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Exploring targets in martial arts.

• Relative targets
• Specific targets
  • Head
  • Neck

Relative targets

The concept of relative inside and outside targets is common across different martial arts. There are several variants on the idea:

• Inside and outside profile. My preferred usage is in-profile and out-of-profile.
  • Inside: Anything within your silhouette, profile, presence, or the outline of your body is a target.
  • Outside: Everything else is outside.
• Inside and outside directions. While medial and lateral are unambiguous and international, inward and outward flow better in English.
  • Towards the middle, median, or midsagittal plane is medial, inward, or outside-inside. 
  • Away from the median is lateral, outward, or inside-outside.
• Forehand and backhand. Both start out as inward, but if either passes the median, then it continues on as outward.
• Inside and outside lines. Often opponents face each other with one foot closer than the other, hence a line separates the front and back. Nuance: If my right arm is forward and vertical, and an attack goes outside my arm and hits my median, then the attack came through the outside line.
  • The general front or anterior is inside.
  • The general back or posterior is outside.

Many folks, including some very good sources, get uchi ude uke = 内腕受け = inside arm reception and soto ude uke = 外腕受け = outside arm reception, reversed. While a good number of them probably know that uchi = 内 = inside (EG: An uchideshi is an inside student), the reversal come from these two opposite interpretations:

• An "inside block" means you move from inside outward.
• An "inside block" means you move your arm inward, or you cover the inside, or you receive with the inside of the arm (the pinky or ulnar side).

I personally prefer the latter. (Of course a similarly polar interpretation of an outside block can be performed.)

The terminology defining targets by relative height varies:

• High, Middle, and Low: In Japanese, these targets are respectively called: jodan, chudan, and gedan.
  • High: Above the shoulders.
  • Middle: Between the shoulders and hips.
  • Low: Below the hips.
• High and Low unarmed.
  • High: Above the hips.
  • Low: Below the hips.
• High and Low armed:
  • High: Above the weapon.
  • Low: Below the weapon.

Specific targets

Specific targets on the human body for martial purposes.

The topic of martial targets cannot be approached without discussing "vital" targets or points. The word "vital" means necessary for life, but for martial purposes, vital points are parts of the human body that meet these qualifications:

• An attack to a vital point causes more damage than if you just missed the vital point. The result may be death, but for most purposes, even temporary pain, injury, or disorientation suffices. The damage will vary by the means of attack. EG: A blow with a weapon can generally cause more harm than an unarmed blow.
• The vital point is accessible. EG: The brain is vital but how do you access it? The access will vary by the means of attack. EG: The brain can be accessed via the foramen magnum (the hole in the skull where the spine enters) with an ice pick, but not a fist.
  • [Add notes about orientation of attack and orientation of target. EG: Forearm rotation and armbars.]

Vital points are a subset of the larger category of martial targets, since there are a number of targets that are not "vital" but have tactical importance. EG: Grabbing your opponent's upper arm may not lethal, but doing so can have great tactical advantages. A related concept is that while big blows are nice, minor blows are nice too. EG: Targeting the limbs is often overlooked. The line between studying targets, techniques, and tactics can blur quickly.

Many martial targets are as obvious "as the nose on your face". These can be determined via common sense or simple anatomical inspection. EG:

• Orifices. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, etc.
• Handles and shoving points. Hair, noses, ears, head, upper arms, shoulders, armpits, wrists, fingers, etc.
• Soft spots. Eyes, neck, solar plexus, arm pits, testicles, etc.
• Joints.
  • Joints are usually weaker than the bones it connects. These can be found by simple anatomical inspection.
  • Nearly any joint can be attacked by taking it out of its normal range. EG: Hyperextension of the elbow in the cross armlock = ude hishigi juji gatame in Japanese. EG: Hyperflexion of the thumb in a thumb lock.
• Respiratory. Disrupting breathing usually by choking is pretty obvious.
• "Points of pain" are fairly easy to find by poking yourself.

There are a number of vital points that are not obvious.

• Some vital points arise from field experience or deeper medical knowledge.
  • Knowledge of the location of vital organs and how to access them.
  • "Pressure points" are major points in the nervous or circulatory system. Others might include other points such as points on the lymphatic system, but I don't think that's necessary. Knowledge of vascular pressure points in particular is important in first aid as well as fighting.
  • Statistical health care information of the location and cause of injuries reveals vital points.
• Often vital points come from obscure or archaic sources. I am wary of these but I am also wary of outright dismissing them.
  • The Chinese martial arts have portions that focus on vital points. While many of the points are in clear agreement with modern science, some of the points involve affecting the flow of 氣 = qi = chi = qui = ki, along meridians in a fashion related to acupuncture. 點脈 = dim mak = touch point, but usually interpreted as "death touch".
  • The Indian martial arts have portions, such as varma kalai, that have some vital points that also have not been clearly tested using modern techniques. The marman are vital points and some may involve disrupting the flow of various things (such as prana = breath, shakti = energy, etc.) along the nadi pathways between the 7 chakras = circles or nodes in the body often associated with certain glands or organs. There many other variants such as108 chakras (108 is a common Indian sacred number) and so on.
  • All sorts of folks make vital point claims. George Dillman was a proponent of kyusho jitsu but he was unable to reproduce it for National Geographic in 2005-09.

