# Pressure point demonstration-Legit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918 "2013-07-19T08:28:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/41 "2013-07-23T17:13:20Z")
get lives, the only thing your video shows is a strike in the general area of a man’s throat. ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/42 "2013-07-23T17:35:03Z")
Just to clarify, if you have to forcefully strike a spot, is that still considered a “pressure point” ? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/43 "2013-07-23T17:46:30Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAQHAHAHAHAHAHAHA > > ROFLROFLROFLROFLROFLROFL > > I actually posted a video with a clean, practically perfectly-executed carotid sinus hit…and the response is that it doesn’t work, or it can’t be done in a real fight. > > AAHAHAHAHAHAHAH > > Granted, the pimp was standing straight up, and not in a fighting stance…but only an idiot tries to hit someone who’s already in a fighter’s semi-crouch. In that case, you wait for them to expose themselves with an attack on you…or, even better, walk away, or talk your way out of it. it’s a rare situation that can only be solved with a head-to-head battle between two experienced fighters. > > And it’s not at all hard to hit this point if you’re already grappling with someone. You just wait for your opportunity while staying in motion and keeping compact. Of course, that’s a useful strategy for standup fighting as well. ROFL I’ve seen that video before and I just watched it again several times. All I see is a stumbling dude (was he drunk to begin with?) getting absolutely clouted on the side of the head. I really could not tell if he got hit in the throat, the temple, on his ear, some special spot, whatever. So it seems to me that video shows “Dude gets walloped on the side of his head, falls down on pavement”. I really don’t see how anyone can get anything more specific out of it than that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/44 "2013-07-23T21:02:07Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > Just to clarify, if you have to forcefully strike a spot, is that still considered a “pressure point” ? You could call it that, but usually ‘pressure point’ refers to woo. Even in the Asian martial arts diagrams that purport to show the pressure points I haven’t seen a translation of text that says they are anything but locations to strike, not magic spots where you can touch someone and they fall down. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/45 "2013-07-23T21:18:07Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > While I haven’t watched the video, it \*\*\*sounds \*\*\*like woo–while pressure points are certainly real, and can put a serious hurt on a person if “used” correctly, I’m not aware of any that would be an instant knock-out, unless you’re talking about the choke out that you mentioned (which is used in judo and probably other arts). I’ll beg to differ. The brachial plexus origin (remember Frankenstein’s creature? think about the bolts in his neck - that’s the general location) is a devastating pressure point. I have been knocked down and briefly lost consciousness from a blow to the b.p. origin. The whole concept of pressure points is to either stun the opponent, allowing you to escape, or to induce pain compliance, where you cause the person to comply with your demands, such as releasing you or getting out of a car. ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/46 "2013-07-23T21:29:59Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > There’s what amounts to a kill point on the upper forearm, but it’s a tiny point, has to be struck at the EXACT right angle, and requires a pretty solid strike as well. It’s such a difficult strike to perform correctly in a fight that it’s nothing more than a curiosity. Practically nobody could make it work in a fight. Super \*neat-o - Can you teach me ? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/47 "2013-07-23T22:04:45Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > And it’s not at all hard to hit this point if you’re already grappling with someone. You just wait for your opportunity while staying in motion and keeping compact. Of course, that’s a useful strategy for standup fighting as well. ROFL Uh, if you’re on the ground grappling with someone who knows even rudimentary grappling it is not possible to strike someone’s neck like that. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/48 "2013-07-23T22:35:50Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Uh, if you’re on the ground grappling with someone who knows even rudimentary grappling it is not possible to strike someone’s neck like that. Sure it is. Let them leave an opening, then strike fast. You won’t get much of a window, but all but the best fighters will leave an opening. You can also create an opening, by various different methods of misdirecting their attention or shocking them with an unexpected bite, etc.. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/49 "2013-07-23T22:37:30Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > Super \*neat-o > > - Can you teach me ? It’s useless in a fight. It’s also a nasty point to play around with. If you really want to know about it, there are books available. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/50 "2013-07-23T22:39:10Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I’ve seen that video before and I just watched it again several times. All I see is a stumbling dude (was he drunk to begin with?) getting absolutely clouted on the side of the head. I really could not tell if he got hit in the throat, the temple, on his ear, some special spot, whatever. > > So it seems to me that video shows “Dude gets walloped on the side of his head, falls down on pavement”. I really don’t see how anyone can get anything more specific out of it than that. I forget that I have developed the ability to track movement better than most people, through many years of practice. I think I actually see more frames per second than most people. However, if you slow the video down, you can definitely see that it’s a throat strke. It’s unmistakable if you slow it down. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/51 "2013-07-23T22:57:03Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I forget that I have developed the ability to track movement better than most people, through many years of practice. I think I actually see more frames per second than most people. However, if you slow the video down, you can definitely see that it’s a throat strke. It’s unmistakable if you slow it down. Uh huh. Well I just went back and watched it some more, ran it over and over and it’s a grainy, crappy video taken from a distance, zoomed in so that you can see the hit. I don’t know what frame rate it was shot at but I think “cruddy” is an accurate descriptor and personally I don’t see how anyone can somehow glean extra information from it beyond what’s actually visible. I will update my original description to “Fool gets whomped on the head and drops” but anyone claiming they can tell it’s some kind of perfectly executed secret pressure point strike has got an awful lot of convincing me to do, Mad Ninja Frame Rate Skillz notwithstanding. I’m not saying that the guy didn’t do something awesome but that video sure isn’t the evidence to use to prove it compared to showing that you can just crack somebody anywhere in the head and they will fall down hard. ---
