Pressure points and control

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[arvin m.]

HI all,

Wonderful thing going on here, just thought i could ask a few questions of interest. Pressure points are incredibly effective when using technique:for example n irminage, when taking the uke down to the mat, my sensei grabbed me by the back of my neck and applied pressure to an region smewhre below the back of my ears with his fingertips. I was wondering if anyoneis familiar with this and could tell me where the pressure point is...cuz i got trouble bringing my ukes down to the mat sometimes during the tenkan move of irminage. Also, could someone highlight where the pressure points on the upper torso(pectorals) and the throat are..on second thought the throat one is actually a bunch of veins right? Oh, and where is the sciatic nerve along the thigh, how can find it? Thanx guys...take care

[guest1234]

the best way to find out about pressure points: ask your sempai/sensei. if they/he want you to use them, they will show you. but the reality of it is, they are not nearly as useful as just learning the technique. there are a good number of people who do not respond to the standard pressure points. i am just a beginner myself, but i think rather than focusing on connecting with your uke's neck (or worse yet, a particular point on that neck) it might work better to focus on connecting totally with him/his center. and a lot more chance of that working than pressure points, which can fail pretty dramatically.

[ian]

That one below your ears is probably one of the most dangerous pressure points around. Be very careful with that one as you can seriously damage someone. For this reason I would not like to provide further descriptions, but instead leave it up to your sensei to take responsibility for any instruction.

Pressure points are not always great for controlling people (as they tend to just wriggle around trying to avoid the pain), and as mentioned above, sometimes they are ineffective because of the particular physiology of the person making it difficult to locate it exactly. However striking pressure points hard can and have killed people, and even pressing on certain ones hard can cause temporary and even permanent damage.

Ian

[Matt Banks]

Ive heard that if you get the yonkajo point on perfectly, you feel nothing in your wrist, but your knees give way.

Hmm pressure points. One of the sensei's that taught me used to do this one from a shomen tsuki (front punch), he would enter then press on 2 points on either side of the rib cage again your knees just give way and you fall to the floor. I think the location id about 4 inches down from the arm pits. I have difficulty getting it just right though.

I have seen videos of a sensei, I will visit in June who performs a one armed hiji ate. As the punch comes in he taps the elbow joint with perfect timing and you go flying (its great). The problem is that it is a difficult one to practice, as if you get it perfectly the elbow joint breaks. Its a difficult tecnique to exercise control.
If you read Total Aikido-by Gozo Shioda, there are pictures of him demonstrating it there.
The one your sensei did sounds really nice, grabbing the neck etc, Ill have to try it in training.

Matt Banks

[Chocolateuke]

The presure point in the back of the neck really is not that hard to locate> in fact I used to use it allthe time when my brother showed it to me!! but it is dangourus ask sempi or sensi they will tell you. one if my fav points is on the back and below the back blade thing you push in and their bodies all the sudden arch forward. hope this helps have fun

[arvin m.]

where exactly on the back? below the shoulder blades? oh guys have u tried this ki trick called the finger ring? its like u close the tips of yer thumb and forefinger right...and the guy trys to pry em open...note the word trys to. U can't pry them open, but somehow i cant seem to get the trick right and my sister always gets to pry them open. Any helpful suggestions?

[Jimro]

Pressure points on the thigh?

In Kempo we don't particularly try to hold pressure on a nerve but strike it. So I don't know many pressure points but on the thigh area of the leg are two really good strike points on the sciotic nerve.

The first is on the side, along an imaginary line where the gluts and quad's meet. The second is on the side of the leg about 3 inches above the knee, along the imaginary line between the quad's and femoral biceps.

Those two points need a sudden jolt from a strike to be effective, but the leg will go limp and be useless for a few minutes. I know because I didn't think that it could and my instructor demonstrated on me.

James

You are,
what you do,
when it counts.

[MikeE]

I trained for 8 years in Ryukyu Kempo. Kyusho jitsu is an integral part of the system and I use it extensively in my aikido. Because of the potential danger I really don't teach it until a person is sankyu. Many times I will use it for atemi because the response to a nerve strike is usually much more dramatic than the average punch or kick, and uke will more easily be manipulated. I think a student should learn the basic waza of Aikido without Kyusho jitsu, so when it is added it isn't a crutch to "make" technique work.

If you are practicing Kyusho jitsu, make sure you go lightly, practice using the points for about 15 minutes a week and know proper techniques for repairing the damage to uke's ki that you inflict. All under your Sensei's superivision.

Jimro, Most leg points require strikes because it wouldn't be plausible to reach down and grab the opponents' leg (unless you plan on taking them to the ground--not really a kempo trait) Most strike point can also be rub points, so they can be used in Aikido. (Example: the triple-warmer point just above the elbow can be pressed upon with a knuckle to turn a powerful attacker's arm over for ikkyo.)

[wildaikido]

http://www.kyusho.com/index.html

This should be most helpful to people who want to learn about pressure points.