Making Pressure Points Work For You!

Time to move onto the core arena of how to use and make Pressure Points work for you!

Let’s assume that you have read and understood the previous posts in this category and that you accomplished the following:

* Learnt and understand Balance
* Learnt and understood Power Generation
* Learnt and understood how to dissect techniques

Now.. assuming that you have done the above, we can move onto the Points themselves and start to learn HOW to apply them.

It really is this simple… pick some points to practice.. a few on the arm, torso and head to start with.

It does not matter which ones.. but I would advise the following:

* Arm: L5 / LI10/11
* Torso: St25 / Lv/GB Crossing
* Head: GB20

Now move back to your technique analysis and see where and when any/all of these points become available to you! Start S-L-O-W-L-Y and A-N-A-L-Y-S-E correctly.

When a point is available.. HIT IT.. .BUT START LIGHT.. It is better to get NO REACTION then hit too hard and hurt your training partner.

When you strike the point.. you MUST ensure that your strike has penetration.. simply hitting the surface of the skin WILL NOT WORK… Doing this will give the usual results that MOST people get… i.e a mixed reaction.

Now.. onto the safety parameters:

Your training partner and you will have a numbering system – from 0 to 10

* 0 = nothing, no pain, no reaction
* 10= you hit me far too hard you stupid ?)*ing idiot.. now its my turn…!

Start around the 2-4 area and G-R-A-D-U-A-L-L-Y build up to 7-8

Now.. REMEMBER this… the numbering system is for the person being HIT… not for the hitter. Your no 5 could be your training partners 10 and vice versa.. so ALWAYS start light and then together you will find a power level that you can work at.

By ensuring that you keep to this safety protocol you can train points longer and more rapidly than crashing strikes home to see the effect.

Once you have done this with all your techniques and started slowly and built up to a decent pace, we can then move onto making the points EVEN MORE effective and also onto pressure testing what you have done so far.

Russell

Russell Stutely
OCFM International Coach
PPDT International Instructor

Balance Points Are VERY Important!

Hi

In another post Russell mentioned Balance Points (BP’s) and here is a further response.

“I have had a ton of emails thanking me for the info.. also quite a few people asking when I will get onto the meat and potatoes.. i.e. Pressure points?

Well.. we need to address the BP issue a bit more first..

OK.. how does learning Balance Points help with learning Pressure Points?

This is a bit like one of those “trust me” times. There are certain parts of the Martial Arts that we REALLY need to understand BEFORE we start to learn Pressure Points. Balance Points is one of those aspects that MUST be understood to gain the most benefit from Points.

Not only to gain the most benefit, but also to enable you to learn and apply the Pressure Points at a VASTLY increased rate.

BP’s are one of those aspects that seem to be most overlooked by most Martial Artists… It is ALWAYS an eye opener when these areas of the body are shown, explained and trained. Those from a grappling background for example are able to make use of them immediately in their throws and takedowns… and then on the ground as well… especially once they understand the “principles” upon which this is based.

I like to quote these lines in order to show the MASSIVE importance of balance and  Balance Points:

“If your opponent is completely OFF-Balance and using all their strength and ability to try to regain it.. meanwhile you are IN distance and completely IN-Balance you are in a position to hit them with everything you have got. Do you think this has increased your chances of success?”

“If you rob your opponent of his balance, it does not matter how big or strong he is at that moment in time… he will be using all his strength to try and re-gain his balance”

“If you have someone on the point of Balance you can put them down or unbalance them with the strength of one finger”

Hopefully you can now appreciate the importance of Balance?

Soon I will move onto the next area that should be understood BEFORE you start to learn PP’s”

Russell
Helping you become a Pressure Point Expert

Russell Stutely
OCFM International Coach
PPDT International Instructor

How Do I Learn Pressure Points Correctly?

I thought it would be a good idea to share the important information with you about pressure points that I get from Russell:

“So many times people ask me about the best way to learn how to use Pressure Points.

OK.. How to learn Pressure Points correctly?

This is a biggie… so will be answered in several parts over the coming weeks.

The first thing is to gain an understanding of how the body works from a Martial Arts perspective. This does not mean that you need to know the names of points or even the names of major muscle groups etc.. it would of course help if you started to learn them as you go along.

