The Rocking Horse

An Unorthodox Hold from the film California Dolls

The Rocking Horse looks like a death dealing hold that will crush the neck of the opponent. However if the pressure is taken on the collar bone, and the knee is usually wide enough for this to be so, then the action to the neck is only mild. However as usual anyone intending to play with this hold is asked to be very careful - HEW cannot be responsible for any damage!

In the film California Dolls, available on video rental or purchase, a tag team contest shows the hold to advantage. Below the first tag partner is giving the hold on her own, using the ropes as support. This is actually a blow up from a full screen, hence the pixelated resolution.

The next shot, shows the arms of the tag partners linked as both join in the rocking motion.

The knee rests on the neck, as shown in the third picture, but as I said it is usually wide enough for the pressure to be taken on the collar bone. The person giving the hold needs to take care to angle it so the collar bone does take the weight otherwise injury could result. If playing with it, apply pressure gradually and have an "emergency stop" signal ready to avoid accidents! If everything is OK then you can rock backwards and forewards giving a spectale for the crowds (they loved it in the film) and in a HEW situation possibly fun for the recipient!

Ron Farrar writes:

The Rocking Horse looked good on TV I agree. The thing to remember about that film was that the four participants were all long established professional dancers.

The final bout took six weeks to film and the camera angles accounted for 80% of the action. I am not knocking the actors, far from it, but just pointing out that all things must be seen as they are not as they appear.