Kyusho Jitsu Basics – Are you new to Pressure Points?

January 14, 2019
/ By Grand Master Art Mason

Anyone who is interested in the science of pressure point self defense called Kyusho Jitsu must begin with a solid understanding of the pressure point itself.

So today I will offer this up for not just beginners, but advanced students as well for review. Kyusho Jitsu Basics, understanding the pressure point.

Kyusho Jitsu Basics - What is a Pressure Point?

Before you begin to discover things like principles you need to understand "what a pressure point is." There is nothing magic nor mystical about these little spots on the body. They are really very basic.

Pressure Points relate to nerves. Therefore a pressure point is a place on the body where a nerve end, crosses over another nerve, or branches off like a "Y."

Pressure Points lie on channels called "meridians" that represent an electrical path of energy in the body caused by electromagnetic induction created by electrical impulses in the nerves themselves. This is very similar as to the function of a transformer.

To the left you need an example of some facial nerves. The one I will point out is coming to the mid section of the nose. Right at this "Y" branch is an "extraordinary" pressure point called M - Hn-9. When struck correctly this pressure point causes immense pain.

Kyusho Jitsu Basics - Types of Pressure Points

There are 3 basic types of pressure points when it comes to striking them. The 3 basics types are as follows:

Rub Points
Push Points
Strike Points

There is no definitive path to which pressure point responds to what therefore you need a solid knowledge of the pressure points you want to strike. This is best done by looking at the striking patterns of your root art and seeing what you are hitting.

The next thing we would like at in Kyusho Jitsu Basics is what I would call the "category" of pressure point. There are 2 categories, the first is pressure point that when activated cause "pain" and the second are those that cause "dysfunction" of the brain and/or the nervous system.

Dysfunction has different flavors depending on the pressure point. They vary from the ability to use part of the body, to unconsciousness and in the most dramatic instances death. Therefore caution must be used! And education, understanding how it all works is a must!

Kyusho Jitsu Basics - Activation

There are many people in the world who do not believe pressure points work. And this is because they have not done the training to understand how they work. And today when people do not understand something they ridicule it. Must be hard to be that pathetic. When I do not understand something i either learn it, or forget it.

I come from a linage or a Korea Master who moved to Canada in the late 60's. His name was Chung Won Oh, an amazing man and martial artist. He pasted away several years ago now. So did his oldest son. Sadly the school does not exist any longer.

But his teaching methods were of the old ways. He said "twist" the hand and hit correctly. Today we call this because of Grand Master Wally Jay, 2 Way Action.

So as an example to have an opening to hit the side of the jaw with a right hand. You can attempt a hard blunt trauma strike. Likely you will miss, and if you connect you can often times cause the issue to escalate because of the anger and adrenaline rush that precedes.

Or you can train to hit correctly using 2 Way Action and target any of the multiple pressure point available like ST-05. This will cause brain dysfunction and end the attack. The truth is blunt trauma does not work as well as people like to think it does. Want proof? Look at some of the hits taken in an MMA or boxing match. You cannot train to take and be immune to blunt trauma.

If blunt trauma worked, the fighter would be over in seconds, not rounds.

Kyusho Jitsu Basics - Area of activation

The next thing I always hear is that pressure points are too small to hit with accuracy. This is also false. The actual "size" of a pressure point is very small, like the head of a pin. However the area of activation is much larger.

I refer it it being the approximate size of a Looney, which is a $1 Canadian coin.

In Conclusion

Kyusho Jitsu is an intellectual pursue, when combined with your root arts begins to develop the Body-Mind-Spirit aspect always discussed as being a martial and most important element in martial art study.

If you have any questions please comment at the bottom of the article. You can also join our FREE Kyusho Courses from this LINK.