A word about the historic beginnings of vital points.
The Vital Points combat arts, has been misunderstood for many different reasons. One reason that needs to be acknowledged is that the early development of these art forms were created to destroy the enemy and the need to make these arts instinctual. Therefore in those days the combat arts were a lethal art. It was a war-developed form of lethal hand-to-hand combat, which would render a man inanimate by means of unconsciousness and or death, preferably within one strike. Reason being, when encountering an enemy, that enemy must not be able to signal his company for any type of assistance. A second reason is in centuries past, it was used for the purpose of silent entry to a fortification. The schooling and teaching of these arts were reserved for security and military purposes, and are still used to this day.
One thing we do know is, at the turn of the century most Asian martial art systems had changed the attitude of schooling and of kata applications. They would not fully explain to the majority of there students and only to the master top student, the exact point strikes and its technical methods and theories. These Masters decided that they would leave out these techniques and methods in order to civilize the art to display karate publicly in the school systems of Japan. In leaving all deadly techniques out, for fear of civilians getting hurt, was the original reason (martial combat) was drop from the art altogether. Short cuts replaced the techniques and methods in most martial art systems, and a sport or street martial art became popular. Today the making of short cuts, in the good old U.S.A., is even more wide spread. Why? It is profitable and it attracts more students because it is easier and faster to learn! (The new easy to learn method) This practice has continuously turned away from the long years of training and the true art form. Much has been lost. It is understandable in a way because life is so much more complicated today than it was in the time of the founding fathers of the martial arts.
In ancient times there were a breed of men that would make the time as well as travel great distances to learn the martial art from anyone who would teach them. In those areas of the world is were you find where the arts thrive.
The first to use vital points to strike the human body was southern India. Kalari beliefs of today consider Bodhidharama, a Buddhist monk from India, introduced the martial science to China and there it evolved into the legendary system of today. Some of Karate’s larger systems have a legendary story transmitted from master to student, and is still in some schools taught to this day. This is how it goes.
It was approximately in the year 3,000 B.C, in India a prince of the royal family lived. He was very wealthy and had many servants. This prince had a great interest in the way that many of the animals fought and defended them selves, especially in a case of a life and death encounter with a predator and the ways used to escape their demise. The prince would spend many hours in the study of the individual movements of the animals and birds as well as their methods of self-defense. He studied the birds and animals of the forest, noting how they used their power to defend themselves. For instance, white crane uses skills along with Qi, when using its legs and wings along with its spirit coupled with silence. (The spiritual requirements mean that you need to be relaxed the (arms) wings in order to circulate air). He noticed the strength and stealth that the Tiger used before successfully slaying its prey. The Tigers strength is in the body springing from the thighs and the waist. Its eyes glare with anger. The prince applied these combat techniques found in the animal kingdom to the human torso and found many of them to be successful.
The second area that the Indian prince explored is after seeing a warrior struck fatally with a Bo staff, he became fascinated so much by the ease of the strike and the quickness of the warriors demise, that he started experimenting on captured warriors and slave to discover the weakness in all parts of the human body. Using an instrument that looked slightly similar to a chopstick, carved from bone and fabricated with a blunt point so it would not puncture the surface of the skin. The prince then gave the order to have healthy living slaves and captive worriers jabbed with this instrument in many parts of the body, noting the outcome of each individual reaction. In this bizarre account, thousands of captive warriors and slaves gave their lives for the purposes of the prince’s peculiar experiments. In the end, all of the vital points of the human body had been discovered. Finally, the prince combined the movements of the animals with the vital points that caused an unhealthy effect and later learned to use the hands and feet as weapons as well as using weaponry.
The use of vital point applications further advanced in China about the time of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). In the book named Li Chi, among other things, contained records of death by violence. In 1247 AD a book call Hai Yaun Li, contains a list of 32 dangerous points. In addition, a book called The Bubishi a scroll used by the Okinawan martial arts community has many pressure point lists. Today many U.S. martial artists have worked hard to under stand vital point striking, compiling notes and writing books as well as make videotapes to help instructors as well as students to simplify the learning process. It should be noted that it is extremely difficult to learn by these methods.
Later around the sixteen hundreds, China replaced it’s civil envoys in Okinawa with military men, among whom were many noted for there prowess in Chinese Kempo. The Okinawa’s took a keen interest in their ability and combined these techniques with there own native martial system called TE. The thirty-six points started to spread to martial arts families of Okinawa. These families would of course keep the vital points a secret so that the very people they warred against would not learn the bases of these critical techniques. Some techniques that you will be studying on this web site are from the thirty-six vital points and a few additional points. Some of the points were lost or never given to these Okinawan Masters of TE, But this didn’t slow down the Okinawa masters. They had some of there own and added them right on to what they learned from the Chinese. This is why you will be studying forty-four points rather than thirty-six. In addition, there are multitudes of critical point that I will list, 109 points.
In remembrance of these ancient masters’ who practiced the old ways, and after a long study on this subject myself, I have decided to reveal to the public the art and exact locations of all vital points and the techniques that make it work. For those wishing to learn and practice the forbidden art.
WARNING! I want you to understand the real and intense danger that fooling around with striking points can cause. Therefore, I wish to set a few simple rules to help guide you through with out doing damage to yourself or others.
- A VITAL POINT STRIKE can cause unconsciousness, paralyze parts of the body, disrupt organ function and cause death. Do not intentionally strike a point on another person’s body or you’re own body, (To find a pressure points, press don’t strike).
- Never strike two or more points with in a twenty four-hour period (practice one point each day). To combine points has, in the past, has caused accidental death.
- Pressing too hard can cause health problems, (press to the point of discomfort not pain). In most cases, vital points can be established with light pressure.
- Never practice striking the body as your practice partner is inhaling. This is a technique used to maximize a vital point strike.
- Dim Mak strikes can and will cause death anywhere from instantaneously to seven years later. For this reason, these points should never be hit other than in a combat situation.
- Do not practice pressing points after a heavy work out.
Conclusion.
The combat arts (Budo) using vital point strikes are a stark contrast from the martial arts practiced today. There are really three categories of practice throughout all of the martial systems.
- Combat martial arts – using any means to KILL, MAIM, or DESTROY the enemy without regard for law.
- Street fighting arts – to damage to incapacitate, within lawful jurisdiction.
- Sport martial arts – to do little to no damage at all, along with some self-defense.
In addition, with each of these categories, they carry their own philosophy that cannot be intercommunicated as an all in one art. Today the general public at large has become much to civilized to carry along with them the philosophy that would be needed to be incorporated tactically, technically, and spiritually.
To be a warrior you must become war! To be a good street fighter you must hit first, hit hard and subdue. To be a good Sport martial artist you must be good at sparring and hit the target first without being hit.
Therefore there must be a different type of philosophy in each category to make them work for the student. In addition, there are to many instructors out there that try to please their students by mixing street fighting, combat, and sport martial arts together, IT CAN’T BE DONE!
The pioneers of the martial arts lived in a somewhat antiquated society. Combative skills were a necessary part of every day life. Without it, you would surly be at the mercy of the warlords, robbers and thieves. Today, it is true that, there is not so much of a need for the combat arts and its philosophy, unless you live in an urban war zone or are soon to go into combat. Many of us are enchanted with those very pioneer’s that lived at that time. To know how the vital points worked and the philosophy involved and the techniques, method and training that was done back in there day. Much of it is lost, forever, but there is a lot that maybe uncovered or rediscovered.
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