The human body is a wonderful living, breathing machine and comes in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, someone who is about to commit an assault, is usually looking for a person that is smaller and weaker; that will put up little resistance.
In order to "level the playing field", and I am thinking of a small women versus a large man, we use specific attack points on the body to defend ourselves.
For beginner karate students, I like to focus on 5 key attack points that will help you in most self defense scenarios. In class we covered these points in a lot more detail, so I will just briefly describe them here.
The Eyes
Slap, stab, punch or gouge. This is one of my favorite attack points because it can be used in so many different assault scenario's, whether standing or even in a lying down position. When you strike the eyes, they usually water, which temporarily inhibits vision, giving you time to escape. In very dangerous situations, I would give the impression of caressing the head, only to line up the eyes for a thumb gouge.
The Nose
A strike to the nose with the back of your head, or the heal of your palm can break the nose fairly easy, resulting in watery eyes and quite a bit of pain. Even pressing the upper lip at the base of the nose can cause your attacker to release you. Of course, tearing nose rings and jamming a pen up a nostril are other examples of attacking the nose.
The Groin
While most men are "hardwired" to protect the groin from a strike, it can be attacked with a punch, an elbow or grabbed with the hand(s) and twisted. Kicing the groin is an option, but it's much harder to make good contact. Instead, I like to apply a torquing action (twisting) which is quite painful and often more effective then kicking or striking.
The Knees
Many times, I will direct my smaller stature students to consider a strike to the knees, from the front or from the sides; as a first line of defense; particularly a women who is smaller than her attacker. The strongest muscle in the women's body, is usually the leg and a strike to the knee can do a lot of damage, while helping to keep some distance from the attacker.
The Toes
The toes can be a particularly effective attack point when someone has already grabbed you, either in a bear hug or by the arms. You want to target your heels on the toes when you stomp them. When you stomp, you need to bring your knee up, so that gravity will help put some energy behind the strike.
You can also grind your heel on the top of the foot and that is painful as well.
Examples of Kyusho Strike Points on the Head
Aside from these 5 targets, I also like the throat, the sides of the neck and the temples.
The reason I pick these 5 is I think they are the easiest to remember and they cover the human body from head to toe.
The reality is, there are over 500 attack points, but the point of karate and self defense, is to keep it simple. If you focus on these 5 attack points, I feel confident that you will give yourself an opportunity to escape and seek immediate help.
Sensei Chris Feldt
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com
