H-CUFF® 
Hands-On Control Using Functional Force

An Online Handcuffing Course for Law Enforcement 

by the Law Enforcement Training Association (Police Judo)
Ret. Cst. Al ARSENAULT

Introductory Remarks

The H-CUFF Online Training Program:

The delivery of this training, initially North American-wide as an online course, will be done using the following components:

• This online student manual contains the main teaching points such as concepts, key points, and control advantages accompanied by basic photographic illustrations and video clips when required.
• There are six modules of varying length with quizzes associated with each section. The total time commitment to complete this online course is roughly ___ hours and can be done at your speed. Each module must be progressively completed (as evidenced by successfully passing the module quizzes) before you can move on to the next module.
• A Certificate of Completion will be issued to those passing the final quiz. A score of 80% must be achieved to pass this online course. The test may be repeated as often as required to attain a passing grade.
• Optionally, over and above this training, a book on Police Judo’s H-CUFF® Method of Handcuffing, can be purchased (AlArsenaultBooks.com or Amazon.com).
• In-person/video testing for competency and certification can be arranged through the Law Enforcement Training Association (LETA.com).

Handcuffing training is an essential skill, but it is often done poorly or taught using inferior techniques. There are 700,000 police officers and 820,000 security guards in the United States (about 70,000 for each type in Canada). All agencies should buy into this important and essential training, a first-class training system. It is easy-to-access and user friendly, showcasing the many innovative techniques taken from Police Judo (TwistLock Cuffing—T.L.C.).

This course can be viewed as supplemental to your previous training, or it can be used by novices in the field of law enforcement. It does not have to represent the only, or the best, way to handcuff a person. There are many means to apply handcuffs and there are many kinds of handcuffs with which to do so. The Cufflink (Chain-Link) Lock is unique to the H-CUFF® method of handcuffing but does require a chain handcuff for application. For other techniques, it matters not which method is being used or the type of handcuff being deployed for an officer to use the Rear Escort Double Twistlock, the Fawcett Wrench Takedown, Spiral Stand-up, Handshake Rollover, or any of the other innovative techniques found within our system of gaining control and handcuffing an arrestee. Over and above the technical aspects of using this method of handcuffing there are many tips and considerations offered in this course to make whatever method of handcuffing you choose to use all that much tactically and/or technically stronger.

For those who know little about handcuffing, this course will be of tremendous value to you from start to finish; for those who know a lot, then you too can find value in this course.

Evolution of the H-CUFF System:

As the main driving force behind this H-CUFF® methodology, let me introduce myself to you. My street knowledge is extensive and has often been tested. I was a police officer for the City of Vancouver Province of British Columbia, Canada for 27 years from 1979 to 2006. I was the top recruit in my class at the beginning of my career and I retired as Police Officer of the Year all of my working career in an operational policing capacity.

I spent about half of my career in our Skid Road area known as the Downtown Eastside (DTES). This run-down, anything-goes, type of marginalized neighbourhood is far too common now all across Canada and throughout the United States. The problems with mental health and drug intoxication have grown exponentially, creating significant challenges for police to develop good physical control skills.

The DTES foot beat patrol is a very rough area of town to police, one that is rife with more than just rampant drug abuse: mental illness, crimes of all sorts, not to mention anti-police activism, all flourish down there amidst abject poverty and depravity. As such, I made over 2,000 Criminal Code arrests in my career, not to mention an even greater number of physical interventions involving drugged, drunken, and violent individuals: those breaching the peace, involved in fights, and being ejected as troublemakers from bars, etc. It was from this crucible of chaos and carnage that my fellow teammates and I created both Odd Squad (1997) and Police Judo (2010). The former is a film production company focused on creating educational materials for youth dealing with drugs, gangs and guns, while the latter assisted officers in making skillful and ethical physical arrests of many dysfunctional people, oftentimes under the most trying of conditions.

Concluding Comments:

My search for improved control tactics techniques officially began in 1986 when I took an extended leave of absence (without pay) to study police use-of-force programs in various parts of the world. I am embarking on a two-year trip around the world to examine police use-of-force issues early in 2024 (see my blog at AlArsenaultBooks.com and/or Instagram page). Notably, it was from the Royal Hong Kong Police Training School (as it was then known) that the Aikido technique of the twistlock (san kyo) came to my attention. I have spent almost four decades refining and sometimes creating new variations of this technique for law enforcement purposes. What I call the “double twistlock” should be practiced and utilized by all police officers, as it is by far the best joint-locking techniques for law enforcement in existence because of its versatility, adaptability, functionality, reliability, biomechanical strength, and ease in both the application and in the transitioning to other joint locks.  Learn it well!