I have heard this one so many times I have lost count. Well, that is indeed a shocker because I have personally used them in…real fights! I guess someone forgot to tell the other guy! There are countless videos on YouTube of strikes to ST-5, LI-18, GB-20, etc., producing real knockouts from combative opponents which is clearly not a placebo effect. So, where does this statement come from?

I think the argument comes from looking at some of the most ridiculous techniques you can imagine that is being taught by some instructors. Some of the nonsense is so obvious that it is evident the instructor “can’t even fight sleep” much less a real and combative opponent!

Techniques must be simple and direct. In short, they must “fail safe.” If a sequence is so convoluted that it takes a series of more than 2 strikes, the odds of reproducing that in combat is seriously diminished! I mean, the other party does get to participate as well after all. Techniques should be fast and decisive! The longer the fight goes on, the more likely you are to lose. Surprise and violence of action are critical.

Precision is also a key element and will be covered elsewhere in this series. In reality, you will not be ulra-precise at speed. Done properly, this is not an issue as proper techniques should fail safely. More on that in a future article.

Targets should be chosen which work on multiple systems of the body. If all you have is a Pressure Point attack on the energetic system of the body and you miss, then you are in deep trouble; or, perhaps they are non-responsive on a particular point. Properly done, strikes will affect the neurological, muscular, skeletal, vascular, respiratory, etc., systems in parallel. The way DSI teaches techniques, multiple systems are activated in a technique such that a failure in any one system can occur and yet the technique “fails safe” due to the activation of other systems.

As an example, let’s say you strike to the LI-18 point on the neck. Many Pressure Point “experts” do the strike as a quick superficial strike to the acupuncture point only. If the person is non-responsive or their pinpoint strike misses its target, the technique fails and now it’s the opponent’s turn to strike back. The proper way to make the strike is to strike with the hand angled at a slight angle such that the whole of the knife-hand strike activates the region along the sternocleidomastoid muscle. This does a number of things. The deeper engagement of the region elicits a vasovagal response from the baroreceptor which manages blood pressure. When the baroreceptor is stimulated, it tricks the brain into dropping blood pressure suddenly, leading to an involuntary faint. This effect is further enforced by a prolonged impact time time of a couple hundred milliseconds. Done properly, the prolonged impact triggers the response via the neurological and vascular systems. This region is also known to connect with the Brachial Plexus and thus in Defensive Tactics, it is known as a Brachial Stun.

Over the years, I have posted many videos and articles on our art. I was surprised one day to learn that a friend of mine, who is not even a Martial Artist, had applied one of the techniques in a real encounter. He came upon someone being aggressive with a female and he stepped in to intervene to defend the victim. Imagine my surprise when he told me he used one of the techniques I had posted to social media! I asked him “And? What happened?” He said it dropped the guy like a ton of bricks! He followed that even he was shocked how immediate was the result. This just proves that the concepts we teach are reproducible and immediate in results. You don’t have to be a Black Belt, or even a Martial Artist, to apply what we teach!

Below is an example of once such knockout in a real fight:

Notice how quickly the aggressor dropped in the video? And did you see how his legs were like jelly well after the strike? The guy needed help to get back across the street. This is a great example of what I am talking about and there are hundreds more videos out there on YouTube to prove that point.

Of course, there is much more that can be done to enhance the effect and we cover this in our training. It is beyond the scope to cover it all in these articles, where we merely have the opportunity to begin the conversation. If you have had the opportunity to use the principles in a real fight, we would love to hear your experiences. Drop us a comment and share your experience.