Pressure Point Fighting: Where to Strike to Stop an Opponent

While pinching a “pressure point” might not instantly knock out your opponent like in the movies, there are certainly sensitive parts on the body you can use to your advantage when you’re being attacked. Striking a vulnerable area can turn a fight in your favor, helping you knock an opponent down, disarm them, or gain control of their body. Major targets on your opponent’s body include the eyes, neck, knee, groin, and gut. In this article, we’ll show you where and how to hit the most vulnerable areas to gain victory or get away quickly with expert tips from Self-defense and martial arts trainers Tsahi Shemesh and Joseph Bautist.

Warning: This article is intended for informational purposes only. Striking sensitive areas can potentially lead to serious injury or even death. If possible, always try to run away from an attacker and use force only when you’re in danger.

Combat Pressure Points

Pressure points are sensitive areas on the body that can cause intense pain or temporary immobilization when struck. Common pressure points include the temple, eyes, side of the neck, groin, and back of the knee. Always try to outrun an opponent before striking, as a hard hit can cause severe injury or even death.

Section 1 of 4:

Using Pressure Points on the Head

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1
Hit your opponent’s temple to disorient them. The temple is located 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) behind and slightly above the eye. Striking this point on the body is painful since it’s one of the softest locations on the head. Use a closed fist or open palm to slam against the side of your opponent’s head, disorienting them and giving you time to prepare your next move. This will also cause your opponent to raise their arms to protect their head, giving you access to their body. ^{[1]
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- Warning: You can kill someone by striking the temple too hard or by puncturing it with an object. Only strike an opponent’s temple as a last resort to preserve your own safety.
- The temple is so sensitive because it’s the point where 4 different bones in the skull fuse together. It’s especially dangerous to hit this area though, because the bone structure is weaker than other parts of the skull. Using an open palm can reduce the odds that you may kill or seriously injure someone when doing this.
2
Gouge an attacker’s eyes to subdue them and restrict vision. Spread your index finger and middle finger out 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) and quickly strike both of your opponent’s eyes with the tips of your fingers. As they raise their hands to protect their face, use your non-dominant hand to either hold the back of their head, move their hands away, or strike another part of their body. ^{[2]
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- This is a good way to get away from someone attacking you. They can’t chase you if they can’t see where they’re going.
- Warning: If you keep applying pressure to your opponent’s eyes after striking them, you could damage their optical nerves and permanently blind them.
- Shemesh advises to “hit [an attacker’s] vulnerable points. When you hit someone in the face, like eyes, you’ll get the same results whether they’re 300 or 100 pounds.” ^{[3]
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  Expert Source
  
  Tsahi Shemesh
  Self Defense Trainer
  
  Expert Interview. 17 September 2019.}
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3
Use a fish hook to control your opponent’s head and neck. To fish-hook an opponent, slide your index and middle fingers into the inside of your attacker’s cheek. Then, pull on the skin at the side of their mouth while maintaining pressure to restrain them and keep them from turning their head. In a grappling situation, fish-hooking your opponent allows you to control their head and gives you the upper hand. ^{[4]
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- Warning: You can snap someone’s neck doing this if you pull too quickly and too hard.
- Try to avoid sticking your fingers in between your opponent’s teeth while doing this. If they bite your fingers, the move could backfire.
4
Punch or chop the side of the neck to make your opponent dizzy. When you find an opening, strike the opponent on the side of the neck, roughly 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) under the ear where their neck starts to slope into the shoulder. This is the location of the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain. Hitting this location hard disrupts your opponent’s oxygen supply and causes them to become dizzy. ^{[5]
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- This is the same set of arteries you can restrict when performing a sleeper hold .
- If you can’t reach the side of your opponent’s neck, striking them in the middle of their throat can make it difficult for them to breathe and may throw them off balance.
- Warning: If you damage this artery, your opponent could die.

Section 2 of 4:

Striking an Attacker’s Abdomen

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Strike the groin to quickly drop an attacker. The groin is a highly sensitive area of the human body. Striking it with a quick kick or punch to send your opponent into a tremendous amount of pain, Shemesh explains. ^{[6]
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Expert Source

Tsahi Shemesh
Self Defense Trainer

Expert Interview. 17 September 2019.} They will quickly drop to the ground, buying you time to flee or subdue your attacker. Curl your toes, and kick your opponent in the groin with the top of your foot. ^{[7]
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- Your opponent will have trouble standing up after this, as attacks to the groin usually cause a fair bit of nausea.
- Warning: You can permanently disfigure or damage your opponent by doing this, so use caution if you don’t want to cause serious harm to the person you’re fighting.
EXPERT TIP

Joseph Bautista
Self-Defense Specialist, Martial Arts Instructor, & 1st Aid/CPR Instructor
Joseph Bautista is a Self-Defense Specialist and a Martial Arts Instructor specializing in Filipino martial arts. With over 18 years of instructing and martial arts training experience, Joseph runs Legacy Filipino Martial Arts, a Filipino martial arts school based in San Francisco, California. He also teaches self-defense with Self Defense For the People, a self-defense program with clients such as Salesforce, Airbnb, Gap, UPS, and UCSF. When not teaching self defense he is teaching CPR and 1st Aid Skills to 911 Dispatchers and Local Police Officers in the SF Bay Area with 1st Five Minutes.

