Striking Points And Targeting (Introductory Thoughts)

The discussion resulting from my most recent post on notation made me realize that I needed to think more about targeting. Specifically, in order to translate the next piece of the form I'll need some way to indicate the target of a strike. There was also a comment about striking accupuncture points, a practice which I really don't know anything about. So now seems an appropriate time to look at targets/targeting in more detail.

First step, lets see if we can put together a list of common targets on the human body. A quick search via Teh Google reveals that the web is awash in sources:

• http://www.essortment.com/all/martialartsstr_rlna.htm
• http://www.self-defender.net/article20.htm
• http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/urban-street-combatives-r-b-m/21422-vital-striking-points.html
• http://www.pressurepointkarate.com/vital_point_striking.htm
• http://arnisclearwater.com/PointsofInterest/PressurePoints.aspx

There's also a striking points poster that a huge number of people seem to be selling, but for which I haven't been able to track down the original source.

Here's a consolidated list based on the contents of the above sites (plus a couple that I've been taught but didn't see listed anywhere), grouped by region of the body:

• Head: pterion (temple or kasumi), eye (seidon), nose/nasion, philtrum (jinchu), mastoid process (dokko), underside of chin, tip of chin (genkon), ear (mimi), capsular ligamaent (hinge of jaw), inion, top of skull (tendo), midline of cranium above hairline (tento), midline of forehead (uto), auricular point
• Neck: hyoid bone/thyroid cartilage/cricoid cartilage (mikazuki and sonu), third cervical vertebra (keichu), trapesius/sterno-cleido-mastoideus/platysma (shofu), clavicle, top of the sternoclavicular articulation (hichu)
• Upper Torso: infrasternal notch (solar plexus), lowest (floating) ribs, upper spine (1st through 5th thoracic vertebrae), lumbar region
• Arms: elbow (kote), wrist, lower anterior portion of shoulder joint capsule
• Lower Torso/Abdomen: the gap between the floating ribs and iliac crest, the midline of the hypogastric region (kinteki), groin, tailbone (coccyx or bitei)
• Legs: ankle, knee, bridge of the foot (koori and uchi kuro bushi), inside of thigh (yako), outside of thigh, achilles tendon, hamstrings (fukuto), anterior crest of tibia, medial surface of tibia (muyo)

I'm making no claims at this point regarding any particular item above making a "good" or "effective" target; I'll get to that in future posts. Rather, we should treat the above as an ontological inventory that will form the basis for further analysis. But this inventory isn't particularly useful as is; it's just a list of points that various people claim make effective targets. It would be much better if we could impose some sort of order on the chaos and perhaps start to figure out what it is about the above that (ostensibly) makes them good targets.

To do that we need to go back to basics and ask ourselves "What is the purpose of striking someone?". Seems like a pretty straightforward question, yes? But my first 4 or 5 attempts at writing down an answer were unsatisfactory; they didn't really capture the essence of what a strike seeks to accomplish. After putting some more thought into it I believe that the most complete answer is that "The objective of a strike is to reduce the current capabilities of the target". This reflects the fact that a strike can be a distraction, can be painful but do no permanent damage, or can cripple/kill.

Defined that broadly, however, any point on the body becomes a legitimate target. The fact that we have a concept of "striking point" or "target" at all suggests that we have a shared understanding that some parts of the body are inherently more vulnerable than others. This, in turn, tells me that the list I've given above should be viewed through the lense of "vulnerability" i.e. what is it about these points that makes them particularly vulnerable to attack.

Suddenly things start to fall into place in a systematic fashion:

• Structures that are easily damaged by strikes: bridge of the foot/koori/uchi kuro bushi, tailbone/coccyx/bitei, clavical, capsular ligamaent/hinge of jaw, ear/mimi, mastoid process/dokko, eye/seidon, nose/nasion
• Gaps in the musculo/skeletal system: area between the floating ribs and iliac crest, lumbar region, solar plexus, sternoclavicular articulation/hichu, hyoid bone/thyroid cartilage/cricoid cartilage/mikazuki/sonu
• Places that cause disproportionate pain when struck: anterior crest of tibia, groin, auricular point
• Joints: ankle, knee, wrist, elbow/kote
• Areas that shield/affect important internal structures: hypogastric region/kinteki, 1st through 5th thoracic vertebrae, upper spine, floating ribs, trapesius/sterno-cleido-mastoideus/platysma/shofu, third cervical vertebra/keichu, midline of forehead/uto, midline of cranium above hairline/tento, tip of chin/genkon, underside of chin, philtrum/jinchu, pterion/temple/kasumi, inion
• Mechanical necessities: hamstrings/fukuto, achilles tendon
• Targets that lack an immediately apparent benefit: medial surface of tibia/muyo, outside of thigh, inside of thigh (yako), shoulder joint capsule, top of skull/tendo

There's a little bit of arbitrariness in how I categorized these targets; there are good arguments to be made for putting some of the above into serveral different categories. S'alright, I wouldn't dwell on that, since there's enough meat in this particular discussion to span a number of posts..