A pressure point in the field of martial arts represents an area on the human body that when contacted produces significant pain or some other secondary effect. Martial arts practitioners do not focus just on increasing the "brute strength" of their strikes, but also on the target of their strikes to maximize the impact, and to achieve specific outcomes. The study of pressure points has a long history , although it has been to a large degree withheld from the general public until recent years. This has resulted in much mis-information being passed on, including many urban legends.

Types of Pressure Points

There are several types of pressure points, each of which is applied differently, and each one creating different effects. Some of the principles are discussed below. There are only 4 types of Pressure Points:
Pain points, Tendon, ligament and muscle points and Reflex Pressure points. Pain producing points ONLY work in people who can or will respond to pain. Over 15% of the population are non responders whether naturally or from alcohol or other substance so pain points do not work well on such people. Many people think pressure points do not work because all they have seen are these type 1 pain points. Type 2 (Tendon, ligament and muscle points) cause a reaction whether there is pain or not and Type 3 REFLEX pressure points always cause a reaction If done correctly as the body can not function without these reflexes (balance, blood pressure, breathing, consciousness, etc)

Pain

Some pressure points produce pain when struck, pressed or rubbed (depending on the point itself). While the distraction of pain might offer sufficient advantage in a fight, additionally the body has a Pain withdrawal reflex whereby it reacts to pain by moving away from it. Martial artists can make use of this through minimal effort. Applying pressure to the collar bone from above will cause the subject to move downwards, whereas poking them in the gap between the ear and neck will make their body want to move upwards. Pressure to the shoulder causes that side of the body to move back. A jab to the abdomen in the middle of the stomach will cause some people to twist around, away from the pain. A rub down the back will cause the body to move forwards. Some points react more violently to pain from changes in the pressure (rubbing) rather than constant pressure.

Blood & Blood Pressure

The baroreceptor in the carotid artery is pressure-sensitive, supplying the brain with information to control systemic blood pressure. Pressure against this region will send signals which indicate that blood pressure is too high and lead to a lowering of blood pressure. Additionally the knockout is caused by the force being transmitted to the reticular activating system.

Chokes

It is possible to render an opponent unconscious by strangling them - which involves maintaining pressure to a point, rather than striking that point. There are two sub-categories here : One is to apply pressure directly from the front of the windpipe to block the airflow. The other is to apply pressure on the sides of the neck to prevent blood flowing into the brain through the carotid artery, or out the brain through the jugular vein - the lack of oxygen resulting in unconsciousness.

Hyper-Extension

There are joints that when struck, can be hyper-extended and even torn. This is a technique which can cause permanent damage to one's opponent. There are two types:
- Brute force: This takes advantage of the vulnerability of the strike point, usually a joint, thereby causing the damage.
- Golgi organs: A relatively gentle strike to the Golgi tendon at the back of the elbow, for example, triggers a reflex which immediately relaxes that tendon allowing the elbow to bend more easily in the wrong direction. If this is immediately followed by a solid strike to the elbow joint, the elbow can be broken with significantly less effort than through brute force.

Concussion

The brain is a very sensitive organ. It floats in a fluid (cerebral spinal fluid) and balances on a very flexible spine. These safety mechanisms allow the head to take substantial impact without resulting in concussion. However, martial art techniques can be delivered in a way which effectively eliminates such protections, thus causing disorientation or instantaneous knockout. The most commonly taught technique involves a strike just below the occipital ridge, at the correct angle in the correct direction. Another well known point with this effect is the chin or lower jaw, giving rise to the boxing expression, a "glass jaw".

Break

There are certain areas which are likely to lead to a break if struck properly, such as the "floating ribs", the philtrum, and the side of the knee.

Energy

Some believe there are energy channels which flow around the body through acupuncture meridians, and an attack will impact the flows, and thus impact the body. This is called "chi", "ki" or "qi" in East Asian cultures. Traditional Chinese medicine theory is based on the idea that specific pathway lines called meridians exist on the human body, along which are found many hundreds of acupressure points. Acupuncture is the most well known use of the meridian system. Pressing, seizing or striking (dim mak) these points (or combinations of points) with specific intent and at certain angles can result in either heightening or diminishing qi circulation in the body, according to this theory. Arts such as Bak Mei and Bok Foo Pai utilize this strategy almost exclusively in combat.