The back and the serpent: There is something very serpentine about a good back attack. Whenever a constrictor snake goes to attack it's prey, it needs several key elements. The first is an initial connection or anchor to the body of its victim. This is done by biting. The bite is almost always applied close to the head in order to optimize the subsequent actions. Then the snake wraps itself around the victim in order to apply constructing pressure that can stop the victim from breathing and according to recent research, stop blood flow around the body causing unconsciousness and ultimately heart failure leading to death. Now when humans go to the back there are some important similarities and differences. Just like constrictor snakes we need an initial anchor to the opponents body. We have neither the ability nor the desire to do this with a bite, so instead we use our hands, which, like the snake, must be applied close to the head. The hands lock around the head on one side and under the elbow on the other – offering an anchor as good as any serpents bite. Then, just like a snake, we need to throw some coils around the middle of the body to solidify our connection to the opponents body. For us humans, this is best done with our legs. The other big element we share with constrictor snakes is the need for the ability to stop blood flow. Snakes are blessed with power and length that we feeble humans will never have, so we we have to be very specific in our target – the neck. This target is small and vulnerable and the human arm is more than sufficient to close off blood flow at this location. Here is Gordon Ryan, looking remarkably serpentine as he shows all the classic features of a strong back attack – a strong initial anchor to the head via a control hand under the elbow connected to the wrist, backed up with coiled legs around the torso, finalized with an arm around the neck directly attacking blood flow in the opponent. Learn your lesson from the serpent, who has been performing this mode of attack for millions of years before humans even existed, and watch your back attack improve dramatically as a result
