What are PRESSURE POINTS?
I know that you have read many mystical sounding descriptions to explain what a Pressure Point may be and really have never come to true understand of it. So I will try to make this term clear and understandable. If you can’t truly grasp terminology, how can you use Pressure Points to your advantage?
Pressure points are found in various places along all Meridians of the anatomy. In this way the Meridians and pressure points act like an access panel to an under ground workstation in a large network. In the very town you live in, on the street in front of your home, there is a manhole cover. This manhole gives the electrical water telephone and other cable companies access to the their networks. In this manner Meridians run through the Human Anatomy like manholes. However the Meridians and their points carry within them an Electrical Magnetic Charge, that energizes the organs and tissues of the human body. This energy is called Qi (vital force).
The actual size of a Pressure Point is about the size of a pencil point on average and has a usable diameter about the size of a dime or about a half inch in some cases. Pressure Points are in charge of Potency and flow of energy. For an example of this let’s look at your TV set. Your TV has knobs for sound, brightness, vertical and horizontal hold as well as channels.
The channel (Meridian) gives you a line to a station (organ). The volume gives you the ability to raise or lower the sound. Vertical and horizontal (Yin&Yang) hold give you control of the opposing strengths of signal. Now if you want to see the 10 o’clock news report, first you will turn on the set and adjust the volume, if it is to high you can turn the volume knob to the left and lower the sound. If the Channel is too bright, again you will turn the knob to the left and lower its energy. In the same way the doctors of acupuncture, can fix a problem with the energy balance of the body, he will make a diagnosis, find the right meridian with the correct pressure point(s) and make certain corrections to the energies involved. By pressing and/or turn his needle/hand on a point.
Now a Martial Man will gain the knowledge to fundamentally do the reverse process! He will use these very same points in a reverse manner. He will change the healthy energy Balance in the human body to an unhealthy energy balance.
In the above illustration, a description of the average pressure point is given. First we should observe the skin surface, were a pressure point can usually be found at times by locating a small indention on the peripheral. Most of the time it is actually an indent in the bone structure under the point. An acupuncturist would locate this indent to insert his needle. A martial artist would strike directly on this indent. Common to all pressure points found in the human body, beneath the indention of a point there is almost always found a combination of nerves and arteries. Muscle is of course always involved either above or below the nerves, arteries and veins. Now in the case of a strike, when the indent is hit heavily, it would press the nerve arteries and veins against the bone. This is the primary way that a vital point is punched. When a strike to a softer area such as the neck, when striking a nerve, a stretching type of technique is mostly used. The nerve that is hit in a pressure point attack, can also be compared to a cooked strand of spaghetti, and like a strand of cooked spaghetti it is very susceptible to impact pressure as well. An artery or vein is somewhat like a drinking straw, this may be compressed and stoppage of the blood that feeds a major organ can be blocked, causing a shut down of that organ it feeds.
These are some of the things that may happen when a vital point is attacked. Pressure points have an energy field that has been depicted for you, in are illustration as a turning electromagnetic force, having two possible directions inward and outward.
The electromagnetic energy force (Qi) is the very vital energy that brings life to the human body. When it stops, life stops. The inward spiraling Qi brings in to the human body the divine energy that brings life. The outward Qi returns Qi to it’s author, This function supplies the organs by way of pressure points and meridians and returns it again. To strike a given pressure point may temporarily or permanently damage the point of entry, which energizes by way of a meridian a vital organ. Notice that, there are several ways that a pressure point is attacked, by way of nerves, by way of arteries and by way of vein, and by an attack against its energy field or Qi disruption.
Yin and Yang are the laws of heaven and earth,
The terms Yin and Yang express qualities of dual opposites. In the book of Plain Questions Yin and Yang are called Fire and Water. This interpretation helps to present to use that Yin and yang are primarily opposites. Everything in the natural environment maybe classified as either Yin or Yang.
The anatomy of the human body can be divided into yin and yang as follows:
The internal section is Yin, as the external section is Yang; the 5 internal organs are Yin as the 6 bowels are Yang; The tendons and bones are Yin while the skin is Yang.
In physiology, Yin stands for storage or energy while Yang stands for human activity. In pathology Yin and Yang stands for two basic patterns of change. When Yin wins a victory, Yang decreased; When Yang wins a victory, Yin decreases.
In all of the opposites in all of creation, the first aspect of these opposites that we as martial artists should be observant of is the Yin Yang opposites of up and down. In the meridians in which the QI flow travels. Meridians are classified Yin and Yang (or up and down) on the basis of the direction in which there Qi flows. Yang Qi originates from heaven, the Qi Gong Master would say its direction of travel would be from heaven downwards. Yin Qi comes from the earth so its direction of travel would be from the ground upwards. Meridians of the body travel in this manner.
From torso to fingertip (along inside of the arm- yin)
From fingertip to face (along the outside and back of the arm-Yang)
From face to foot (along the out side of the leg-Yang)
From foot to torso (along the inside of the leg-Yin).
Empty and full.
When an attacker approaches the martial art master, he should categorize his opponent in one of two ways, Yin “empty” or Yang “full”. To tell one from the other in general is fairly easy. Looking carefully at his presents and behavior. Fat people with well-developed muscles are often Yang. A man who is slender but flabby is Yin. Vigorous or active people are yang. People who are listless and weak are Yin, and so on. What we do to a given meridian that we are attacking is to stimulate or sedate the Qi within the meridian. For example, providing that an assailant attacks us and that assailant is a Yang man.
When striking a Vital Point on the assailants body for instance GB #31, Since the gall Bladder is a yang Meridian, its energy travels from the head to the foot downwards, therefore if hit in one of the three directions it would have a differing outcome. Hitting downwards from the direction that the Qi travels would involve its organs and tissues and shall suffer a energy drop. The second is striking upwards which would be striking against Qi flow and cause a increase in energy to the organs and tissues. The last would be striking straight inward, which has no effect unless it is a strike against a nerve or vein and can be pressed against a bone. To stimulate Yin and Yang Qi, a slow penetrating vibration is used to send a pulse in to an organ. This pulse is commonly used in a palm strike. Another method is using a twisting motion that can be utilized in a one-knuckle strike. A clockwise motion will produce a change in Yin, counter clockwise motion may change Yang. Also in the twisting method, a strike twisting to the right energizes a twist to the left sedates. The use of Qi transmission is a method used in the process of changing Qi activity with in our opponent’s body.
This is a listing of the symptoms that occur. It displays the difference between a Yin a Yang strike. Also these symptoms would be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of an illness.
SYMPTOMS.
Yang
Yin
Pain
Paralysis
Burning Sensation
Cold
Spasms
Laxity
Over activity
Under activity
Excess
Deficiency
It is the great framework of every thing, the parents of change, the root and beginning of life and death.