Does it take some practice and physical conditioning to be able to hit vital points in a fight?

[BikerJagi]

This is something I'm wondering. When I watched Krav Maga vids on Youtube there is a lot of emphasis on hitting a person's weakpoints. They advised in the vid to Israeli civilians just entering the IDF for draft purposes that rather than wasting effort to punch someone across the face or kicking someone with a roundhouse, they should just send a simple attack like a spearthrust to the neck in a fight. They stated that to effectively hurt someone with techniques like a right uppercut from Boxing or a Muay Thai roundhouse, it would take HOURS and HOURS of practice and lots of strength training before you can seriously hurt someone with such techniques.

They made it sound like as soon as you learn the general weakpoints of the body, you just hit that spot and voila your opponent is KO.

This wasn't the first time I seen such things. So many self-defense vids on Youtube and even a few I've been to states similar things about quickly taking out a person by striking their vital points rather than using techniques trained fighters use like the Jab or sweeps saying you'll hurt them far more.

They make it all sound all you have to do is memorize the weak point and you just go hit it and you'll KO someone trying to murder you. Like you don't even have to practice the techniques daily after taking a few class sessions nor do you need to be conditioned and develop strength and speed to hurt someone.

Is it as simple as this?

 

[drop bear]

No. Hitting the right spot while not getting hit is a really hard trick to learn.

You have to fight a really accurate guy to get an appreciation of it.

 

[K-man]

In actual fact, if you train to hit vital points there is a more than average chance you will succeed. If you train to just hit you will succeed in making contact approximately the same percentage of the time, but are those strikes as effective? People who have no experience in targeting vital points always have a loud voice in putting down those of us who do target them.

 

[Zero]

It's kind of a mixture of both what drop bear and K-man are saying (you see what I did, I'm trying to bring them closer together, a Utopian world where the great yellow kangaroo and the feral tree dwelling drop bear can live side by side ). If you hit one of those vital spots it can have far greater effect - but as K-man says, you need to train at it. You need to get the muscle memory of the move and the targeting ability to be able to pull that off on a percentage basis, which should be what you are after.
But that's only one side of the equation, the trick is to pull off your strike successfully in the middle of what may be a confrontation or attack already launched by an aggressor or to do so without otherwise being hit or wrapped up yourself by your assailant. If you have been trained what to target then that is far better than nothing but to be doing it and going through with the force and intent required, you need to practice, practice, practice, just like clearing and firing a gun.

You also need a fall-back, as although K-man says if you train in hitting those vital spots you may have a more than average chance of succeeding, weird stuff happens in reality, and sometimes a guy will wear or suffer what should be a game-over shock and keep coming (you need to have an appropriate form of response keyed for when that happens).

In answer to your question, the following Zen mantra applies:

"Everything is simply but nothing ever is"

 

[Buka]

They make it all sound all you have to do is memorize the weak point and you just go hit it and you'll KO someone trying to murder you. Like you don't even have to practice the techniques daily after taking a few class sessions nor do you need to be conditioned and develop strength and speed to hurt someone.

Is it as simple as this?

Actually, it is as simple as that. And you don't even need a training partner. Just split your mind into offensive and defensive personae and tweak the weak points on your self. Like this guy -

 

[hoshin1600]

is it just me or does Dom D. look like F.V.

 

[drop bear]

Here you go 8 minutes of vital point striking.

 

[BeeBrian]

This is something I'm wondering. When I watched Krav Maga vids on Youtube there is a lot of emphasis on hitting a person's weakpoints. They advised in the vid to Israeli civilians just entering the IDF for draft purposes that rather than wasting effort to punch someone across the face or kicking someone with a roundhouse, they should just send a simple attack like a spearthrust to the neck in a fight. They stated that to effectively hurt someone with techniques like a right uppercut from Boxing or a Muay Thai roundhouse, it would take HOURS and HOURS of practice and lots of strength training before you can seriously hurt someone with such techniques.

They made it sound like as soon as you learn the general weakpoints of the body, you just hit that spot and voila your opponent is KO.

This wasn't the first time I seen such things. So many self-defense vids on Youtube and even a few I've been to states similar things about quickly taking out a person by striking their vital points rather than using techniques trained fighters use like the Jab or sweeps saying you'll hurt them far more.

