Pressure Points

One of the more mysterious subjects in the martial arts are the very effective places to strike your opponent,  called pressure points.  Pressure points have a long history and in the eastern arts have been associated with the theories of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).  There are honest-to-goodness 'ancient scrolls' describing these points  (e.g. the Bubishi) and discussion of some vulnerable targets also show up in medieval European fighting manuals (e.g. Sigmund Ringeck's Commentary on Liechtenauer).

Because of this interest and long history many modern authors of different training backgrounds and degrees of credibility have published pressure point manuals.  I used to keep a well thumbed copy of Bruce Tegner's Nerve Centers and Pressure Points with it's precise descriptions of the effects of strikes broken up by the relative size of the striker and the strikee.

But the longer I've practiced the less enthused I've become about pressure points, at least as written about in the Bubishi and by George Dillman (Kyusho-Jitsu: The Dillman Method of Pressure Point Fighting)where a relatively gentle strike to a small point at the correct time of day incapacitates a grown man.

That's not to say that I don't believe that there are vulnerable points that we should practice targeting, just that I prefer to practice hitting vulnerable areas that are a little more familiar than the Lung Meridian Point near the clavicle.  I practice striking parts of the body that demonstably cause significant pain or are structurally weak and therefore easily broken.

Many of the targets I consider high-value I've experienced first hand in a sparring situation.  These include the point of the chin, the bridge of the nose, the solar plexus, the heart, the liver, kidneys, the groin, the knee, the IT band (on the outside of the thigh), and the middle of the shin.

Other targets that I believe to be effective but haven't (fortunately) directly experienced are the base of the skull, the temple, the corner of the jaw, the corner of the cheek bone, the side of the neck, the throat, the clavicle, the bladder/pubic arch, the instep.

I'm sure I've left some out (elbow joint, sternum, . . .). One reason for my waning interest in the meridian system and it's complexities is that I realized I wasn't very good at hitting the many targets I already have to choose from.

As martial artists we want to constantly strive to improve, but I still have plenty of improving to do in learning to target the 'obvious' targets.  Most likely, you do to.  So my advice is not to worry about pressure points until you can reliably hit the targets we all know about.