Posted by: Gavin
Pressure Points to aid “Flight” - 01/10/06 08:57 AM
This is an article I've done for a new website I'm working on, hope you like it:
Pressure Points to aid “Flight”
“Fight or Flight” is a term that has almost universal understanding within the Martial Arts community. Any Self Defence practitioner worth their salt will instantly tell you that it is the body’s natural response to either engage in the conflict “Fight” or seek to run away from it “Flight”. Of the two responses the obvious choice is “Flight”, because as the old saying goes “You can’t hurt whats not there!”
The question this presents is how do we make use of this “Flight” response? If you run surely your attacker might give chase? What happens if your attacker is faster than you? Asking just these simple questions makes “Flight” trickier than it first appeared.
Before we utilise the “Flight” option we really first want to ensure that we maximise our chances of fleeing successfully. One option we have in which to increase the odds of escape is that of disabling our opponent in order to gain some form of head start. This ultimately requires some form of pre-emptive strike to clear an avenue for escape.
There are many schools of thought as to where and how to pre-emptively strike. No matter which one you personally subscribe to, you must ensure that it provides you with enough time to escape. In order to do this your strike must count, failure will merely antagonise the situation and place you in further danger. When you think of suitable targets a few will probably immediately spring to mind, eyes, nose, throat and groin to name but a few. These are all excellent targets, but if we look towards the pressure points we’ll see we actually have some potent and viable alternatives.
It’s a common misconception that pressure points are hideously complex to attack effectively in real life. As with anything in self defence, if it’s not simple it won’t work. So if we are going to utilise a pressure point attack it has to be simple. The following three targets are all highly accessible, extremely effective and best of all simple to learn.
The first target isn’t a single point, but actually a cluster of them. On the outer upper corner of forehead is a cluster of Gall Bladder (GB) meridian points, GB13[1], GB14[2] and GB15[3]. These three points form an upside down triangle above the eye brow. This triangle cluster of points is conveniently sized so that all three points will fit neatly under the palm of your hand if you were to place it on someone’s forehead.
Striking this cluster is done by slapping down with your palm. The easiest way to describe the method is to imagine that you have an empty beer can in your palm that you’re trying to crush on your attacker’s skull. It’s a dull heavy thud. So all you need to do is to visualise an empty beer can and crush it as hard and fast as you can into the cluster. For a greater effect imagine that you are crushing your imaginary beer can in and down at a 45 degree angle towards the opposite side of the skull. Remember that this cluster of points is bi-lateral (meaning that it is on both sides of the skull), so smashing two beer cans (one in each hand to either side of the skull) will add even more potency by doubling the effect of the strike.
Hitting into the Gall Bladder cluster will cause temporary concussion and cause an attackers brain to momentarily blackout. Even practicing at low power levels you can get a feel for the effect of the concussion. This will buy you time to either follow up or make a run for it.
To develop this strike you can actually practice crushing empty beer cans. The faster and more smoothly you can crush the can, the more power you will generate with the strike. This also gives you a great excuse to get through a six pack!
The next target we will look at is located on the corner of the jaw hinge and runs along the Stomach (ST) meridian, ST6[4]. As with the previous strike, imagine you have an empty beer can in your hand. Grasping your beer can around the bottom so that it sits in the palm of your hand, smash it into the ST6. We’re not simply trying crush the can into ST6, but actually drive it through the skull. Again angling the strike properly will greatly increase its effect, the correct angle is in and up at a 45 degree angle out of the top of the skull. Again this can be practiced with your empties!
This strike will again cause concussion, but due to the sensitive nature of the target area may also cause unconsciousness. As with the Gall Bladder cluster this all buys you time!
For our last target we will look at a quick and easy way of taking out an attacker’s leg. Along the inside edge of the shin bone runs the Spleen (SP) meridian. Pressing in with your thumb about an inch or so round from the shin to the inner leg with the thumb will probably be fairly tender, that’s the Spleen meridian. Working your way up from the ankle you’ll find one spot about a third of the way up that is particularly tender, SP6[5]. Note how painful a simple push with the thumb is to SP6. Now imagine the damage that can be caused with the tip of a shoe. A short sharp kick to this point will completely immobilise the leg. If an attacker can’t use their leg, they can’t follow you.
I’m afraid I can’t think of a way to drink beer and practice this point, although it can be practiced using a kick shield. Lean a kick shield up against a wall and you’ve now got a perfect target to practice your SP6 kick against.
Being armed with just these three targets and strikes gives you some simple yet effective methods that can easily be executed on the street. They do not require years of practice, flow perfectly from a passive open handed posture and more importantly will not cause any permanent damage to your attacker. Combining them will yield even greater results, attacking either the Gall Bladder cluster or ST6 in the head will provide you time for the SP6 kick. With your opponent immobilised gives you ample opportunity to utilise your “Flight” response.
