One must not confuse vital points and pressure points of the traditional Chinese medicine used in acupuncture and more specifically in Kyusho Jitsu/Dim-mak.
Here, we are not talking about these points which are very precise and which are more academic than practical. We will rather talk about the parts to hit in priority in self defense.
Table of Contents
A matter of opportunity
Forget about meridians, destruction/creation cycles, circadian or other concepts. Not that the Kyusho points are ineffective, but only a small elite (and even then…!) will be able to put such theory into practice, whereas self defense is meant to be accessible to the greatest number.
We must therefore keep 4 major areas of action in mind:
- Eyes
- Throat
- Genitals
- Knees
As mentioned in previous articles, there is a great difference between what happens in training and in the street. Indeed, in reality, an aggressor does not remain stationary, he tries to protect himself.
Hence, many techniques become trickier to use.
The eyes, the throat and the genitals are quite hard to hit since they are easy to protect. This is what we do instinctively most of the time when we are under pressure.
The mobility of the aggressor must also be taken into account. You can imagine that hitting the genitals with your shin is not as easy as it seems.
self defense is therefore very much a matter of opportunities, and the whole point of the discipline is to sharpen the learner’s gaze so that he can spot and exploit these opportunities.
This requires role-playing to memorize, but also and ESPECIALLY, you have to improvise to develop your reflexes, analyze each other’s mistakes and work on unknown situations.
What can you do when you are caught? Land a headbutt? Bite? How to get out of a strangulation? Are you supposed to put your fingers in his eyes?
Disable your aggressor as quickly as possible
Given that it is fairly difficult to access and hit certain sensitive areas of the body and that the priority in an assault is to escape and, if possible, disable the attacker from chasing you, the question remains as to which area you should strike first.
At this level, the knee is a good target. It is difficult to protect, and the kneecap is a relatively fragile joint that can be seriously damaged with a sufficiently powerful impact that will cause an imbalance, a lateral reflex movement and eventually the loss of the leg’s motor skills. What happiness!
Of course, not everyone can dislocate or fracture a kneecap, especially if the aggressor is heavy. As always, it’s up to the victim to decide if she can do it. However, it is a serious lead to explore because even if you do not dislocate the kneecap, inflicting intense pain can help you escape.
Another technique that requires less power and can cause serious pain is the Pencak low kick.
In all cases, weakening the foundations – the legs – is a great way to reach a loophole as the attacker will be unable to fully exploit his motor skills.
Overall, the knees remain a safe bet, compared to the other three targets mentioned above which are much more difficult to access.
