Content area
Full Text
Background. Study physiologic changes occurring during "knockouts" produced by application of pressure point techniques during martial arts demonstrations. Methods. Experimental design: prospective analysis of physiologic variables during and immediately following an acute event. Setting: martial arts demonstration carried out at a medical center hospital. Subjects: 12 normal volunteers participating in a martial arts demonstration. Interventions: application of various pressure point techniques that have been observed to produce states of unresponsiveness in volunteers. Measures: continuous ECG and video/EEG monitoring with measurements of blood pressure and oxygen saturation. Qualitative analysis of EEG and ECG recordings and quantitative comparison of heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation measurements before during and after the period of induced unconsciousness. Results. No significant changes in blood pressure, oxygen saturation, cardiac rate or rhythm, or electroencephalogram are noted during the knockouts produced by application of pressure point techniques. There was only variable inability for subjects to remember words spoken to them during the episode of apparent unresponsiveness. Conclusions. The mechanism for the state of unresponsiveness produced by application of pressure point techniques is not related to a significant cardiac or pulmonary process. There is no evidence of reduced cerebral blood flow during this time or of other dangerous physiologic changes. The exact mechanism for this phenomenon remains uncertain.
KEY WORDS: Pressure point techniques - Martial arts.
Pressure point techniques have been used in the martial arts for centuries. Ryukyu Kempo is a classical martial art form that evolved on the island of Okinawa and is grounded in the same theories of traditional Chinese medicine on which acupuncture is based.' Practitioners of one aspect of Ryukyu Kempo called kyushujitsu apply pressure to specific acupuncture points as a form of self-defense to render an attacker unresponsive in a maneuver colloquially referred to as a "knockout". Although practitioners explain this effect using traditional accupuncture theory, a mechanism based on western medicine has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this paper is to describe the physiologic changes that occur during these knockout maneuvers. Understanding these increasingly popular practices will help assess the potential for medical complications.2-5
Materials and methods
All physiologic measurements were made during a demonstration of Ryukyu Kempo pressure point techniques under a protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board of the...