Vital Point Strikes is a guide to pressure point striking for the average martial artist. Sang H. Kim demystifies the lore of vital point striking and shows you realistic applications of vital point strikes for self-defense and combat sports. For those new to the concept of vital points, he begins by examining the Eastern theory of acupoints, meridians and ki (qi) and the Western scientific concepts of the nervous and circulatory systems, pain threshold and pain tolerance, and the relationship between pain and fear. This synthesis of accepted Eastern and Western theories helps the reader understand what makes vital point striking work and why it can be not only useful in fighting, but deadly. Based on this introduction, you'll learn about 202 vital points for use in fighting including the name, point number, location, involved nerves and blood vessels, applicable techniques, sample applications, and potential results for each point. The points are illustrated in detail on an anatomically correct human model, with English, Chinese, and Korean names as well as point numbers for easy reference. In addition to identifying the vital points, Sang H. Kim gives you detailed information about the type of techniques that work for vital point striking including a discussion of fighting zones and ranges, plexus strikes, stance and footwork, bodily weapons, striking directions and angles and dozens of applications for common empty hand, grappling, groundfighting, knife and gun attacks. Based on over thirty years experience in the martial arts and in-depth research, Sang H. Kim has created one of the most complete books available on the art and science of vital point striking. READ THE PREFACE:

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Looking back, the beginning of this book was conceived in a military tent in 1981. I was an undercover agent living with over 1,200 top criminals who had been arrested during a tough sweep by the newly installed government. One of my missions was to investigate the causes of a half dozen deaths involving internal abdominal hemorrhaging among the prisoners. My discovery was that most of the dead were brutally struck in the infraanterior pelvic region prior to death. In all of the cases, there were signs of extreme suffering that had lasted from a few minutes to a few hours. Since the location of the prison camp was isolated near the demilitarized zone and the medical facilities in the camp were poorly equipped, the available treatment was not adequate to save the lives of the prisoners. In addition to capturing the killers, what interested me, since I was an ardent martial art practitioner, was the discovery of the relationship between the injuries and the causes of death. Blows to the neck, damage to the Solar Plexus, and kicks to the lower abdomen all caused internal bleeding in the abdomen which resulted in death.

Prior to this posting, my martial arts experience had been marked by competition experience in Taekwondo and hand-to-hand combat training in the military. I had witnessed many competitors receive bruises and broken bones and get knocked out by blows to the head but I had never seen the brutal effects that could result from a kick or strike to a vital point such as the blows the prisoners had suffered in the camp.

During this time, as an officer in the camp, I was also the target of daily assault attempts by prisoners, including attacks by prisoners with makeshift weapons fashioned from objects like toothbrushes. Over the months that I was posted at the camp, I had many opportunities to defend myself and learned valuable lessons about the type of techniques that work in a physical confrontation and about the mental fortitude required to confront an assailant who had nothing to lose and was intent on killing.

That was nearly 3 decades ago but the lessons of that hellish time have stayed with me and I have always wanted to create a practical reference for martial artists that integrates Eastern acupoint theory, Western science and anatomy, and effective martial arts techniques. This book is not intended to be a comprehensive reference but to be the book that I wished I had access to when I was a young martial artist. My focus is on illustrating the relationships between Eastern and Western theories and demystifying some of the myths surrounding pressure point techniques, making the concepts accessible to the average martial artist. However, at the same time, I strongly recommend that interested readers seek out a skilled and knowledgeable instructor.

Vital Point Strikes is not a complete art or science. Vital point striking is a complex and potentially dangerous subject of study and certainly not one you can learn from a book. This book is intended to be a supplement to study with an instructor. It has been 30 years in the making but my hope is that each reader will see this book as a stepping-stone to developing the ideas illustrated here for those who follow our footsteps.

-Sang H. Kim