They make it all sound all you have to do is memorize the weak point and you just go hit it and you'll KO someone trying to murder you. Like you don't even have to practice the techniques daily after taking a few class sessions nor do you need to be conditioned and develop strength and speed to hurt someone.

Is it as simple as this?

The funny thing about muay thai and boxing is that as 'deadly' as people claim them to be, 95% of their matches end up in long sessions of full force striking... and nobody dies.

The body can take a lot of beating, and I do believe that there are exceptional martial artists out there with extreme speed and precision that can, in fact, kill or incapacitate someone with weak but well-timed, well-placed attacks.

99% of the martial arts population do not belong in that category. And that includes professionals.

Economically speaking, both in terms of physical and financial, it is much more profitable to be a physically-fit combat athlete than a mysterious dim mak practitioner who will probably get sued if he used his skills in a sanctioned fight. And that is, if he even has the skills.

 

[drop bear]

Economically speaking, both in terms of physical and financial, it is much more profitable to be a physically-fit combat athlete than a mysterious dim mak practitioner who will probably get sued if he used his skills in a sanctioned fight. And that is, if he even has the skills.

Yeah not here it isn't.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

They make it all sound all you have to do is memorize the weak point and you just go hit it and you'll KO someone trying to murder you. Like you don't even have to practice the techniques daily after taking a few class sessions nor do you need to be conditioned and develop strength and speed to hurt someone.

Is it as simple as this?

Nope. Think of it this way - these targets aren't any sort of esoteric secret. If all it took to reliably win a fight is to know that you want to hit the eyes, throat, groin, etc, then all the bad guys would be using the exact same thing when they attacked you and you would have no advantage.

Targeting vulnerable targets is an excellent idea in a real fight. If you land a solid shot in the right place, it could be a fight ender. However ...

1) It takes significant skill to reliably hit these targets under the stress of a real attack - especially since most of these targets are areas which you opponent will instinctively defend. Developing that skill requires hard work and practice.
2) Even if you do hit one of these targets, it's not a guaranteed win by any stretch of the imagination. There is no magic "I win" button. Hitting a vulnerable target just increases your chances of inflicting serious damage or convincing an opponent to quit.

The funny thing about muay thai and boxing is that as 'deadly' as people claim them to be, 95% of their matches end up in long sessions of full force striking... and nobody dies.

I've seen lots of people speak highly of the effectiveness of boxing and Muay Thai. I don't typically see the word deadly used in a literal, non-hyperbolic fashion. No one is saying "I can't use my Muay Thai in a real fight because I would literally kill my opponent."

I will note that the long matches you refer to are generally between well matched, seriously conditioned professional fighters. If you put a high level boxer against an average civilian, the fight is likely to be over really quickly. Most of us are not well prepared to deal with that level of impact.

 

[BeeBrian]

I will note that the long matches you refer to are generally between well matched, seriously conditioned professional fighters. If you put a high level boxer against an average civilian, the fight is likely to be over really quickly. Most of us are not well prepared to deal with that level of impact.

Eh. I don't know man. Mayweather looks like a pipsqueak.

Between Mayweather and a prime Ed Coan (greatest powerlifter of all time, zero fighting experience), I'll put my money on Ed Coan's daughter.

...And Mayweather is considered to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in pro boxing. lol. I'd like to see him fight in an enclosed space with an untrained hard hitter with a good chin.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Eh. I don't know man. Mayweather looks like a pipsqueak.

Between Mayweather and a prime Ed Coan (greatest powerlifter of all time, zero fighting experience), I'll put my money on Ed Coan's daughter.

...And Mayweather is considered to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in pro boxing. lol. I'd like to see him fight in an enclosed space with an untrained hard hitter with a good chin.

Well, I don't think you can consider the greatest powerlifter of all time an average civilian by any stretch of the imagination. I have no idea whether Coan would have any talent as a fighter, but he does have a number of attributes that would make him pretty tough - immensely strong muscles, athletic coordination, and probably quite a bit of mental fortitude. He'd also have about an 80 pound weight advantage over Mayweather.

Attributes do count in a fight. If you want to see the results of something like what you are proposing, look at Bob Sapp's MMA and kickboxing career. Sapp sucks from any sort of technical standpoint, but he's huge, athletic, incredibly strong, and mentally tough. He has an overall losing record, but he did manage to defeat a few high-level opponents.

