Certain parts of the body are more vulnerable than others. It is your job to know which body parts are weaker than others, not only for attacking purposes, but also to protect yourself from getting hit. If you have a good knowledge of the human body and understand how it works, this can count in your favour when you are under attack.
In martial arts these vulnerable ans sensitive parts of the body are called ‘primary targets’ and we will have a look at some of the most vital parts of the human body. Protect these, and attack accordingly and you might be able to beat your attacker.
There are three main targets that are more sensitive than the rest, and these are the ears, throat and eyes.
Throat
The reason that the throat is a vital point is because it is overexposed and not protected by a thick layer of skin. If a throat strike is done correctly you can disable the person from functioning momentarily or it can even be fatal. This is a very dangerous attack because it will cut the air flow to the heart, and if this is disabled for a certain period of time, no oxygen will be able to travel through the body, leading to death. Don’t worry, you can also do strengthening exercise to improve your throat muscles. If you work hard you can even condition these muscles to wear of throat attack. Keep in mind that your attacker might be stronger than you, and have bigger and stronger throat muscles, only strike if you are confident that it will have the desired effect.
Groin
Any guy would be able to tell you, that there is nothing that hurts more than a strike to the groin. This area is extremely vulnerable and also very exposed. If you don’t position yourself accordingly your groin area will be an easy target. Some people have managed to train and strengthen this area as well, preventing attacks from having the desired effect. When you are defending yourself, think in terms of paired attack. If possible strike twice, directly after each other, if one of the strikes didn’t work, maybe the other will, and if both work then you might have a chance to get away.
Eyes
The eyes are the most vulnerable part of any human’s body. Even in movies when someone is being attacked by a gigantic monster, they will try to attack the eye area. You cannot condition your eyes to be less vulnerable to an attack. The reason for this being that the eye consists of soft tissue and no muscles to improve or condition against a strike. There are ways in which to position your hands to prevent an eye attack, but then the strike must be anticipated. If you are going for the opponent’s eyes, strike with force by aiming for the eyes with your index and middle finger. If you are successful with the strike you might temporarily or even permanently blind your attacker.
Ears
You might be pushing as hard and as much as you can with no effect at all. This is because your attacker will probably be twice your size and have double your strength. When defending yourself you will have to think of clever ways to attack. Slapping your opponent’s ear with a slightly-cupped palm might rupture their ear drums and if done correctly, you might even burst the ear drums all together. The ears are responsible for balance in the body, and if disable this balance, your attacker will not be able to strike efficiently and sometimes they might not even be able to get up at all.
Neck
This is the area where your spine and skull is combined, striking at this exact point has the potential of knocking out your attacker. If this is a very hard blow you can break the neck, which might lead to paralysis or death. This is a very vulnerable area, but it is also difficult to have a vital strike if you are defending yourself. You will most likely need a hard weapon to strike, or you can try doing this with your elbow if the attacker is already on the ground.
These are all vulnerable parts of the human body which you should keep in mind when attacking someone for self defense, also keep in might that you have to protect these parts on your own body. Remember that people are different, and these attacks might not work of everybody, if your attacker is influenced by drugs or alcohol they might not feel pain at all. Think of creative ways to protect yourself, and stay out of situation where you might be a victim.
Citations:
- Read more
This guest post is written by Scott Webster, a part time blogger, who is currently writing on behalf of Health.com.au. Health.com.au is an Australian health insurance company which offers a quick and simple health insurance cover plan.