targets

Manny

Senior Master
I've been thinking about the best targets to hit in a confontration, the kind of confrontation you need to stop quick, like when someone wants to blow your brains out. I think that a nice spot is the side of the neck or the temple using a knife hand. Do you think it0s to risky to use this tech? There was one time when performing five swords in the Kenpo class that I caught my partner with my knife hand behind the ear, the blow was a controled one offcouse but the hit was so well placed that left my partner seeing dots and stars and almost stumble.

I am not encouragin people here to hurt people this way but someone who wants to take our head off in the street does not deserve a nice tap don't you think?

manny
 
Probably the knee, because I could maintain eye contact and by talking to them and using my hands it will keep their eyes looking anywhere but down at knee level. Also little chance of killing them or causing head injuries. If my whole goal is ending things as quick as possible it would probably have to be a kick. A kick performed by someone who knows what they are doing is way more devastating than a punch in my opinion.
 
In my opinion this depends greatly on circumstance. If I want to end a confrontation quickly, and if it is anything but a training match I do, I look for where my opponent is weak and where I can upset his balance to the greatest effect. I want my opponent recovering at all times until I can finish him. That way he is not spending his time attacking me, but rather trying to regain his balance and/or defend himself. I will use whatever is needed to achieve that goal.

As far as specific areas, I find the eyes do usually at least cause a natural flinch reaction, which can buy a person a small amount of time. The temple is very hard and you would need a near perfect strike to greatly effect your opponent. The neck, being an area full of blood vessals and nerves, without the protection of a great deal of mucle or bone, can be a good target. However, you have to be pretty accurate and most people wil shy away from contact on thier neck naturally, making a good strike more difficult. If you are attcking the neck through a hold, it is a very good control spot. The knee would be dependant upon range and if the opponent's weight is primarily on the knee being kicked. If the weight is not on the knee, at best you'll knock it out from underneath them, but at worst your power will just help them move it out of the way.
 
Saw an article about this somewhere:
http://371078645507472465-a-1802744...QSO0Xf-wQYWuP6_3PqNJ4vz8DRUB3b&attredirects=0

Now, having said this.
1. Head shots are great but are the most common and most expected so often not the easiest to get. This include anything to the eyes.
2. Ever accidentaly bump your shin on something? I like a good swift shin kick. (I think the movei "Get Shorty" had Jon Travolta use this and I think Tom Cruise used it in Cocktail but a little tougher to spot.) Not expected, hard to see coming, Hurts like the dickens.
 
One of the best advice I received on this type of subject comes from one of our instructors who instructs LEO's, FBI and Security forces in H2H situations. He taught us that to help stop an attack your best bet is immobilize one of three things, sight, breath or mobility. This can be done in a multitude of ways. As it was already mentioned it depends on what the circumstances allow.

Sometimes all you need is a firm "dead hand" to the chest to upset the breathing, or a pop in the nose to hinder eyesight, or swift knee to the upper thigh to cause immobility to chase. So keep this in mind when you have to create the openings you need to achieve your results.
 
I've been thinking about the best targets to hit in a confontration, the kind of confrontation you need to stop quick, like when someone wants to blow your brains out.
The open one. Your opponent will tell you where to hit them.
 
When faced with an armed opponent, there are a couple things I think you need to keep in mind.

First, a gun that's not pointed at you is not much of a threat.

Second, an armed person has a tendancy to focus on the weapon as their method of attack, forgetting their other limbs.

So I would say first and foremost, control the weapon. That doesn't mean you have to have the weapon arm totally immobilized. Just getting inside, or under, or whatever circumstances allow, and moving it so that the gun is no longer pointed at you is a start. It will also help to create an opening which you can (hopefully) exploit.

Distraction is also your freind. If someone wants your wallet, taking it out, extending it towards them, and dropping it will cause their eyes to follow it, if only for a split second. If you can get their eyes off you, that, again, gives you a short opening to exploit.

To me, the initial target is not their body. It's their attention. Use that to create an opening and take advantage of it.

Once you have the opening, you have to attack targets that will kill or disable your opponent as rapidly as possible, while trying to keep the weapon controlled. The longer the confrontation lasts, the less chance you have of surviving.
 
First protect your brains. Control the gun.

If it's a handgun, you're not close enough to grab it, and you have anywhere to go, Nike Fu.
 
First protect your brains. Control the gun.

If it's a handgun, you're not close enough to grab it, and you have anywhere to go, Nike Fu.

If possible, exit the scene as quickly and safely as possible. Advise on how to fight a person with a knife or a gun is always guess work. If a person is worried about criminals attacking them, it might be wise to consider carrying a gun yourself.

"'If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." ~ The Dalai Lama May 15, 2001
 
If possible, exit the scene as quickly and safely as possible. Advise on how to fight a person with a knife or a gun is always guess work. If a person is worried about criminals attacking them, it might be wise to consider carrying a gun yourself.

Guns are a rarity here. No one really carries them except law enforcement officers, and gun crimes are relatively rare. We don't have a gun culture here so much. Those that do have guns tend to be afraid to use them. I used to have a group of students were what I would call a little crazy. Once they got into an argument at a local drive in, and one of the guys from the other group pulled out a gun from his car. One of my students walked right up to that guy such that the barrel of the gun was touching his stomach and he was saying go ahead pull the trigger if you have the balls. The other guy backed down and everyone left before the police came. They came to the next class and told me about it. I recently saw that student, he is now married with kids and works in a computer related job.


"'If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." ~ The Dalai Lama May 15, 2001

The Dalai Lama is, or was, here in Hawaii this week.
 
Whatever's open, if he throws a punch, maybe I'll target his wrist with a good block, or maybe I'll step it and aim for the solar plexus. We all like to think that we can end a fight with one hit, but adrenaline can do strange things to the body, you could break a guys arm and he might not notice for a couple of hours.

Obviously the best form of self defence is escape.
 
The Dalai Lama is, or was, here in Hawaii this week.

My sons and I have met the Dalai Lama in person, and spent some time with his personal monks when they were building a Mandala here in Cleveland years ago. I have a many of his books and have studied video, audio and at one of his seminars.
 
And what might the Dalai Lama have to say about the targets to use should you be attacked by an armed assailant?
 
And don't forget the deadly art of chic-chic-pow...

Sounds like 2 girls hitting you. Could be fun.

When I first heard something like that it was from Peyton Quinn at RMCAT. he said "Ching Ching Pow."
For those unaware, that's the sound of racking the slide on a semi-auto and pulling the trigger.
 
The Dalai Lama is, or was, here in Hawaii this week.
Not to get to off the track here, but a friend of mine who was a former reporter for San Diego Fox network and heads the San Diego Asian Film Festival had a chance to meet with him yesterday. She asked what a good question would be for him. I told her to not ask anything and just listen to his words and she would have more questions answered than she knew she had.
 
My Primary Target is always the other guy.

Im being quite serious, mind. Trying to be specific with every strike is needless, when theres virtually no part of the body You can hit that will be ineffective. Yeah, some will be more so than others, but theres a reason that theres more than one strike in any given System.
 
My Primary Target is always the other guy.

Im being quite serious, mind. Trying to be specific with every strike is needless, when theres virtually no part of the body You can hit that will be ineffective. Yeah, some will be more so than others, but theres a reason that theres more than one strike in any given System.


I agree with you. It's not always appropriate to try to grab a weapon, but my earlier point was that it's not generally advised to ignore the lethal weapon in someone's hand to strike another target.
 

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