Extreme Defense

For information purposes only. Exercise and diet at your own risk


Many Martial Arts systems have a variety of striking techniques in their arsenal to neutralize a would be attacker. A myriad of kicks, punches, knees, elbows and open hand strikes are at their disposal - all supposedly guaranteed to drop your assailant in their tracks. Vital points, pressure points and nerve strikes are all practiced, but which ones really work under 'real' combat conditions when your attacker is hell bent on tearing you limb from limb? Much has been said on the subject of pressure point fighting in recent years. Many instructors from the States and indeed from the UK, have done the rounds on the seminar scene promoting this branch of the martial arts. Is there some big mystery to it all? Do these instructors have knowledge or inside information that others don't?

Well I can only address the subject of vital point striking from my own experience. From this experience I can draw conclusions that there are no magical points or mystical secrets. Most of the pressure points on the body do not cut the mustard against a fired up determined attacker, and any others have little or no effect! I feel that in the world of martial arts many are searching for that easy to use magical technique to drop a mugger or rapist on the spot and they are just about ready to believe in anything or anybody to achieve this.

I have had 30 years hard, dedicated training in many martial arts systems. I have tested my techniques in full contact, boxing, vale tudo, 'Animal' day no holds barred training and real self defence on the pavement arena. I have laid my art and my reputation on the line many times to pressure test myself in the quest for truth and I'm yet to find that secret technique. Why? Because there aren't any out there! A lot of the pressure points and vital spots can be explained to you and demonstrated by any person qualified in acupuncture or shiatsu. Even you local GP can explain much of it, it's not a 'secret' skill. The difference being an acupuncturist will use their skills to heal, whereas a martial artist has the ability to use their skills to damage.

My knowledge of vital points began some 20 years ago in combat Ju Jutsu. My old instructor Dave Turton, Micky Upham and Mike Marshall taught these as part of their arts. Indeed most Ju Jutsu systems go into vast detail on vital points and to gain a black belt you need a good working knowledge of anatomy and physiology. These above mentioned men had vast experience of real world combat in the military, body-guarding and security. They knew what worked and what didn't and told you in a no-nonsense, down-to-earth manner.

I remember Micky Upham's unique approach for getting you to remember vital points. For example he would throw you to the ground and stand or kneel on your ear and ask you how many bones were in it and their names. He would do this with other points and it was a quick and harsh method of recalling your anatomy! Also it was a good experiment in seeing how your mind functioned under extreme pain and discomfort!

Ask my good mate Dave Turton of Goshinwai Combat and the Self Defence Federation about practical use of pressure points and he will graphically show you! Beware if he has a yawara-bo in his hand, it can mean only one thing - pain! When you have a compliant partner stood in front of you, whose brain and body are not in fighting mode you can pick out and make most pressure points work, causing anything from mild discomfort, annoying pain and sickening pain, to extreme pain, partial paralysis and knockout. When you have also planted the suggestion in your partner's mind of the type of pain they will experience and the suitable reaction, you are halfway there.

The knockout to the carotid sinus isn't secret or magical, any doctor can tell you where and how to do it. I could teach a person with little or no skill how to do this effectively but I would never advocate doing this in the Dojo because of its unforeseen dangers, particularly for those with heart or blood pressure problems. Many people don't even know they have blood pressure problems, so how would you know? Most instructors use this KO point to massage their own egos and try to convince the assembled and audience how 'deadly' they are! The carotid sinus is certainly a weak spot on the body and in real combat I would have no compunction in using it but I wouldn't use another person as a human guinea-pig to prove a point and lead credibility to my cause. But the question that really needs to be answered is which vital spots will stop an all out 'wired' assailant who doesn't care about your abilities, grades or reputation - whose only concern is tearing you limb from limb? Imagine for a moment, if you will your sort nightmare opponent. It might be somebody like one of the awesome specimens from the world's strongest man, or a relentless and savage fighter like Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw or 'Iron' Mike Tyson. It could be one of the best fighters on the planet like Rickson Gracie or Tito Ortiz, or maybe it's just some drugged up psycho brandishing a big knife.

Whoever it is, they are annoyed with you, they have only one thought in mind, to take your life. Now what are you going to rely on, when running isn't an option, talking them down isn't on the cards or finding a suitable weapon to stop them isn't available? What pressure point or vital point are you going to place your faith and probably your life in? Can you really say you have the upmost confidence when the rug of compliancy is tugged away form beneath you? Remember we are looking for complete stoppers here, that will end the danger. Not hurt them, not stun them, bruise them or tickle them! These guys and their like are monsters with extreme pain tolerance. They will not back off because of a blow on the nose, a kick on the thigh or a poke in the eye! They are going to keep on coming. I have witnessed this sort of thing on the streets.

