a Steal/Non-Tactile timing (timing 4).

Both of these "passive" trapping examples used what Jun Fan or Wing Chun would call a "Hyun Sao" or "Circling Hand" . but other traps can also be passive.  For instance, a guy puts his hands up in a left lead boxing stance.  I bring my left hand up to the outside of his left forearm and pull it towards me (Lap Sao) then, as his balance shifts forward, I fire my left hand up to an eye jab.

Also, feet can be tripped/trapped/swept which will inhibit or destroy the opponent's balance and mobility.  If this allows me to hit him because he can't evade then (in my definition) that's a type of "trap hands" even though the obstacle I removed was his mobility not his hands.  I might also accomplish this with a kick to his shin or knee or a stomp to his instep . any of which might inhibit his mobility.  I might also use a nerve strike to numb his arm (such as a classical "Gunting" from Filipino Kali) to inhibit its ability to obstruct my next attack.  While these items are not "classical" trap hands, per se, I believe they are important to remember and are definitely a method of "obstacle removal" so, in my personal view, they fall into the category of "trap hands."

Trap hands can also be used with weapons.  The weapon itself can be used to remove obstacles and/or to attack after the obstacle is removed.  An example of this might be hooking a wrist with the butt of a stick, then toss it out of the way to open the line to strike the opponent with the butt of the stick (this is the same application I mentioned above with the "Lap Sao" but done with a stick instead of an empty hand).

Trap hands can be used to close the distance and it can be used in the grappling range to open up lines for locks and chokes.  Trap hands are very versatile and this article only just scratches the surface of their potential applications.

I believe that trap hands can be an invaluable tool if properly developed.  The "training timing" is used to build, develop, and maintain the fundamental basics of trap hands.  But to reach a point where these basics can actually be applied in a real fight, all of the timings and categories that I've mentioned should be trained (whether you use my terminology/classifications is irrelevant . these basic principles are important no matter what they're called or how they're organized).  We never know what we might be presented with in a fight and, therefore, have to train the different aspects of this tool to make it effective.  We also have to train dynamically . such as in sparring.  Like any other tool in the martial arts, without dynamic training the tool WILL NOT come out in a fight . and if you try to force it out, it will almost certainly fail.

I hope you have found this article and my perception of this topic helpful.  Feel free to contact me with questions or comments.