Joseph Bautista
Self-Defense Specialist, Martial Arts Instructor, & 1st Aid/CPR Instructor

Attack a critical striking point if you're in danger. If your life is in danger, always target the eyes, nose, throat, and groin of your attacker. These are sensitive areas and will immediately slow down or stop an attacker.
2
Punch or kick an opponent’s gut to bring them down to their knees. There aren’t any bones protecting the stomach, which means you can strike an opponent’s stomach and damage their organs without much resistance. Use a closed fist to punch your opponent’s stomach right below the belly button to deliver a powerful strike that will make your attacker bend over. You can also use a bent foot to kick) your opponent’s gut if it’s easier. ^{[8]
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- Even if you miss the stomach, hitting your opponent’s bladder or kidneys has a similar effect.
3
Slam an attacker’s sides to take the wind out of them. If you can’t strike the stomach directly, opt to kick or punch an opponent’s side, 5–6 in (13–15 cm) beneath the end of their ribcage. This throws your opponent off balance while causing them to bend over to the side in pain. This is an excellent option if you want to reposition in a fight and gain the upper hand.
- If you need to flank your opponent when you’re facing them, strafe 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m) with your dominant foot to your dominant side to keep yourself from needing to move both of your feet.

Section 3 of 4:

Controlling the Arms and Legs

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Kick the back or side of the knee to drop your opponent. When you’re in striking distance, lift your foot and aim the heel of your shoe at your opponent’s knee. Kick it from the side or behind the kneecap to knock your opponent down to the ground. Because the knee is designed to bend forward, it’s incredibly easy to cause it to over-extend by kicking it from the side or the back. ^{[9]
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- This is an excellent option if you’re grappling with your opponent and your arms are busy.
- Warning: You can break an attacker’s knee by doing this, so only perform this move when necessary.
2
Sweep your opponent’s leg if you’re lower to knock them down. If you end up in a position in a fight where your opponent is either standing over you or trying to force you down, drop lower to the ground and swing your leg through their shin or ankle to drop them to the floor. Swiping the ankle or shin is a great way to use your opponent’s advantage against them. Swipe your attacker’s leg from the side to knock their legs out or get behind the ankle to put them on their butt. ^{[10]
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- Once your opponent is on the ground, you can either grapple them with your newfound advantage or take the time to get back to your feet.
3
Grip your opponent’s wrist and bend it inward to disarm them . If your attacker is holding a weapon or an object, reach out to grab the front of their hand with your dominant hand, and the side of their wrist with your nondominant hand. Once you’ve gripped both the front and side of their hand, bend their wrist inwards to cause them to drop their weapon after they open up their palm. ^{[11]
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- With their wrist still held tight, you can pull their arm behind them to execute a wrist twist, which will allow you to subdue your opponent.
- Warning: You can break someone’s wrist by doing this.

Section 4 of 4:

Martial Arts Pressure Point FAQs

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What are pressure points? Pressure points are specific points of the body that are believed to trigger an involuntary response. In Chinese medicine and reflexology, pressure points are used to calm ailments and bring peace to the body (this is commonly seen through acupuncture). ^{[12]
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Trustworthy Source
Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
Go to source} In combat, pressure points are considered areas of the body that are weakest.
- Dim Mak, a Chinese martial art, refers to pressure points as “death points.” It’s rumored that touching or striking these points on the body can immobilize or even kill an opponent.
2
Do pressure points really work in a fight? Yes, attacking “pressure points” can work in a fight, but they’re not always reliable. Experts explain that pressure points work best when dealing with a calm, compliant partner (preferably in a dojo). In a real, unsolicited fight, they can be more difficult to target successfully. This is why it’s best to target a general area of the body rather than one small, specific pressure point. ^{[13]
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- It’s still important to target pressure points in a fight, even if they won’t reliably take your opponent down. They can still cause imbalance and weaken your attacker.
3

What is pressure point fighting called? Pressure points can be used in all areas of combat; however, they’re most popular in Japanese combat or martial arts, such as Karate, Jujutsu, Diato Ryu, Ninjitsu, and Ninpo. ^{[14]
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Are there pressure points that can paralyze? Yes, there are pressure points that could paralyze someone in combat. These are known as “death points” in Dim Mak, a Chinese martial art. ^{[15]
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Research source} When striking these areas correctly, you could cause temporary paralysis, unconsciousness, or death:
- Above the knee (this is the peroneal nerve)
- Base of the skull
- Center of the neck
- Between the shoulder blades
- Small of the back

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Does Kung-fu involve pressure points?

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Kung-fu is one of the most complete forms of martial arts. Chinese consider it rather a way of life which includes discipline, pain tolerance, meditation, and much more. Shaolin monks have very extensive knowledge of body anatomy and they are effectively applied in martial arts. So your answer is Yes!

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If someone attacks, should I chop at his neck, phoenix eye at his temple, or do a Japanese kick to the solar plexus?

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It depends on the particular person and what you can observe about their strengths and weaknesses, but I would say Japanese kick.

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Do I need to practice before doing these steps on someone?

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Definitely. Don't wait for a bad situation to try out your moves. You'll end up overthinking it and making your opponent realize you are not skilled.

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When you strike at a pressure point, you don't need to strike too hard. A little pressure is enough as the nerves there are highly sensitive. It's more about technique rather than strength.
Sometimes you half to take a hit to get a hit in. If someone goes to kick you, let them and then grab their foot before they get away.

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Warnings

You can cause serious harm to someone by striking the sensitive parts of the body. Only use these moves if you have no other options available or your life is in danger.

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When given the option, always flee from an attacker. Only fight if you have no other options available to you.

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Pressure Point Fighting: Where to Strike to Stop an Opponent

Combat Pressure Points

Steps

Using Pressure Points on the Head

Striking an Attacker’s Abdomen

Controlling the Arms and Legs

Martial Arts Pressure Point FAQs

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Tips from our Readers

Warnings

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