Martial Arts Magic

Nice article on Bullshido that I hadn't seen before.

IMO, removing the mysticism from martial arts is a worthy goal, though it would obviously be detrimental to some who survive and thrive on it.

 

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

Mostly well written, but I don't agree with this part:

While I'm not sure about the temple, "the button" I've seen too many times to discount is on the jaw. And it's seen over and over again in MMA. Along with the cartoon style knockout.

 

Also, take into account Bare Knuckle Fighting.
A Bare Knuckle to the Temple can be quite Devastating.

 

I don't know about the article, but taking a punch to the solar plexus would definitely suck.

 

Possible, I never heard of it though. I'm with stevebjj that the button was on the point of the jaw. I've never heard a medical explanation of that, but always suspected it had to do with the leverage provided snapping the head too quickly for the brain to easily follow. The resulting coup and counter-coup then causing unconsciousness.

 

I thought the button was the chin. Hence the expression Take it on the chin.

 

Having read the whole article, it seems there is some misinformation on the part of the writer. To say pressure points that can disable don't exist simply shows ignorance on the writer's part. To say that Ki doesn't exist is the same. Mind you, I am aware that there are MA who don't believe in it either as well, to include some here on MT. I am sorry for them.

But Dem Mak? Well, I have been taught death blows, but Dem Mak isn't one of them. Nor did my GM ever tell me it was or wasn't true. We never discussed it.

 

Pressure points? I think most people would agree that there are nerve clusters which can cause pretty severe reactions. It's in how practical or reliable getting to those pressure points can be where the debate comes in.

Ki or chi... well... yeah. That's getting into some marginal stuff. It's okay, though. Don't feel sorry for me.

 

And here all along I thought "the button" was a clitoris.....

 

Mild tangent, one of the lessons I do with students is I teach them how to perform the "no hit punch". I give a lengthy explanation about chi and how "you can take these principles and use them to harness the chi energy around and within you and actually PROJECT it into another person!" Then I demonstrate it by having someong stand in front of me, feet together, hands at their sides, do some really cool looking two chi hand movements and throw my arms at them while breathing out forcefully. Almost every time, they go flying backwards. Then while everyone is standing amazed I get another student and do it to them. Now whole people are awestruck by the impossible awesomeness of my anime-like superpowers, I ask them "now why did that work? More importantly, if I hadn't gone through that lengthy explanation at the beginning, would it have worked?" Now comes the moment of doubt. They stand there confused. "Of course it wouldn't, because I made it all up! I can't hit people without touching them, though that would be awesome! And you believed me because you WANTED it to be true, and it was reinforced by those around you. The point of this lesson is to think for yourselves, do your own research, and above all to QUESTION everything. Don't automatically affirm even that which your own eyes are telling you, because we are all gullible to a point. Every single one of us." It's not a verbatim quote, but you get the idea.

 

Definitely not when we're talking about combat...

 

You sure?
Ive seen a female get hit there, and fall down in pain.


​Lets not let this particular discussion go on for too long, Gentry

 

Don`t know where I fall on this one. I`ve always explained 98% of what I can do with simple physics.......but there`s that 2% of what I can do...plus alot of stuff I can`t do but I`ve seen others do: generating heat from their hands or belly(to the point where it`s painful to touch their abdomen), breaking stacks of bricks with no spacers by just a light slap (and I know the bricks aren`t rigged,scratched or baked because I helped buy them at Home Depot and took them to the demo in the trunk of my car) and a few down-right weird things. The Myth Busters might be able to explain it, but I can`t.

 

There are arts that train use of pressure points that will put a person down and keep them down for a while.

As to Ki, I have experienced it. If you haven't, or didn't recognize it, so be it.

 

Again, I have no doubt that they exist. I am a little more skeptical that hitting them in a self defense situation is reliable.

My comment had less to do with whether it exists or not than the patronizing comment that you feel sorry for people who don't believe in it. You're welcome to your beliefs. But save the sanctimony, please. As I said before, don't feel sorry for me. Maybe my midichlorian count just isn't high enough.

 

While I agree with this statement in general, I'd like to point out that simply because you can't explain the physics behind a phenomenon does not mean there's mysticism (or ki, or whatever you want to call it) involved. All it means is that you can't explain it or don't yet know the math...

The burden of proof, IMHO, lies firmly on those who insist that such mystical phenomena exist (whether ki, ESP, acupuncture points, no touch knockouts, psychic powers or whatever) to demonstrate it in a scientifically meaningful way. To date, all such attempts have failed, usually resoundingly.

The fact that the no-touch knockouts, for instance, consistently fail when used against skeptics and other more physical martial artists is proof positive that those practitioners, at least, are frauds. Here's another website with some awesome video proof of these techniques. Very entertaining.

 

While I can emphasize with your sentiment, "so be it" is not exactly equivalent to "I feel sorry for you".123