I have spoken to people involved in hand-to-hand combat in war conditions and seen people walk through groin strikes, fight on with broken limbs or with ears hanging off and worse. I have boxed and fought in vale tudo bouts against opponents who just kept on coming even when you have landed big powerful shots. Also let's not forget the culture in our modern society of drugs and alcohol. These substances can dull pain the have an anaesthetic effect on the body, which can then take huge quantities of abuse. Once again when mind and body is 'hyped up' to fight it can take untold punishment without apparent effect or very little. So what do we place our trust in, in this most dire of situations? There are only three methods of stopping somebody totally in their tracks and ending an encounter. You hve to attack their neurological system, air or blood. All will put the attacker into unconsciousness, which is the only time they are no longer dangerous. Forget anything else, these are the only 'manstoppers'.

Let's look at the first method, the neurological system. Basically we are looking for the knockout which shuts down the brain functioning, and puts the attacker to sleep. The KO to the chin is the oldest vital point strike in the book, but still one of the best. Every boxer will tell you how to achieve it and in the competitive full contact arena it is nearly always a fight-stopper guaranteed. The point of the chin or an inch either side is the prime target. The jaw will also provide a KO, but not as effectively as the chin. How you strike this target is down to you, whether it be with fist, elbow, palm heel, knee or kick.

Circumstances and skill levels will determine this. My personal favourite is the palm heel, or chin jab as famed CQC expert Captain William Fairbairn called it. Although the KO point of striking is the chin, the impact will be felt at the base of the skull where the vital systems of the cerebellum and medulla-olongata at the brain stem controls vital functions for breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. When we impact on the chin, the brain, which is floating in cerebral fluid, smashes against the skull, hence the knockout and the shut down of the consciousness. Usually the attacker's legs will buckle underneath them and they will collapse. Depending on the angle of delivery, they will go straight back, spin to the side or drop in a heap on the spot.

The other thing to consider is their unconscious body impacting with the ground, particularly the skull, this can have a devastating effect. Second area to strike for that brain shutdown is the base of the skull joins the first of seven cervical vertebrae of the spine is the spot, which we have already established houses the cerebellum and medulla-olongata. Battering blows with hammer-fists, forearms and elbows are best for this target, especially if the person is bent over forward. This spot was well known by soldiers as an attack point with the butt of the rifle.

Gross motor skills can be badly effected, particularly muscular activity of the limbs and this could result in a paraplegic effect. It is a highly dangerous point to attack but does require a certain degree of force and a battery like assault. Third and final point is the temples or more specifically the temporal lobe and the sphenoid bone, both situated about one and a half inches back from the eye socket. The temporal and meningeal arteries run closely to the surface here.

Again when struck with heavy punches, hammer blows or elbows this can produce unconsciousness. Those who follow the UFC will remember in its early days, a couple of truly devastating KO's were produced by elbows to the temples. These three vital points can be finishers and potentially in some cases, lethal. Beware! Next up, air. Attacks directly to the windpipe can interfere dramatically with the breathing process. Knife hand strikes, arc hands, fore knuckle and pinch grip attacks to this area will deprive the brain of vital air rich in oxygen and the windpipe will spasm eventually causing unconsciousness.

Naked chokes using the forearm across the larynx area can also constrict the windpipe, causing a gradual blackout. This is really a highly unpleasant feeling a nasty KO. Throat attacks are extreme defence for extreme situations. Finally the blood systems. Here we come back to the carotid sinus. The large carotid arteries carry blood to the brain, rich in oxygen. You have external and internal carotid arteries. These two arteries rise from the common carotid and there they join at the point of the carotid sinus.

This is roughly level with the Adams apple and where you can feel a pulse beat in the neck. The sinus monitors blood pressure to the brain, it also houses a branch of the vagus nerve that controls the heart beat. If this point is struck with a knife hand blow, the blood pressure drops suddenly to the brain and we have a KO. Also a variety of strangles used mainly in Ju Jutsu and Judo, known as 'sleeper holds' can render a person unconscious very quickly indeed.

The areas mentioned in this article are the only guaranteed points to put someone down and out, even then under extreme pressure they are still difficult to achieve. You have a better chance of executing them in a pre-emptive attack against an impending assault, rather than when your assailant is moving and attacking. If it goes to the floor, knowledge of control and pinning are essential to get your blows in. Elbows and headbutts can then be effective on these points as can vicious, last resort biting to the neck and throat.

Never forget when we were created we were built to last and the body is highly resilient. The weak points are there on every human being regardless of size or strength but it is no easy task to hit them. If you do strike with accuracy, focus and power even the biggest will fall. Do remember we are talking about life threatening situations here - not some minor disagreement or argument. These strikes are last resort techniques and NOT TO BE ABUSED.

I had an opportunity to meet and talk to the legendary Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw some years ago and when I asked him his strategy to winning a fight he replied simply 'Bang them on the chin', enough said! Please look out for my new video release 'Extreme Defence', out now, that will look at the topic of no nonsense close quarter combat and self defence in graphic detail.

You can contact me on Kevin O'Hagan 0117 952 5711

http://www.bristolgoshinjutsu.com/

Disclaimer: Consult your GP before changing diet. Follow any Training regime or diet on this site at your own risk