 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
      
|
 |
Dangerous Parts - The BackBehind an opponent is frequently the best place to be in a fight, and knowledge of the points below certainly improves your chances of coming out on top. The targets on the back (unlike the body) include areas of the head.
1 - Carotid arteriesThe jitsuka assumes a kiba dachi stance, and with palms up, the jitsuka strikes with the sides of the hand to the uke's carotid arteries. The carotid arteries are located on either side of the neck slightly in front of the ears. Striking from the back means that to get over the elevation of the shooulders, the jitsuka should strike with the hands tilted down at about 30º below the horizontal.The carotid arteries carry blood to the brain, and striking them can cause a swelling that will temporarily cut off a good portion of the blood to the brain. Like striking the temples, striking the carotid arteries can cause the opponent to experience dizziness, and sometimes loose consciousness. 2 - Base of skullThe jitsuka stands in a relaxed side stance, right foot forward towards the uke. Using his/her whole body, the jitsuka draws the right hand back and down in a semicircle, and then continues the strike by following a straighter arc over the top. The jitsuka strikes almost horizontally (slightly down) with the outside edge of the hand into the base of the uke's skull.The base of the skull is where the CNS (Central Nervous System) connects into the brain. The spinal column terminates here, and the junction of this with the cranium gives rise to a weak point of the body. Striking this point can cause a couple of effects. A general blow will cause a bit of pain and a dull ache in the base of the skull. A stronger blow can actually interact with the electrical signals carried along the spine, and cause the opponent to black out. If a proverbial blunt object (a baton for instance) is used, this strike can prove to be deadly as further damage to the skull and brain can be inflicted. 3 - Upper vertebraThe jitsuka stands in a relaxed side stance, right foot forward towards the uke. Using his/her whole body, the jitsuka draws the right hand back and down in a semicircle, and then continues the circular path up and over the top. Whilst drawing the hand back over the top, the jiitsuka should rotate it from being horizontal to a vertical position with fingers pointing straight up. The jitsuka strikes down with the base of theoutside edge of the hand into the vertebra located at the top of the shoulder blades on the uke's spine.The strike should be down onto the vertebra that sticks out the most - it should be a few inches below the base of the skull. The blow should also push away from the jitsuka into the opponent so as to force the vertebra down and into the him/her. This strike is another painful one. The spine is generally quite strong and suple, but focusing on a particular point that is at an extreme (this one is the apex of the top spinal curve), a great deal of pain can be acheived. The CNS runs through the spine and so disrupting the position of the spine can disrupt the CNS. Almost everyone has suffered a sore back or twinging back pains - this strike is intended to cause acute pain at a particular point on the spine. 4 - KidneysThe jitsuka stands initially in kiba dachi, and then sinks down by bending his her knees. The jitsuka also draws both arms back so that his/her hands are made into fists (palms up) and are level with his her floating ribs. The jitsuka shoud sink far enough down so that as the jitsuka thrust both arms forwards, the fists strike the uke's kidneys. The double pucnches should be angled slightly upwards as though to force the kidneys up into the rib cage. The final position should have the jitsuka squatting slightly with his/her upper arms just beyond the vertical, and the forearms extended just above the horizontal - in contact with the uke's kidneys.Striking the kidneys should produce at least a slight grimace of discomfort from the opponent. The kidneys are sensitive organs, and it is often a tactic in many martial arts to strike these as they are afforded relatively little protection by the body. They are found between the hips and the level of the rib cage to the back of the lower-mid torso. A kidney can be found on either side of the spine. A hard blow to a kidney, can be very painful. 5 - Lower vertebraThe jitsuka stands in a relaxed side stance, right foot forward towards the uke. The jitsuka bends his/her knees to attain the correct height for the strike. The right hand forms a fist and is taken across the jitsukas own body for an empi strike. Clasping the right fist in the left hand, the jitsuka draws both arms up to the left in an arc. Then the jitsuka swings both arms down and back in a circular motion into the base of the uke's spine.The lower vertebra like the upper vertebra is found at an extreme point on the spine making it a prime target. It is located just above the pelvic bone and is at the bottom of the inward curve of the spine at the base of the back. Striking here with the elbow will simply cause great pain to an opponent. To get more power into the strike, the jitsuka should shift more body weight into the strike. Extending the right leg when winding up the strike should greatly increase the vertical distance dropped and therefore allows a greater use of gravity in the attack. 6 - CoccyxThe jitsuka stands in a relaxed side stance, right foot forward towards the uke. The jitsuka bends his/her knees to attain the correct height for the strike. The right hand forms a fist and is taken across the jitsukas own body for an empi strike. Clasping the right fist in the left hand, the jitsuka draws both arms up to the left in an arc. Then the jitsuka swings both arms down and back in a circular motion into the bottom/centre of the uke's buttocks - into the coccyx.The coccyx is the bottom of the spine and as before this makes it susceptible to attack. Striking the coccyx will cause a reasonable amount of discomfort - the same effect as falling on your bottom in the playground as a child. To get more power into the strike, the jitsuka should shift more body weight into the strike. Extending the right leg when winding up the strike should greatly increase the vertical distance dropped and therefore allows a greater use of gravity in the attack. The attack should also curve up into the uke's body rather than a totally perpendicular strike.
Alternative: The jitsuka stands initially in kiba dachi, and then his/her hands on the uke's shoulders (left to left and right to right). The jitsuka takes a short step back at the same time with the right leg. The jitsuka then drives the right knee up into the coccyx at the same time as drawing the uke's shoulders towards his/her own right shoulder (this avoids a collision of heads from drawing straight back). This alternative strike is more controlling of the uke's body, and will also be more powerful since it involves the use of the leg rather than an arm (even two). 7 - KneeThe jitsuka stands initially in kiba dachi. The jitsuka then raises his/her right knee up high. The jitsuka then rotates anti-clockwise on the ball of the left foot, at the same time stamping out through the uke's right knee.For the kata, the jitsuka should push through the knee enough to make it bend and throw the uke off balance. In a more real world environment, the jitsuka should strike through hard forcing the knee into the ground. Also in such an environment, the uke should stamp from a more side on direction. This will then force the knee to twist as it goes down causing further damage to the knee ligaments. The effect of this strike should be to restrict the opponent's movement and to force them quickly into a prone position. 8 - Achilles' tendonThe jitsuka stands initially in kiba dachi. The jitsuka then raises his/her right knee up high. The jitsuka then rotates anti-clockwise on the ball of the left foot, at the same time striking out with the outside edge of the right foot into the back of the uke's ankle.The Achilles tendon is located at the back of the ankle, and is the legendary flaw of the otherwise invulnerable Achilles. A hard foot strike can cause heavy bruising on this tendon and will quickly slow down the movement of the opponent. Beware however that the opponent may be wearing boots which could provide protection for the tendon.
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| Last Modified: |