 

[Danny T]

This is something I'm wondering. When I watched Krav Maga vids on Youtube there is a lot of emphasis on hitting a person's weakpoints. They advised in the vid to Israeli civilians just entering the IDF for draft purposes that rather than wasting effort to punch someone across the face or kicking someone with a roundhouse, they should just send a simple attack like a spearthrust to the neck in a fight. They stated that to effectively hurt someone with techniques like a right uppercut from Boxing or a Muay Thai roundhouse, it would take HOURS and HOURS of practice and lots of strength training before you can seriously hurt someone with such techniques.

They made it sound like as soon as you learn the general weakpoints of the body, you just hit that spot and voila your opponent is KO.

This wasn't the first time I seen such things. So many self-defense vids on Youtube and even a few I've been to states similar things about quickly taking out a person by striking their vital points rather than using techniques trained fighters use like the Jab or sweeps saying you'll hurt them far more.

They make it all sound all you have to do is memorize the weak point and you just go hit it and you'll KO someone trying to murder you. Like you don't even have to practice the techniques daily after taking a few class sessions nor do you need to be conditioned and develop strength and speed to hurt someone.

Is it as simple as this?

Certainly; and it is why we all continue to waste our time training and practicing. It is so simple everyone can do it.

 

[Danny T]

The funny thing about muay thai and boxing is that as 'deadly' as people claim them to be, 95% of their matches end up in long sessions of full force striking... and nobody dies.

The body can take a lot of beating, and I do believe that there are exceptional martial artists out there with extreme speed and precision that can, in fact, kill or incapacitate someone with weak but well-timed, well-placed attacks.

99% of the martial arts population do not belong in that category. And that includes professionals.

Economically speaking, both in terms of physical and financial, it is much more profitable to be a physically-fit combat athlete than a mysterious dim mak practitioner who will probably get sued if he used his skills in a sanctioned fight. And that is, if he even has the skills.

Funny thing about this is I don't know of anyone within the muay thai or boxing community who makes claims of how 'deadly' it is.

Funny thing about Dim Mak is it only works within the group who believes in it.

 

[WaterGal]

The funny thing about muay thai and boxing is that as 'deadly' as people claim them to be, 95% of their matches end up in long sessions of full force striking... and nobody dies.

Because they're not actually trying to kill each other, dude. It's a sports match done for money, not a real life-or-death fight. If a pro boxer got jumped by a mugger in the street, I'm pretty sure they could cause some serious damage in self-defense.

 

[drop bear]

Eh. I don't know man. Mayweather looks like a pipsqueak.

Between Mayweather and a prime Ed Coan (greatest powerlifter of all time, zero fighting experience), I'll put my money on Ed Coan's daughter.

...And Mayweather is considered to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in pro boxing. lol. I'd like to see him fight in an enclosed space with an untrained hard hitter with a good chin.

Are you putting up a vital point fighter about the same size who will last longer?

 

[RTKDCMB]

Why wouldn't it? It's not like you can just download skills directly into your brain and be instantly ready to go. (unless you're in The Matrix).

 

[tshadowchaser]

it is called practice makes for more of a chance of succeeding that anything else. Hitting a vital point makes more sense than just hitting. BUT only with practice dose one have a good chance of accomplishing that objective

 

[K-man]

Funny thing about this is I don't know of anyone within the muay thai or boxing community who makes claims of how 'deadly' it is.

Funny thing about Dim Mak is it only works within the group who believes in it.

Muay Thai and boxing are sports that are not meant to be deadly. I'm sure that Boxers and MT fighters could inflict serious damage if they wanted.

Dim Mak is deadly but again, it is not trained that way. As to it only working within the group that believes in it ... to an extent you are right, but that is a comment on the group training it, not Dim Mak itself. That, plus the fact that it takes years of training to perfect.

 

[Emilee <3]

Yeah...you have to train a lot to become efficient in various techniques/attacks. And it is pretty difficult to accurately hit a (most likely) small, moving target that's trying to punch you. Here's a tip for improving your accuracy: Draw a dot/line or put a piece of tape on a big target, and try to hit it in the same spot every time.