Lets Talk About Targets!

[Shuul Vis]

Sure we train myriads of punches, kickes, elbows, ect. but do we think about where we are landing those blows? Certainly we think to ourselves, "This punch is to the head." or, "This kick is to the knee." But do we consider where on the head we are striking, and how important that actually is? For example i did an elbow strike to GDA a few years back with decent power right to his upper forehead. We were doing a series of combinations and the elbow was one of the strikes which happened to be to "the head." But that was all that was taught just strike to "the head." Now i landed this blow with considerable force and i thought i really hurt him. However all it did was make a kind of funny sound and made him a bit shocked that he recieved the blow without any real damage whatsoever. Had this been a fight i would have been really discouraged by this.

In archery or any kind of marksmanship, you are taught to aim at a tiny point within the bullseye of the target. The theory being that if you miss that tiny spot you still have a good chance of hitting the bullseye because you were aiming alot tighter than what was actually needed. I think this should be applied to strikes. So think about it. When you are throwing strikes to the head for example why not aim for specific parts of the head, the smaller the better, and if that part is a sensitive "pressure point" of some kind even better still.

So to respond to this topic lets hear what targets you can and do actually go for that your know are effective and maybe share some experiences similar to mine. Or you may talk about anytime that you got to pet a bear. Bears are like big dogs and very friendly.

[Oso]

Head Shots

Temple is the obvious one.

Jaw joint, better with conditioned bare knuckles but dang that's a pretty painful area to be hit in. Last night at jujitsu we were using the shin bone to grind into the joint while applying an armlock.

Occipital bone: round punches, hammers from above if they are lower than you.

Sinus Cavity: Between the cheekbone and nose. light layer of bone that cracks pretty easily. again, bare knuckles of a conditioned hand.

The nose itself but mainly to reduce vision.

IF you have a good, conditioned single or double knuckle fist then striking in the center of the upper lip or in the cleft of the chin is pretty painfull. Obviously you have to be very accurate as well.

[Shuul Vis]

thanks for a response.

[Golden Arms]

Eyebrow/Right above the eyebrow area. Tears very easily, and gets the blood flowing fast into the eyes...Works like a charm...

[Former castleva]

"Or you may talk about anytime that you got to pet a bear. Bears are like big dogs and very friendly."
Hamsters are like small bears,wanna hear?

Sorry,I prefer not to participate in these kinds of threads in these kinds of days but I´m sure www won´t be holding anything back.

[shaolin kungfu]

I'm lost

[Shaolin-Do]

Most the good ones have been covered....
Right below/behind either ear is good too.
Best for knockout as far as Ive seen tho, is the one in the bottom corner of your jaw.
If you really want the ko tho, knock the air out of them first, the most any face shot with good power will be enough.

[Oso]

cr ap missed the bit about bears...

never petted one but saw a couple in Montana in '99.

I almost petted a baby grizzly at a mall 2 years ago but it looked so sad I wanted to beat up the handler and steal the bear...


bears are sweet and flip out way better than stupid ninjas

[SLC]

I think the point that was intended is what care do you take when striking to hit what should be hit... not whether you are able to recite good places to strike.

Translated back to archery, the above answers would be "It is best to hit the very center of the target." But just SAYING that, does not put an arrow in the center of the target... if when you shoot... you just aim at the whole target (or center of mass).

Our school, for instance does NOT spend much time on learning precise targeting. We just do basically Jodan, Chudan, Gaedan (high, middle and low). We should be more specific, though. I don't see any difference in not needing target practice whether you shoot a gun, or a bow, or your fists or feet. If all you are doing is throwing a punch at that great big "shape" in front of you, rather than concentrating on specific points, thats all you will hit... that great big "shape".

[Shaolin-Do]

Randomly throwing blows at a "shape" is going to lose you the fight, especially if they are smacking you in the face instead of attacking your shape.
Make it habitual to attack key points, and when crunch time comes, you will.

[rogue]

For SD
Forearm or elbow to the neck or throat.
Hitting the ribs, kidneys or bladder however I can.

[Shaolin-Do]

even in a fight im hella careful about hitting someone in the throat or temple... just too easy to kill people there.
Id rather break their nose and hit them in the jaw, breaking someones teeth is always good too.

[greendragon]

no killing strike points on the head.

[norther practitioner]

I think, ankle, knee, and waist/lower abdomin with most kicks....
punches/hand strikes go to whatever the open target is.

[Becca]

Kideny shot for most kicks, elbow or bear claw to the floter ribs and kidenies if they are too close to kick. Or you can poke'em in the eye.