How do you translate pressure points from kata?

ummm...whut?

That's not a very specific question there, Pete. If I understand you correctly, you are wondering how kata teaches the application of pressure points, is this correct?

haha I suppose I was been a bit cryptic there... In my haste in trying to get some good discussion going on about pressure points I kinda raced in there...

Basically, I was reading a very interesting Traditional Karate book the other day and the author was claiming that the true meaning of Kata has been 'locked' into an almost dance like movement.

Would you agree with this or as an instructor/student how do you approach your training in unlocking Kata/Patterns to get to the real meaty pressure point techniques.

Well, one of the most important things I've learned about kata is that NOBODY can give you the "truth" about any of the ancient katas. They may give you a very convincing opinion backed by some great ideas and principles, but in the end they are just advancing a theory and not a fact as it were.

That having been said, probably the most important thing you can do when working on kata is use your imagination to its fullest. You can find all sorts of stuff hidden in one segment of a kata. I worked with a sensei this weekend on about the first 3 moves of the first Naihanchi (or Tekki if you prefer). He showed me 5 or six applications right off the top of his head. This is in addition to the 2 that I had already thought of before I spoke with him. That's 7 different applications of one section of one kata.

Also remember that not every move is meant to counter a punch...

Not all traditional forms necessarily contain information regarding vital points...we break down four levels:

1. Obvious: Where a punch is obviously a punch and a block is a block, etc.

2. Concealed: Striking techniques that are camoflaged and made to look like something else or hidden between movements.

3. Mysterious: Hidden grappling techniques; joint twisting and throws.

4. Points: Not found in all forms. Some movements are "coded", as it were, to indicate strikes to certain nerve/pressure points.

However, what is usually not shown is the most important stuff. That is, how to strike them some have to be struck at certain angles) and the development of the different types of striking force/impact that is required to adversely stimulate these points.

People like Dillman have learned a few points but have no idea regarding the type of power used to strike them or how to develop it (and they're usually too lazy or arrogant to undergo that kind of tough training, anyway).

If you read a few Dim Mak books you start to get an idea of how the Kata's combination of strikes and blocks can be highly effective on the meridians and cause greater damage than just the obvious.

The other thing to take into account is that blocks arent just blocks, they are counter strikes..

The real dificulty is using them in a real situation.

The other thing to take into account is that blocks arent just blocks, they are counter strikes. The real difficulty is using them in a real situation


Yeah I guess that is true, but as an instructor how do you teach this to your students?

heh...that depends on if they are ready to learn that yet : )

It may also depend on the style of karate. Supreme Master Otsuka made things seem like they were very obvious and singular however I am not a 10th dan so can't smash the exact point every time I make the move I want to. I think its best to assume that there are a lot of applications that our unskilled hands can interpret until you hit the supreme master stage.

I tend to refer to them as "shinkei tokoro" when I am speaking to my dojo friends and we generally are able to share different interpretations and improve our styles together.

That brings you back to the old saying of learning to walk before you can run. Until your fighting is smooth crisp and automatic how can you look beyond it and take the next step. I keep finding the more I know, the more I read/discuss, the more I realise I know so little.. like waking up to find a whole new world to play with!

Cool link to an article on Pressure points;
http://fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=423

Pressure Points - What They Really Are
By Bruce Everett Miller, PA-C

Intermittently there is a lot of talk about pressure points in different chat rooms and magazine articles. And true to form, there are always those who believe in them (passionately) and those who do not (just as passionately). Both camps have their reasons why they believe as they do and both tend to flame the other.

However, if you actually look at what BOTH camps are saying, you will find that underneath all the rhetoric there is an element that is shared by both groups. That element is trying to find something that works for self-defense. That fact is the exact reason why many people study martial arts.

One of the main problems with martial arts is the fact that, by itself, studying martial arts does not give you superior strength, speed, or make you invincible. There is still the problem of dealing with an opponent who is bigger and stronger and faster that you. I will not discount the fact of your own strength or power here, and I will definitely give credit to a well-placed punch or kick, but sometimes the opponent is just too big.......................

I think there are a lot of karate techers that dont actually much about kata bunkai (including pressure points). For this reason they are not taught much. I think over time though this is improving and techers seem to be on a mission to unlock the "hidden secrets" of kata. About time too!