Pressure points can be found at between muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones or nerves. Using these points as tactical targets allows us to disrupt the flow of energy and the functioning of the body. In acupuncture, pressure points are used for healing and are activated within the diameter of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Thus, in the self-defense situations, they can be activated within the diameter of a coin which is approximately 25mm.
Many martial artists are familiar with the concept "aim small, miss small". An example would be striking to the bicep to stun or numb which may leave a great margin of error and you may even miss the entire arm. Now, if we know those pressure points and aim for them, in this case the pericardium 2, we have a smaller margin of error if we miss. When you activate them correctly, you send a signal to their's nervous system which creates a reaction in the opponent's body that does not allow them to effectively use the process of perceiving, evaluating, deciding, act (PEDA). This predictable and involuntary response gives you a big advantage in a conflict. By stimulating a nerve directly, you are able to
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A common claim by people is that pressure points do not work on everybody. This is true but it is often exaggerated in the realism of its scope. Think of it this way, you do not want to incorporate this theory because it does not work on less than ten percent instead of refining your skills to make them more effective on over ninety percent of the population? The small percentage of the population is known as "non-responders".
Non-responders are less likely to respond to the activation of pressure points or do not feel pain as intensively as the majority of the population. There is a range in pain tolerance among the population from non-responsive to ultra-responsive. Those that are at or near to non-responsive may acquire high mental or physical threshold for pain. Also, we are all anatomically different. Because of that, sometimes exact nerve locations are different. Genetic is one of many factors in our pain tolerance. |