Grappling Hold - Pain Compliance Hold

A pain compliance hold (also referred to as a pain compliance technique or sometimes a pain hold) is a grappling hold which uses painful joint lock, compression lock or pressure point technique to control a person or opponent. The mechanism of the techniques is the same of submission holds. However, pain compliance techniques are generally used by law enforcement, and often taught as a self-defense technique in martial arts and combatives.

Frequently used by police and corrections personnel in accordance with an "escalation of force" policy, such techniques presume a rational adversary. Some altered states such as those caused by mental illness, extreme flexibility, phencyclidine and amphetamine use, or extreme adrenaline may alter the subject's perception of pain or willingness to submit.

Like other forms of non-lethal force, pain compliance strategies are not perfect and may be abused as a form of torture with plausible deniability. For this reason the use of pain compliance holds is often subject to explicit rules of engagement designed to prevent abuse and avoid conflict escalation.