Punch or Push?

This post will most likely draw much heat from the boards, but thats never stopped me before.

Like all of us I am always looking for the best way to attack the body. I have found that sometimes a punch or strike is not always the best choice. In fact a closed fist punch may be well back in the ranks of effectiveness. The study of pressure points/body weaknesses has opened my eyes to new and more potent ways to attack.

I'll give a couple examples...

The ribs are designed to protect the internal organs by distributing an impact equally around the midsection. The muscle structure also responds best when attacked in an upward direction(boxers attack the ribs and abdominals this way and dont realize that they should be hitting from top to bottom). I have noticed that the ribs give way and a greater amount of damage it done by touching the ribs and then issuing a "Push" or fa-jing shake. Using this shake in a downward motion even with minimal force has devestating effects.

As far as pressure points go Governing Vessel-28(GV-28) is located on the inside of the top lip under the nose. This point responds very well to the push. During a grappling situation this point is usually accessable. Perfect to use when you can't punch. Perfect to use when you can. If you give this point a side to side rub(vibration) it causes massive confusion loss of balance and releases the muscles of the neck. This point also weakens stomach-5(St-5) on the jaw.

Push or punch?

Scott

[QUOTE] I have noticed that the ribs give way and a greater amount of damage it done by touching the ribs and then issuing a "Push" or fa-jing shake. Using this shake in a downward motion even with minimal force has devestating effects.
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Sounds like an idea I've heard that a punch (at least, a body punch) should be like an armon-piercing artillery shell - penetrate, then explode. Imagine the standard twist-punch as being two techniques, first a vertical-fist punch, then an exploding twist; that's the idea. I don't know if I'd describe the second part as a "push", but I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that description either.

Haven't tried the downward bit yet. Now I've got a surprise for someone in my next kumite session. [IMG]http://bbs.fightingarts.com/ubb/wink.gif[/IMG]

A well-rooted push to the lower torso is also just an excellent non-damaging technique for separating belligerents if you're trying to break up a fight.

Tom-san,

Excellent comments(not just because you agree with my suggestion) [IMG]http://bbs.fightingarts.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/IMG]. There is definately a second action. The twist is a great second action. Here's another one you can try when grappling...

The body can react to one stimulus at a time fairly well, but it has major problems dealing with an alternating stimulus.

Try knuckling into the ribs when mounted along with the push in vibrate (shake) the the hand to alternate the stimulus. If this is done on the point Liver-14 this will tend to launch the opponent off of you!

Experiment away!

Scott

[This message has been edited by Kempoman (edited 08-15-2001).]

Actually, I have found more punishing and penetrating blows in both vital point striking and good old slugfests are of the "heavy hand" or slapping technique.

If you can attack any point on the torso by shifting your weight, launching your hand in a "sideways throw" and open the hand on impact, causing a painful slap, you can seize the point or muscle group (perhaps dig you fingers under and behind the rib cage?) with a crude pinch or grind the knuckles across the body. People I have trained with for years whinge when I do these sorts of techniques. That'll learn em for being so fast!

I don't know names of points well, but if Li 14 is below the nipple on the floating ribs, if you are comprimised by a bear hug, you could attack one with a downward grind, and the other with an upward grind. This would like like the second/fourth moves in Heian/ Pinan Sandan. (Perhaps the downward punch needs to be performed upon a higher point, like any on the same meridian above Li 14. Would this work?

I suppose similar to the pushing technique, I do have a variation of the downward punch I called the knuckle punch. Basically you do a straight punch, but just before you hit, you do a sharp downward arc. I discovered this while practicing punching techniques and found that the amount of damage if seemed to inflict was dramatically more. It works especially well on the ribs and just below the chest where it's been known to knock the air out of people (at least that's what happened from the strike). This topic explains why that punch has proven so effective for me.