by N. Mashiro
The reader should not finish this essay without being reminded that stopping power is only one aspect of pistol bullet effectiveness. Other considerations can have as much or more importance as stopping power, depending on the circumstances. The effect of the various calibers, powders, bullets and pistols on the ability to penetrate barriers, on accuracy, and on the stability of the bullet in flight are quite important. The point of this discussion is simply to emphasize that in hand-to-hand combat in which the pistol may be employed, a bullet fired into a vital portion of the enemy's anatomy will drop him. One that does not hit a vital point might drop him ... or he might just keep coming.
Almost all manuals of hand-to-hand combat, self-defense, and oriental or European martial arts contain at least a short section on vital points. Frequently these treatments are very incomplete and full of misinformation. Military manuals in particular are very poor sources of information about vital points.
For general anatomy, nothing beats the classic text:
Gray, Henry. 1973. Anatomy of the Human Body, 29th edition. Ed. by Charles Mayo Goss. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia.
For a detailed treatment of potential injuries due to twentyfour formal karate attacks, see
Adams, Brian. 1969. Medical Implications of Karate Blows. 128 p. il., A.S. Barnes and Co., New York.
Fairbairn's knife-fighting "timetable of death" appears in
Fairbairn, W. E. 1942. Get Tough! ix + 121 p. il., Paladin Press, Boulder.
The authorities cited in the section on pistol stopping power include:
LaGarde, Louis A. 1914. Gunshot Injuries. William Wood and Co., New York.
Hatcher, Julian S. 1936. Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers. Small-Arms Technical Publishing Company, Marines, Onslow County, North Carolina.
Fairbairn, W. E. and E. A. Sykes. 1942. Shooting to Live. xiv + 96 p. il., Paladin Press, Boulder.
Medical Department, War Department. 1927. Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War: v.ii, Surgery, pt. 1, General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, xxiv + 1324 p. il. 7 pl. 1 tab.
Army Medical Service, Defense Department. 1962. Wound Ballistics. Editor-in-chief James (John) Boyd Coates, Jr.; editor for wound ballistics, James C. Beyer. xxxix + 883 p. il. (Office of the Surgeon General).
The U.S. Government publications can be found on the shelves of any official government depository.
by
N. Mashiro, Ph.D.
Introduction .................................. 1
The Striking Points ............................ 9
Striking Points of the Head .................... 11
Striking Points of the Arms & Hands ........... 15
Striking Points of the Torso ................... 29
Striking Points of the Leg & Foot .............. 31
Makeshift Weapons ........................... 39
The techniques depicted in this book can be extremely dangerous. It is not the intent of the author, publisher, or distributors of this book to encourage readers to attempt any of these techniques. Attempting to do so can result in severe injury or death.
The author and the publisher disclaim any liability from any damage or injuries of any type that a reader or user of information contained within this book may encounter from the use of said information. This book is for information purposes only!
The first volume of this series (Black Medicine: The Dark Art of Death) discussed over 150 parts of the human body which are especially vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. The present volume is a direct outgrowth of the previous one. Black Medicine Vol. II: Weapons at Hand presents 112 parts of the body which are natural weapons, largely because they are very resistant to injury. Even if stripped naked and bound securely a resourceful combat artist can still bring many of these natural weapons into play to the detriment of this tormentors. In this sense the body's natural weapons constitute weapons at hand.
The second half of this book contains suggestions toward a new art of makeshift weaponry. In it are listed over 180 common makeshift weapons which may be available in a crisis. The orientation of this discussion is especially appropriate to the victim of a kidnapping, a hostage held by terrorists or a prisoner of war. Any person who is disarmed and desperate will appreciate the information in this volume, especially since most terrorist kidnap victims are killed, not rescued or ransomed. Saving the life of the victim is usually a do-it-yourself proposition.
It is traditional in books about self-defense for the author to make allusions to the rising crime rate and the fact that the streets of America are dangerous. Usually there is some comment like "just glance through the newspaper to see how often violent confrontations really occur." Self-defense authors write such comments because they have to justify their obvious preoccupation with violence. Many people seem to think that the authors of books such as this one are mentally unbalanced. We get sensitive about it. I think the main difference between martial artists and "normal" people is that we martial artists have managed to overcome the widespread head-in-the-sand syndrome. Violent events happen to all of us with surprising frequency, but most people prefer to ignore this unpleasant fact. To justify this statement, and to explain my personal interest in the combat arts, I have collected a few short horror stories which illustrate the point that violence really does surround us. All of these anecdotes are true, and all happened to me or to people I know personally.
1. We'll start with something simple. I have distinct childhood memories of playground bullies who terrorized smaller and less aggressive children. I was such a victim at one time. To adults this kind of thing seems mildly amusing in retrospect, but to the kids it is terrifying and very real. There are two points to make here. The first is that today's schools with their forced mixing of children from extremely different backgrounds are much more dangerous than the schools you and I attended. The bullies who pushed us around with their fists carry knives and guns now. Second, those playground terrorists often don't grow out of their perverse pleasure in causing other people pain. They become adults who delight in rearranging people's faces. Sooner or later we all meet one again.