First of all… whatever art you practice… take your best/favourite technique and really get to grips with it.. really understand it.. break it down into its constituent parts.

This means that you must analyse it to death… UNDERSTAND what every part of your body is doing to ensure the correct application of that technique.

For a simple “jab” as an example.. you MUST know what your weight distribution is, how your feet are positioned, where you “push off” into the floor, how your body aligns, any “extra” movement that should not be there… where the correct power line of delivery is.. how you are balanced, how you keep your defenses,… the relationship between your shoulders, hips and ankles … and MUCH more.

Then when you can break this down and understand it.. you know how to “re-build” the technique to make it more effective.

Then and only then do you start to add in the Points… unless you have great technique to start with of course!

This sounds like a MAMMOTH journey if you are supposed to do this with EVERY technique??

Well.. it is not as long as it sounds… do this exercise with 4/5 techniques and you will begin to REALLY understand how to break down a technique… how to make it better.

Then you will be able to do this with any technique… THEN we can begin to add the points.

I ALWAYS teach people Balance Points first.. understand how the body is balanced from both your and your opponents perspective and you will automatically begin to break down technique.

Just this exercise alone will dramatically improve your Martial Arts and Self Defense skills.

Hope that helps?”

Russell Stutely
OCFM International Coach
PPDT International Instructor

Martial Arts DVDs Xmas Sale

Russell Stutely Products – Xmas Sale

Bargains can be found at http://www.russellstutely.com
These ARE NOT included in the sale

* MFFS 5 DVD Set… it is already reduced by more than 33%
* Power Black 6 DVD Set and Download Offer – This is already reduced and has a ton of Bonus Downloads included
* Pressure Point Black 6 DVD Set – This has also been reduced already

EVERYTHING else is on sale…

YES! Even the famous Russell Stutely Platinum Training Program

Now is the time to take advantage of this MASSIVE Xmas Sale.

Kind Regards and I look forward to training with you very soon.

Russell Stutely
http://www.russellstutely.com
OCFM International Coach
PPDT International Instructor

Pressure Points in Martial Arts

Pressure Points Categories

If you move amongst the martial art chat rooms and magazine articles you will find a lot of talk about pressure points. And true to form, there are always those who believe in them (passionately) and those who do not (just as passionately).

Both camps have their reasons why they believe as they do and both tend to flame the other.

However, if you actually look at what BOTH camps are saying, you will find that underneath all that shouting there is an element that is shared by both groups. That element is trying to find something within pressure points that works for self-defense.

That fact is the exact reason why many people study martial arts.

Let’s go back to the basic question, “What is a pressure point?” Instead of saying that our definitions don’t work, let’s define a pressure point as a point that causes a known reaction.

Based on that definition, I think you will shortly see that the realm of what is a pressure point and how to use pressure points effectively becomes far more useful for both combat and self-defense.

Furthermore, pressure points become far more objective because either it causes an observable effect or it does not!

But to make pressure points work (objectively) you have to understand some details.

The first thing you have to understand is that you can actually divide pressure points into three categories. ONLY one of these categories (the category called Reflex Pressure Points) is always going to work – every time, on everybody.

The other two levels work sometimes based on rules.

So Why would anyone waste time trying to use level 1 or level 2 pressure points that may or may not work when one can simply use a level 3 (reflex pressure point) and guarantee the end to the fight?

Well, a major reason to learn the entire system is because the location of level 3 reflex pressure points are such that it is not always easy to get to them. For example, many reflex pressure points are located on or close to the center line of the body. And most (real) opponents will not simply let you walk up and stick your finger or fist into their centerline.

When faced with a real situation, you might initially have to use other pressure points or your other martial or self protection techniques so that you are able to get your hands to the reflex pressure points you are targeting (to be able to control your opponent or end the fight).

Once you get there, the reality of the fight is all over; but again it still takes more than one simple answer to end the fight, which is the reality of pressure points.

We are going to talk about the different levels here so that you can understand the differences, then we are going to give those rule and some concrete examples.

Read the full set of very interesting articles on pressure points over at Yoshiki Goshin Jutsu. (Just click on the link).

Malcolm
Yoshiki Goshin Jutsu

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