Knowledge of the vital points is needed in order to know what to attack but also in order to know what not to attack. Knowledge of vital points can be used in establishing safety protocols and rules for practice, sports, torture, interrogation, etc.

Head

There are many targets on the head. A blow anywhere on the head can possibly jar or otherwise affect the brain or inner ear. The head can be shoved from any point but the hair and orifices (eyes, nose, mouth, and ears) make handles, while the nose and chin make good shoving points as well. As far as attacking with the head via a head butt: In general, avoid attacking with the targets listed below.

• Bregma. Blow. Tendo in Japanese. The bregma is on top of the head. The bregma is a T-shaped joint between the forehead/frontal bone and the side and upper back/parietal bones. At birth, this joint is not closed and it is a soft spot/fontanelle on the head of infants.
• Hair. Grab. Makes a handle and causes pain.
• Eyes. Blow, press, cover. Gansei in Japanese. This one is obvious.
  • In one sense impeding vision, camouflage, providing false visual clues, etc., are "attacks" that can be done from nearly any range.
  • Suprarbital foramen. Above/superior to each eye are holes in the skull, out of which vascular vessels and nerves emerge.
  • Infraorbital foramen. Underneath/inferior to each eye are holes in the skull, out of which vascular vessels and nerves emerge.
  • In spite of popular belief, there isn't an easy path to the brain from through the eyes because there are bones behind the eyeballs, especially the sphenoid bone.
• Temple. Blow, press. Kasumi in Japanese. The temple is behind/posterior to the eyes but above/superior to the ears. It is a target because it locates the temporalis muscle which attaches the jaw/mandible for chewing. Closer to the skull or more profound: The temple locates pterion, the thinnest part of the skull which is a T-shaped joint between the side and upper back/parietal bones, the side and surrounding the ear/temporal bone, and the behind the wings of the eye/sphenoid bone. Underneath the pterioin or more profound: the middle meningeal artery.
• Ears. Blow, slap, grab, slap.
  • Fairly air tight percussive blows can hurt the ear drums or shock the inner ear and cause disorientation or both.
  • Anything getting past the outer ear can cause damage.
  • Mastoid process. Blow. Dokko in Japanese. The mastoid process is just behind/posterior and below/inferior to the ear. The mastoid process is a conical projection (or nipple shaped hence the name) of the lower/inferior part of the side and surrounding the ear/temporal bone, where muscles attach.
• Nose. Blow, shove, cover.
  • Nasion. Blow. The nasion is between the eyes, above the nose, and below the below the eyebrows. The nasion is a T-shaped joint between the two nose/nasal bones and the forehead/frontal bone.
  • Glabella. Uto in Japanese. The glabella is just above and superior to the nasion and between the eyebrows. It locates any remnants of the frontal suture since the two halves of the forehead/frontal bone fuse into one by six years old.
  • In spite of popular belief, there isn't an easy path to the brain from through the nose because there are bones behind the nose, especially the inferior nasal concha.
• Philtrum. Blow. Jinchu in Japanese. The philtrum is beneath/inferior to the nose and above/superior to the mouth. During embryonic development the sides of the upper jaw (the lateral nasal processes) meet up with the middle of the upper jaw (the globular process). One of the symptoms of Fetal Alchohol Syndrom (FAS) on the offspring of mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy is the reduction or absence of the external manifestation of the philtrum.
• Mouth. Blow, fishhook, cover.
  • The teeth can be struck through the flesh.
  • The flesh of the face can be compressed against the teeth.
  • Blows into an open mouth can hurt many things.
• Mandible. Blow, shove, grab. The lower jawbone is the largest and strongest bone of the face and yet it can also transmit shock to the brain. Interestingly, like the upper jaw/maxilla bone, the mandible is a fusion of two halves during embryonic development and also sometimes has an external manifestation, which in the lower jaw, comes out as cleft chin.
  • Chin. Blow, shove. Kachikake or gekon in Japanese.
  • Behind the hinge of the jaw. Blow, press (preferably towards the nose). Immediately underneath/inferior to the ear and just behind/posterior to the jawbone/mandible is a nexus of facial nerves (see the neck diagram). Mikazuki in Japanese.
  • Mental formaen. On either side of the chin are the holes in the skull, out of which sensory/somatic nerves emerge.
  • Blow and pressure to the underside/inferior of the jaw (past/profound the jawbone/mandible) can hurt many things including salivary glands.
• Occipital bone. Almost any blow to the back of the head is damaging in spite of the skull thickness because of the tactical superiority of such an attack.
  • Asterion. Blow. The asterion is a T-shaped joint on the side of the head toward the rear where three bones meet: the side and surrounding the ear/temporal bone, the side and upper back/parietal bone, and the lower back/occipital bone meet.
  • Lamboid suture peak. Blow. The lamboid suture peak is above/superior to that bump/inion at the back/posterior of the skull of the occipital bone. The lamboid suture peak is the joint where the side and upper back/parietal bones meet the lower back/occipital bone. At birth, this joint is not closed and the it is a soft spot/fontanelle on the head of infants.
  • Foramen magnum = great hole. Blow. The foramen magnum is the hole in the skull through which the medulla oblongata of the spine enters the skull. The foramen magnum is in front/anterior to that bump/inion at the back/posterior of the skull of the occipital bone.