2. A young man I work with was riding his $400 bicycle home after work one afternoon along a busy, well-traveled street in a fairly nice downtown area. Suddenly three black teenagers on bikes overtook him and started trying to force him into the curb. They were trying to steal the bicycle right out from under him! They didn't succeed, partly because the victim resisted their bungling attempts to spill him, and partly because four Chicanos pulled up in a car and joined the fray. The newcomers had clubs and made short work of scattering the blacks. Unfortunately they weren't rescuers. They wanted the bike for themselves. They got it.
3. My wife was discussing the above story with several ladies where she works. It turned out that my wife was the only woman in the room who had never been assaulted on the street. That revelation was very unsettling to her.
4. I knew a little old gentleman (about 5'4" tall and 65 years old) who routinely took his young puppy for a walk every day. Master and puppy were taking care of their business one afternoon when three tough-looking teenagers walked up and demanded money. They made it clear that they were willing to beat the old gentleman into submission if he resisted. One of them demonstrated his contempt for life by viciously kicking the puppy. In mostcases this situation would have ended in a successful robbery or mugging, but these unfortunate boys had selected the wrong little old man. He was a professional wrestling and self-defense coach. He knocked one of the thugs out cold and broke the leg of the second one. The third one proved that age does tell, however. He outran the enraged victim and got away.
5. My next door neighbor was driving home from work one night when he saw a young black couple with a gas can trying to flag him down. Being a generous Christian person he stopped and offered to give them a lift to a gas station. Once inside the car, the girl grabbed the wheel while the man clubbed my neighbor unconscious. He awakened se
veral hours later, lying in an alley covered with his own blood. The hitch-hikers had obtained $25 from his wallet. He was very lucky that the blows to his head had produced only a mild concussion. The beating might easily have killed or crippled him.
6. Another neighbor was walking along the street when he encountered an angry teenage boy viciously beating a younger child. The neighbor intervened . . . and got a broken nose for his trouble.
7. A friend was walking home from work one night when he was accosted on the sidewalk by a robber carrying a .45 automatic. My friend was forced into an alley and relieved of his wallet and watch. Then the robber stepped closer, shoved the gun in my friend's stomach and fired. That might well have been the end of the story, but in this case the victim happened to be familiar both with firearms and with karate. When he saw the robber start to flinch in anticipation of the shot, my friend swatted the gun to the side. Then, before the second shot, he broke the neck of the would-be killer with a single blow.
8. My brother was visiting some hippie friends onetime when a couple of nasty operators walked in and pulled out knives. They demanded cash, got it, and faded away into the darkness. My brother's peace-loving friends looked like easy victims ... and they were.
9. I once had a practice partner in a karate class who seemed very intent on causing me as much pain as possible. His tendency to strike with full power during periods when he was supposed to be holding back was extremely discourteous and disgraceful. Then he stopped coming to class. He had been arrested for armed robbery.
10. There was a period when I managed an apartment building and discovered one apartment full of deadbeat delinquents. They were the worst kind of vicious, drug-dulled dropouts. I had to evict them ... personally. I read in the newspaper later that three of them are now in prison in connection with a murder-robbery.
11. One very significant episode occurred one evening when I was parking my car in front of my house. Just as I opened the door to get out a pickup truck came screeching around the corner and narrowly missed my open car door. Apparently the driver of the truck thought I had deliberately tried to cause an accident. He stopped his truck, jumped out, and came after me to teach me a lesson. It was fortunate, and somewhat amusing, that his wife collared him and dragged him back into the truck before he was able to carry out his intention. People who think they don't need selfdefense because they avoid dangerous situations have not allowed for this kind of hot-headed person. All I did was to park in front of my own house.
12. Something similar happened to another close friend recently. He was driving to work in heavy traffic and made a lane change into a left-turn lane. For some reason this enraged the driver of the car behind him. The next thing my friend knew there was a very angry person trying to open his driver-side door. The door was locked. Frustrated, the assailant started banging on the window with a rock, trying to break in. That didn't work either. As a last resort this violent lunatic got back in his truck and deliberately rammed my friend's car. Then, satisfied, he drove away.
13. A former self-defense student of mine reported that he had been hitch-hiking along a country road when a girl picked him up and gave him a ride into town. When they arrived in town the student thanked the girl and got out of her car. Just at that point a truck pulled up and a wild-eyed redneck leapt out. "I'll teach you to mess with my girl!" he shouted, and swung a roundhouse right at my student's face. My student had seen thousands of similar punches coming at him in my class, and he simply ducked. The furious attacker fell flat on his face. My student wisely left the scene.
