Pressure Points Strikes

 

PRESSURE POINTS STRIKES 

What is pressure points strikes? Most of us are aware that some parts of the body are more vulnerable to damage than others. Some people refer to these vulnerable p parts arts as pressure points or vital points. In Karate term, they are called kyusho k yusho points and kyusho jutsu is the art of striking or manipulating pressure points. Karate Shotokan kata contain many secret techniques that teach us pressure points strikes. I'm not going to discuss human pressure points in general but I'll focus on how to knockout, control or restrain a person by striking his kyusho points, through proper Karate bunkai. There are 3 categories of effects that can be achieved by pressure points strikes: 1. To knockout a person - this is quite obvious although the results may ma y vary from temporary unconsciousness, comatose to death. 2. To control a person - you may want to strike a person so that he release you, stop attacking you, lose his sights or balance or expose his more vulnerable point (a setup strike). 3. To restrain a person - sometimes you do not want to cause any permanent damage or serious injuries to a person. You may then use pressure points strikes to immobilize a person, cause him to temporarily lose control of his limbs or to pin p in him down. KYUSHO JUTSU HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VITAL PART OF KARATE BUNKAI.  

The art of Kyusho Jutsu has always alwa ys been very effective for street fighting, and the they y level the odds when you are facing facin g bigger, stronger, or faster opponents in a ho hostile stile situation. Here are some of the most common pressure points strikes for the purposes described above:

 

h ammer-fist or forearm on his 1. To knockout a person - strike with your punch, palm-heel, hammer-fist Stomach 5 point (lower jaw of the mouth), or if you are at his back, strike the Gall Bladder 20 point (behind the head on the bottom hollow part). Strike up and 45% inwards. 2. To control a person - attack with middle-knuckle fists or both thumbs on both his Triple Warmer 17 points (behind the ear on the bottom hollow part).

Strike horizontally inwards then 45% upwards. Slam your forearm 90% straight down his Lung 5 point (one inch below crease of elbow) elbow ) on either one of his arm. This wo would uld weaken his legs and make him stick out his head, so that you may ma y strike his Stomach 5 point if you want to knock him out. opponent 's arm and rub with your knuckles or forearm on 3. To restrain a person - hold your opponent's his Triple Warmer 11 point (slightly above the elbow joint), the pain will keep him from moving or using his arm. Use your knife-hand, hammer-fist, or forearm to strike 45% downwards his Triple Warmer 12 point (middle of the arm on the hollow triceps muscle). This will bring him on his knees and immobilize his arm. I find that pressure points strikes are very much an essential part of Karate bunkai as shown in many Karate Shotokan kata, provided you know how to interpret them accurately. Many Karate  bunkai contain kyusho points striking techniques. But you should never rely on kyusho jutsu exclusively.

 

MARMA CHIKILSA (PRESSURE POINT):   The Kalari instructors were very adept at manipulating the various vital points on the body as outlined in  Ayurvedic medicine (Shushruta Samhita). Samhita) . The following Figure shows some of the pressure points as identified by the Kalari Marma treatment system