{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/melee-combat--t017","type":"mechanic","id":"melee-combat--t017","lang":"en","title":"Grapples, throws and wrestling","summary":"The player establishes controlled contact with a target and selects a follow-up, restricting both participants' movement during the interaction.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/melee-combat--t017/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/melee-combat--t017.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/melee-combat--t017.md","aliases":["Grabs, throws and wrestling"],"tags":["Melee and combat systems","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-e7703f0b61e1f579","source-096b56395ac20d09"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3817d420df0baa92","title":"Robert Nystrom: State","url":"https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-e7703f0b61e1f579","title":"Godot: AnimationTree","url":"https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/animation/animation_tree.html","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-096b56395ac20d09","title":"RoboCop: Rogue City (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/throwing-enemies","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player establishes controlled contact with a target and selects a follow-up, restricting both participants' movement during the interaction."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t017-variants\"></a>\n\n- Range-gated grabs: entry requires suitable proximity, facing and target state. <a id=\"t017-v1\"></a>\n- Chosen throws: release direction changes collisions with walls or other enemies. <a id=\"t017-v2\"></a>\n- Resistance: the grabbed target receives an explicit escape window or resource. <a id=\"t017-v3\"></a>\n- Geometry compatibility: obstacles cause a clear adjustment or refusal of the interaction. <a id=\"t017-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"On a narrow bridge, the player can throw an enemy behind them to clear a path or pin it against a support for a short stun.\n\nPrototype check: Test grabs near walls, edges and a participant's defeat: both characters should return to valid independent states."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Melee combat revolves around distance and the moment of commitment. Starting an action can temporarily remove the ability to defend, so opponents need readable preparation, reach and contact results. These overviews separate decisions about targets, continuing a sequence, choosing a defense and escaping a bad position. Start by testing one attack and one response without decorative effects. The dedicated boss reference remains available in the direction map; this catalog covers the other contact-combat topics. Sources illustrate state and animation-transition models rather than prescribing a universal combat formula."}],"relations":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/state-pattern","title":"State: Game Programming Patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"melee-combat","id":"t017","title":"Melee and combat systems","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/melee-combat/#t017","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Grabs, throws and wrestling","description":"The player establishes controlled contact with a target and selects a follow-up, restricting both participants' movement during the interaction.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/combat-throwing-enemies.webp","width":600,"height":334,"game":"RoboCop: Rogue City (2023)","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/throwing-enemies","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/robocop_throw_guy.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":4.95,"credit":"Teyon / Nacon; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses.","caption":"Throwing an enemy down a corridor","alt":"Throwing an enemy down a corridor","markers":[{"x":51,"y":60,"label":"Enemy during the throw animation"}]},"tips":["Coordinate both poses and define how to escape the grab."],"examples":[{"title":"RoboCop: Rogue City (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/throwing-enemies"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/melee-combat"}}