14. I had another self-defense student who didn't have as much sense. He habitually frequented a bar where the resident yahoo delighted in wiping the floor with him. Every time he came to class he had new bruises. I mention this person to illustrate the fact that some victims are born and not made. Most of us know someone in this class.
15. Then there was the time I was driving home on the freeway after a pleasant evening at the theater. There was some night construction going on, and the freeway abruptly narrowed from four lanes to three. As traffic was merging into the remaining lanes a station wagon cut me off and stopped suddenly in front of me. I was not able to stop my car in time to avoid hitting it. Both cars pulled off to the shoulder. Then, like a bad dream, six black teenagers climbed out of the station wagon. All male and all mad. There were some bad moments before they decided to be civil. Confidence really shows in a situation like that.
16. My wife remembers vividly the time she walked out of a restaurant and found a man smashing windshields with a 2x4 in the parking lot. She watched helplessly as he moved down the line of cars breaking each windshield in turn, including hers. She was lucky that his animosity was directed only at cars.
17. Another time my wife was waiting at a stoplight when a strange man opened the passenger-side door and got in the car. After she ran a couple of red lights at seventy miles an hour he got out again ... in a hurry.
18. I was once camping with a friend in a state park when I noticed a shadowy figure lurking in the gloom beyond the edge of the lantern light. I kept an eye out for him all evening, and eventually caught him sneaking up to the back of the tent. The police weren't interested. He was the local peeping tom and they knew that they couldn't convict him. The judge thought he was harmless.
19. On three occasions I have awakened in the middle of the night and found a stranger prowling around in the backyard. This was at three different times, in three different backyards. Prowling must be fairly common.
20. My most vivid memory of the city of Denver has to do with a gas station in the downtown area. I pulled in for gas and couldn't get any attention from the employees. They were busy watching two mechanics slug it out with wrenches. Nobody was trying to stop the fight.
21. My grandfather had the unnerving experience of walking in on a burglary in progress in his own bedroom. He was lucky. The two young men ran instead of attacking him.
22. Speaking of burglaries, it's happened to me three times. There was also an incident in which my car was broken into by a thief in broad daylight.
23. A young friend was out bike riding one Saturday afternoon. She stopped at the side of the street to talk to a friend for a moment. As she was standing there holding her bicycle two men rode up on a motorcycle. One hopped off the motorcycle, knocked her down, and rode away on her bike. The two thieves were last seen threading theirway through a crowed of pedestrians, none of whom would raise a hand to stop them.
24. I know a very gentle young woman who got into her car one day and found a man with a gun waiting for her. He had rape on his mind. He told her to drive him to a secluded spot he knew, but his plans went wrong. She started to cry and became so hysterical she couldn't control the car. He couldn't hold the gun and drive at the same time, so he gave up. Who says that crying doesn't help?
25. A neighbor lady answered her front door one morning to find a man with a gun, also intent on a rape/robbery. He was frustrated, too. She kicked him all the way down the front steps and chased him halfway down the block.
26. A third young female friend was the type who smiles at everybody. One day as she was walking down the street a tall black stranger engaged her in conversation. She was totally unequal to the situation. Getting raped is a terrible way to lose one's virginity, as she can tell you.
Those are my 26 reasons for being interested in self-defense. All of these stories are true, and all happened to me, to members of my family, to my neighbors or to my friends. And we live in a low-crime neighborhood! My interest in selfdefense is based on an appreciation of the violence found in real life. If you disagree and find me to be a paranoid person, you'd be well advised to p-ut this book down and read no farther. Black Medicine is a deadly art which does not spare the feelings of the squeamish.
N. Mashiro
June, 1979
Fig. 1: There are natural weapons situated throughout the body. Although they are concentrated in the hands, it is literally true that if
you can reach your opponent with any part of your body you can hurt him! (Compare this figure with the corresponding diagram of vulnerable areas of the body in Black Medicine, The Dark Art of Death.)
The striking points are the 112 parts of the body which martial artists use as weapons. Most of the striking points are concentrated in the hands and arms, but a substantial number are distributed throughout the body. Since you have natural weapons in every part of your body, if you can reach your opponent with any part of your body you can hurt him!
Figure 1 is a general overview of the parts of the body which may be used as weapons. These parts are discussed in detail on subsequent pages. The purpose of Figure 1 is simply to illustrate the point that there are natural weapons all over the body.
Fig. 2: The top of the head can be used as an anvil against which you may mash an opponent's face.
Top of Head: The very top of the cranial vault, centered on the anterior two inches of the sagittal suture. This is the area where you would balance a book on top of your head. This area is actually not a very good natural weapon because butting the opponent with your head places a severe strain on your neck, both in terms of lateral twisting and simple compression of the vertebrae. Butting is commonly seen in soccer and in football, but karateists see it most often in the movies. Still, such an attack can be effective if the opponent is taken by surprise in the lower adbomen or groin. If you were bound to a chair being interrogated you might be able to throw yourself (and the chair) forward and deliver this blow. (See Figure 2.)