The martial science and energetics behind Trump’s infamous handshake

Donald Trump has said he doesn’t like shaking people’s hands. Often you can tell a lot about someone’s personality when they are “out of their comfort zone”. In martial arts, we seek to find comfort in discomfort and the bigger picture to find peace in conflict.

Mr. Trump’s technique and his energetic composite as a mutable Air sign of gemini clearly come into perspective.  While many people say the sun sign is unreliable, in martial arts and discomfort/stress, our mask comes off and true nature is often revealed.  Recently his handshake has come into spotlight after his uncomfortably long handshake with Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe.  Many critics have pointed out considerations in this style of yankshake; the appearance of closeness and status reminder.  However, we will explore deeper.

Mr. Trump uses a technique called kuzushi 崩し  the Japanese concept of unbalancing an opponent; literally to pull down, destroy, demolish. Kuzushi tends to work really well when accompanied by spiraling motion. If we look at the radicals in Chinese; to move a mountain 山 we rely on two moons 月 月 (moon is typically associated with emotional instability; two moons even more). Trump is quite effective with kuzushi and skilled at destabilizing during the handshake.  Notice the upward spiral from his pinky to his shoulder, Mr. Trump employs to uproot during the handshake below.

Mr. Trump is a gemini. Gemini is a mutable air and air signs tend to issue from their shoulders and arms.  They tend to be great strikers and quick on their feet.  Like air, they favor erratic movement and are really good at using movement to throw their opponent into confusion and disarray hoping they wont notice the wind’s power until its too late.  They rely on movement as information, hoping the pivotal attacks will penetrate based on inundation either structurally or emotionally.  If you’ve ever tried to uproot and air sign, its like trying to throw a cat on its back.  It’s important to have a solid structure (physically and emotionally) with air signs and also be vigilant in not getting flustered by all the movement, but find the magical calm they say exists at the heart of every storm.  As the legendary samurai, Miyamoto Musashi said in the book of Air; “speed implies that things seem fast or slow, according to whether or not they are in rhythm. Whatever the Way, the master does not appear fast.” If you can hit an air sign along the diaphragm or the legs, (reliance on what helps them stay mobile) you’ve accomplished understanding and working with the air sign.

In combat the earth signs are particularly exceptional at rooting and rely on practical stability typically in the skeletal structure; they are like trying to throw a fire hydrant. It is interesting to note the man famous for countering Mr. Trump’s infamous armdrag is a capricorn; a cardinal earth sign.  Earth signs are good grapplers and cardinal (initiating) tend to be great at quickly assessing the spot that doesn’t move as if they planned it ahead of time.  If you understand rhythm, you also have the ability to break rhythm and timing. “Really skillful people never get out of time, and are always deliberate, and never appear busy.” -Miyamoto Musashi. Notice where and how Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau countered the kuzushi attempt using a solid 90 degree structure on Mr. Trump’s shoulder.

In Japan handshakes are much more common nowadays; but in the days of the samurai, a symmetrical bow was the greeting of order and respect.  Subtleties of how deep the bow was indicated how much respect was imbued.  For a samurai though, the distance of a bow allowed them to always have their mind battle ready and their sword free to draw at any moment.  Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was unfortunately an earth sign caught in the wrong time period.  You can tell he braced his skeletal structure but Mr. Trump was able to spiral his hand structurally past his centerline and beyond the point of no return.

A central idea of yinjas is to understand stillness and the power of little things. Train hard yinjas.  If you are interested in strategic consultation contact yinjas. Be on the look out for my book that talks about martial strategy in more details: