Kyusho Jitsu Ireland

Kyusho Jitsu is the ancient art of pressure point fighting. Literally translated Kyusho means
"One Second", and Jitsu means "fighting" so Kyusho Jitsu is One Second Fighting meaning that
within the first second of a conflict the control is in the hands of the Kyusho practitioner. This is
accomplished by attacking weaker anatomical structures of the human body. These weaker
structures are acupuncture points that lie on pathways called meridians which are associated
with certain organs of the body. There are fourteen meridians, twelve of which are bilateral and
the other two are on the body's centerline. There are 361 ordinary acupuncture points on the
human body. A strike to the proper points - in the correct order, angle, and direction - can
disorientate, disable, put unconscious or cause death to an attacker.

Kyusho is not a stand-alone martial art. It is a way of enhancing any martial art. Every martial art
should incorporate Kyusho in order to enhance every technique used. Kyusho should be
thought of as a targeting system. It is about learning and understanding the weakness of the
human body, When you start to learn Kyusho the first thing which shocks you is just how weak
the human body really is.

The following are a few common questions and myths regarding Kyusho

Is Kyusho dangerous?

Yes it can be as it was originally intended to be used to kill an attacker, however it can also be
used to fit the needs of today's legal parameters. Kyusho should only be studied under a
qualified instructor.

Will pressure points work in a real fight as they are so small?

Yes, Kyusho will work as an effective self-defence. Acupuncture points are very small but we
use what is called the area of activation. Each points has an area of activation of about the size
of a twenty cent piece.   What you need to know is where the points are located and at what
angle and direction to manipulate them.

If I have so many pressure points why do I not hit them every time I bump into something?

This is where the angle, direction and whether it is a rub, push or hit point comes into play.
Your body is designed to prevent you form hitting your pressure points accidentally. Think of it
like this - when you hit the funny bone on your elbow by accident it is extremely painful. Now try
to hit it on purpose. It is very hard to do as your body does not want it to happen.   This is why
traditional Karate Kata have so many peculiar and impractical looking movements. It is these
movements that are mapping out the correct angle and direction for the points to be hit. The
sad thing is very few martial artists understand the true meaning of their Katas.

I have seen knock-outs on DVDs and on clips on the web. Are they genuine?

I can't speak for all the clips but any done by a DKI instructor are genuine. Striking the correct
points - in the correct order, angle, and direction can cause a person to become unconscious.
That is what makes Kyusho so good for self defence. You are able to disorientate, disable or
put unconscious your attacker without causing any permanent damage and in this litigious
society this can be very important.

I have tried hitting the points I saw on the DVDs/web clips and nothing happened.

Firstly you shouldn't try hitting points without a qualified Kyusho instructor. If you do happen to
get it right and it does work, and the person goes unconscious or stops breathing what will you
do then!?!

Just because it looks easy does not mean it is. People forget that the person demonstrating
those techniques have been doing them for many years. Do you really expect to be able to do
the techniques after watching a DVD? The DVDs out there for sale are study aids. They will help
increase your knowledge but nothing beats good old-fashioned hard training under a qualified
instructor.

In all the K.O. video clips the person getting hit just stands there.   A real attacker would be
coming at you with full force. Pressure points will never work if the person comes at you for real.

In some video clips the person does just stand there but those K.O.s are done to demonstrate
that someone can be knocked unconscious with very light taps if Kyusho is applied correctly.
Look at those techniques from that perspective and see how light the person is being hit. Then
imagine what would happen if he was hit with full intent, as he would be in a real attack.

If the person was to attack the instructor full force in the demo in lots of way it makes Kyusho a
lot easier. When someone is attacking you full force their body is more tense and this makes
their pressure points much more sensitive to attack.   The Kyusho practitioner would also then
be applying his defensive techniques full force and this would be extremely dangerous. It takes
less then 10% (sometimes less then 5%) power to put someone unconscious, just imagine what
would happen it that person was hit with full intent.