**Author:** ![Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fact_of_the_Matter)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/52 "2013-07-23T23:26:34Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > It’s useless in a fight. It’s also a nasty point to play around with. If you really want to know about it, there are books available. I wonder how many deaths each year are caused by playing around with this nasty point? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fact_of_the_Matter)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/53 "2013-07-23T23:28:59Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I forget that I have developed the ability to track movement better than most people, through many years of practice. I think I actually see more frames per second than most people. However, if you slow the video down, you can definitely see that it’s a throat strke. It’s unmistakable if you slow it down. Ahh, you are able see more than is there. Now it makes more sense. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/54 "2013-07-23T23:47:21Z")
> [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](#): > > I wonder how many deaths each year are caused by playing around with this nasty point? :rolleyes: It’s going to be a cool party trick, I can’t wait to find the book! Just imagine all the laughs when they find the guy you just shook hands with face down in the punch bowl… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/55 "2013-07-24T00:03:10Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Sure it is. Let them leave an opening, then strike fast. You won’t get much of a window, but all but the best fighters will leave an opening. You can also create an opening, by various different methods of misdirecting their attention or shocking them with an unexpected bite, etc.. So in other words you’ve never grappled. Gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/56 "2013-07-24T00:39:01Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I forget that I have developed the ability to track movement better than most people, through many years of practice. I think I actually see more frames per second than most people. However, if you slow the video down, you can definitely see that it’s a throat strke. It’s unmistakable if you slow it down. Is your real name Barry Allen? ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/57 "2013-07-24T02:01:05Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > So in other words you’ve never grappled. Gotcha. ROFL grappling is for people who’ve never practiced fighting multiple opponents. I have grappled, I wrestled 3 years in school, plus grappling in martial arts classes as well. I don’t recommend it as a go-to for fighting. The goal is to get away, not make your opponent submit via arm-bar. Once you’re on the ground, it’s a heck of a lot harder to get away, and if you’re facing multiple opponents, the ground is not necessarily where you want to be, especially if they’re armed. But SOME grappling training is necessary, if only to know how to deal with the inevitable idiots who fight by football-tackling you, and/or people with wrestling/grappling training. Everything I say about martial arts, I can back up. I assure you, this is a topic where there’s a lot I know that I DON’T say, versus if I were talking about classic cars of the 1920s or European history, for example. I know dick about those topics. That’s not true for the martial arts…but hey, believe me a fool if you want. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/58 "2013-07-24T02:02:20Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > It’s going to be a cool party trick, I can’t wait to find the book! > > Just imagine all the laughs when they find the guy you just shook hands with face down in the punch bowl… 😛 Fortunately, you’re almost certainly far too lazy to look this up…and probably a little to cautious to actually try it on yourself or someone else. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/59 "2013-07-24T02:15:26Z")
> [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](#): > > Ahh, you are able see more than is there. Now it makes more sense. :dubious: I’ve watched the act of people striking each other literally tens of thousands of times, in streetfights, UFC fights, martial arts tournaments, martial arts classes, boxing matches, etc.. I’ve studied and taught the martial arts on and off for several decades, in several different systems. In light of all that, I feel pretty safe in saying that this was a throat hit, and was a carotid sinus hit. 1. The strike wasn’t really all that hard. Yes, he had his weight sunk, but he didn’t lean into it all that much. 2. The pimp’s head didn’t snap back upon impact. 3. the pimp dropped straight down, back, and a little to the side. You can see from the video that the normal righting reflex in the hip joint is absent during and after the fall. A simple impact-based knockdown would have the pimp landing partially on his butt and/or back, depending on the force of the hit. In addition, an impact-based knockdown that DOESN’T stun the target from sheer force is usually immediately followed by the target attempting to right himself and stand. As I noted, the righting reflex in the hip joint is absent. In my experience, the carotid sinus strike results in the hip joint losing the righting reflex. The arms and head maintain mobility and are under the target’s control after the hit (unless it’s hard enough to cause partial or total knockout), but the righting reflex in the hip joint is pretty much gone for several seconds. That’s what we see in the video, 4. An experienced martial artist doesn’t chop people on the face. That’s asking for a broken pinky, if you don’t land the chop perfectly. Chops are for softer body parts, _like the throat_. The anti-pimp patrol, in this case, is an experienced martial arts teacher. Therefore, I really doubt he’d go for a head chop, when the throat is _right there_. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918/60 "2013-07-24T02:34:42Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I forget that I have developed the ability to track movement better than most people, through many years of practice. I think I actually see more frames per second than most people. [OK.](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6itbnNHwz1rnvlqy.gif) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-point-demonstration-legit/663918.md?page=4)