i posted this in the MA Forum but got no response so here it is again...


i was never a big believer in pressure point strikes but the other day i was sparring with a friend and he fell to the ground after he double blocked my kick to his head.
he started to scream about his pinky finger and how it was broken.
i was obviously worried for him and felt bad bc i thought i had just broken my friends finger. he tore off his gloves and wraps and checked out his finger. we then realized it wasnt broken. after a few minutes the pain went away but his arm remained numb.
i had hit his funny bone with a relatively soft kick but it still managed to shut down his arm function and generate tremendous pain. he asked around and it turns out that the funny bone nerve is a first defense in case of a dismemberment ie. if triggered, it causes your arteries to narrow to stop you from bleeding to death. apparently we triggered this response when sparring. this was 2 days ago and his arm is still numb.
so although i have witnessed first hand the power of a pressure point strike, it was such a fluke strike and such a tiny target in the arm, i still see the technique as extremely difficult to execute in real life. my buddy has been fighting for 10 years and double blocked thousands of kicks and punches and this was the first time he had ever expereinced this...statistically, is pressure point/ nerve striking really practical???

[QUOTE]is pressure point/ nerve striking really practical???[/QUOTE]

It really depends on how realistically you train with them. If you are in a system the teaches pressure point KO's on a non-moving person and expect to be able to perform the same KO on some pissed off psyco your chances are slim. Pressure points should never be a foundation, just another component of your training. The more you know, whether it's body mechanics, pressure points, psychology or kensiology, the better your chances are of applying the techniques you know. Pressure points are part of the reason some techniques work. I don't know what your training back ground is but if you have ever had any formal MA training, other than kick boxing, you will go through a lot of basics. Some of the basics you learn don't have much meaning till later when you start digging deeper. This is part of the reason it's said you don't start really learning anything till AFTER you get your black belt. Up to that point most of what you were doing was conditioning the body and mind for more advanced training. Once you have learned the basics you can continue on to peeling away the layers and understand why you strike certain areas a certain way.

If you are going into a fight thinking you are going to try hitting X points you may have a problem. If you have trained properly though you will be able to recognize openings and be able to use some points for an advantage. Pressure points can work if you have a proper understand of them and no mystical expectations of their use. Their not the ultimate weapon, just another tool.

As for your friend taking several shots and never having this reaction. There are certain ways of activating different points. Some are push points, some are rub points and others are hit points. Even if it's a hit point there has to be the proper angle and direction for activation. It could have been a lucky shot.

thanks for the insight. it was a lucky shot and totally unintentional

like he said it is how realistic ur trainning is. i have been use as dummy for several times and trust me it hurts like hell. but i do learn though. the realistic one that i have experience was when i got knock on my knee with a touch rite on my chest. my good friend, stopped my heart & lung for 2 seconds.. ohh the horrible pains and [censored] i went though... oi... lolz

Personally as I see it, they are very helpful for the simple fact that instead of just punching anywhere, you can aim more at the open pressure points than go somewhere where it isnt going to hurt as much. For example if they come in with a straight right hand punch and you manage to block this and get to the outside of their punch an untrained person in pressure points may just simply go for the ribs, where a trained person may go for any one of the points on the neck to cause more pain.

thanx
CKS