What are pressure points?

Pressure points are areas of the body where nerve pathways are near the surface of the skin and thus may be affected by pressure or strikes applied to that area. The result of this pressure is pain at the area of application of the pressure, or disruption of the body part that the nerve controls. You may use pressure or strikes to pressure points to:

Knockout

Effects may vary from stunning, to temporary unconsciousness, to comatose, to death. Examples are attacks to the chin for a knockout, to the base of neck to stun, or to the temple for death.

Control

Used to cause a person to release you or stop attacking you, to expose an attacker's more vulnerable points, or to cause a person to comply with your directions. Examples are pressure to the point just behind jaw hinge to make a person rise, or pressure in the web between the thumb and forefinger to make a person release what is being gripped.

Restrain

Used to immobilize a person, cause temporary loss of control of a limb, or to hold a person down. Examples are pressure to nerves on inside or outside of the thigh to incapacitate a leg, or pressure to middle of the arm on the hollow of the triceps muscle to incapacitate the arm.

Do pressure point attacks work?

Yes, they work, but not very well. When you are grabbed, using pressure or strikes to pressure points may cause the attacker to release. When attacking, it is better to strike pressure points and vital areas than it is to strike protected or padded (by fat or clothing) areas. It is more effective to strike the solar plexus than to strike the upper chest that is protected by the rib cage. However, nerve centers are small areas and are difficult to strike solidly (try punching a tennis ball swinging from a hanging string). When opponents are moving, the point to strike is moving and the angle of attack required to reach the point is constantly changing. Also, while determining the striking point and angle, you must be constantly defending yourself against the opponent's attacks. In a life or death self-defense situation, would you rather take a chance on hitting a small nerve center at just the right point and angle, or just side kicking the person on the side of the knee and breaking it.