[1] GB13 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB13&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[2] GB14 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB14&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[3] GB15 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB15&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[4] ST6 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=ST6&meridian=Stomach
[5] SP6 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=SP6&meridian=Spleen
Pressure Points to aid “Flight”
“Fight or Flight” is a term that has almost universal understanding within the Martial Arts community. Any Self Defence practitioner worth their salt will instantly tell you that it is the body’s natural response to either engage in the conflict “Fight” or seek to run away from it “Flight”. Of the two responses the obvious choice is “Flight”, because as the old saying goes “You can’t hurt whats not there!”
The question this presents is how do we make use of this “Flight” response? If you run surely your attacker might give chase? What happens if your attacker is faster than you? Asking just these simple questions makes “Flight” trickier than it first appeared.
Before we utilise the “Flight” option we really first want to ensure that we maximise our chances of fleeing successfully. One option we have in which to increase the odds of escape is that of disabling our opponent in order to gain some form of head start. This ultimately requires some form of pre-emptive strike to clear an avenue for escape.
There are many schools of thought as to where and how to pre-emptively strike. No matter which one you personally subscribe to, you must ensure that it provides you with enough time to escape. In order to do this your strike must count, failure will merely antagonise the situation and place you in further danger. When you think of suitable targets a few will probably immediately spring to mind, eyes, nose, throat and groin to name but a few. These are all excellent targets, but if we look towards the pressure points we’ll see we actually have some potent and viable alternatives.
It’s a common misconception that pressure points are hideously complex to attack effectively in real life. As with anything in self defence, if it’s not simple it won’t work. So if we are going to utilise a pressure point attack it has to be simple. The following three targets are all highly accessible, extremely effective and best of all simple to learn.
The first target isn’t a single point, but actually a cluster of them. On the outer upper corner of forehead is a cluster of Gall Bladder (GB) meridian points, GB13[1], GB14[2] and GB15[3]. These three points form an upside down triangle above the eye brow. This triangle cluster of points is conveniently sized so that all three points will fit neatly under the palm of your hand if you were to place it on someone’s forehead.
Striking this cluster is done by slapping down with your palm. The easiest way to describe the method is to imagine that you have an empty beer can in your palm that you’re trying to crush on your attacker’s skull. It’s a dull heavy thud. So all you need to do is to visualise an empty beer can and crush it as hard and fast as you can into the cluster. For a greater effect imagine that you are crushing your imaginary beer can in and down at a 45 degree angle towards the opposite side of the skull. Remember that this cluster of points is bi-lateral (meaning that it is on both sides of the skull), so smashing two beer cans (one in each hand to either side of the skull) will add even more potency by doubling the effect of the strike.
Hitting into the Gall Bladder cluster will cause temporary concussion and cause an attackers brain to momentarily blackout. Even practicing at low power levels you can get a feel for the effect of the concussion. This will buy you time to either follow up or make a run for it.
To develop this strike you can actually practice crushing empty beer cans. The faster and more smoothly you can crush the can, the more power you will generate with the strike. This also gives you a great excuse to get through a six pack!
The next target we will look at is located on the corner of the jaw hinge and runs along the Stomach (ST) meridian, ST6[4]. As with the previous strike, imagine you have an empty beer can in your hand. Grasping your beer can around the bottom so that it sits in the palm of your hand, smash it into the ST6. We’re not simply trying crush the can into ST6, but actually drive it through the skull. Again angling the strike properly will greatly increase its effect, the correct angle is in and up at a 45 degree angle out of the top of the skull. Again this can be practiced with your empties!
This strike will again cause concussion, but due to the sensitive nature of the target area may also cause unconsciousness. As with the Gall Bladder cluster this all buys you time!
For our last target we will look at a quick and easy way of taking out an attacker’s leg. Along the inside edge of the shin bone runs the Spleen (SP) meridian. Pressing in with your thumb about an inch or so round from the shin to the inner leg with the thumb will probably be fairly tender, that’s the Spleen meridian. Working your way up from the ankle you’ll find one spot about a third of the way up that is particularly tender, SP6[5]. Note how painful a simple push with the thumb is to SP6. Now imagine the damage that can be caused with the tip of a shoe. A short sharp kick to this point will completely immobilise the leg. If an attacker can’t use their leg, they can’t follow you.
I’m afraid I can’t think of a way to drink beer and practice this point, although it can be practiced using a kick shield. Lean a kick shield up against a wall and you’ve now got a perfect target to practice your SP6 kick against.
Being armed with just these three targets and strikes gives you some simple yet effective methods that can easily be executed on the street. They do not require years of practice, flow perfectly from a passive open handed posture and more importantly will not cause any permanent damage to your attacker. Combining them will yield even greater results, attacking either the Gall Bladder cluster or ST6 in the head will provide you time for the SP6 kick. With your opponent immobilised gives you ample opportunity to utilise your “Flight” response.
[1] GB13 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB13&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[2] GB14 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB14&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[3] GB15 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=GB15&meridian=Gall%20Bladder
[4] ST6 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=ST6&meridian=Stomach
[5] SP6 http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=SP6&meridian=Spleen