There are many sources for head injuries including Tennessee Craniofacial Center [craniofacialcenter.com].

Neck

There are many targets on the neck. A common defense is to tuck the chin in or wear a gorget or both. Most people are not careful in distinguishing choking/throttling/breathing obstruction/asphyxiation (prolonged or complete air obstruction) from strangling/blood obstruction/cerebral ischemia/hypoxia (mild to lethal: brain cells die within 5 minutes of oxygen deprivation). Decapitation is, of course, usually lethal.

• Larynx = voice box. The larynx is the musculocartilaginous structure below/inferior to the pharnx (the throat in the head) and above/superior to the trachea = windpipe. It consists of the hyoid bone (the weirdest bone in the body), 9 cartilages (the largest of which is the thyroid cartilage whose laryngeal prominence is the Adam's Apple), a lot of ligaments, thin muscles, and membranes. The lower/inferior end of the larynx is surrounded by the thyroid gland (the largest of the endocrine glands) which has a lot of vasculature. This whole area is semi-soft tissue. There is a chance that this area can receive a blunt blow and recover quickly, but why risk it? You could die or lose your voice. There is also the possibility of initiating a laryngyospasm, a 30-60 second spasm of the vocal cords which would interfere with breathing and is tactically a very long time.
• Sternocleidomastoideus = matsukaze in Japanese. The sides of the neck. The common carotid arteries and the jugular veins are large blood vessels that run along either side of the larynx and can be approached from the sides to about 45 degrees from center. "Good" chokes are blood chokes (aka carotid restraints, sleeper holds, lateral vascular neck restraints, mata leão = "kill the lion" in Portugese, rear naked choke, 裸絞 = hadaka jime = "naked strangle" in Japanese) that can cause unconsciousness occur painlessly in 8-14 seconds; "Bad" chokes are air or air/blood chokes that occur with pain and take much longer to cause unconsciousness. Another issue with air chokes is that they may trigger the "air hunger" reflex where the body violently struggles to restore breathing. The key getting a blood choke instead of an air choke for rear naked choke is to avoid the larynx, usually by having the elbow there instead of the forearm. A strong stimulation of the vagus nerve (one of the weirdest nerves in the body) could also possibly a carotid sinus reflex which could cause cardiac arrest.
• Intraclavicular notch = suprasternal notch = jugular notch = hichu in Japanese. The spot below/inferior to the larynx, above/superior to the sternum/breastbone, and between the collar bones/clavicles. This provides access to the trachea = windpipe, which is even softer and more ticklish than the larynx. This is where a tracheotomy procedure would access the lungs if intubating via the mouth-pharynx-larynx route is not an option.
• Supraclavicular fossa = murasame in Japanese. Behind/posterior to the clavicle/collar bone but in front of the trapezius muscle (the muscle forming the slopes at the base of the neck). Anything that goes over and past the clavicle can access many large arteries and veins, including the huge brachiocephalic artery and vein.
• Clavicle  = collar bone. The collar bone is relatively easy to break.
• Cervical vertebrae = neck spine bones. There are 7 vertebrae in the neck: C1 at the top/superior to C7 at the bottom/inferior. Some say that C3 (keichu in Japanese) is the one to target, but they're all fairly accessible. It is notable that when there are neck fractures in hangings, the "Hangman's fracture" occurs in C1 and C2. The nape = unaji in Japaneser, or back of the neck is considered erotic in Japan because culturally it was not only uncovered by clothing but also uncovered by makeup.

[To do:]

• Torso
  • Heart. Commotio cordis; Precordium; Precordial thump.
  • Sternal angle
  • Xiphoid process
  • Ribs
  • solar plexus. Suigetsu in Japanese.
  • Navel
  • groin. Bash, grab.
    • Testicles. Tsurigane in Japanese.
    • Vulva.
  • kidneys
  • Hypochondrium, left. Getsuei in Japanese.
  • Hypochondrium, right. Denko in Japanese. Liver.
  • Hypogastrium. Myojo in Japanese.
• Upper Extremity
• Lower Extremity
  • Knee. Shitsu in Japanese.
  • Foot.

2007-10-14 20:29:18Z