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{{trope}}
[[File:treknobabble29.jpg|link=Star Trek: The Original Series|frame|[[Futurama|Momma said]] [[
The practice of pressing a certain point on a person's body to achieve a certain effect (can also be multiple points in quick succession, or multiple points simultaneously). The most common effect is to paralyze the target or knock him unconscious. For knocking someone unconscious by the less subtle method of a strong blow to the head see [[Tap on the Head]]. For the more lethal version see [[You Are Already Dead]].
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Although rarely portrayed in a realistic fashion, the existence of pressure points is decidedly [[Truth in Television]]. There are many points on the body that are particularly vulnerable such as nerve clusters, joints, blood vessels, the windpipe, [[Eye Scream|the eyes]] and the [[Groin Attack|groin]]. Striking with enough force or applying sufficient pressure to these areas can cause anything from pain and discomfort to [[Touch of Death|severe structural damage and death.]]
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* The core of Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken style in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', used for a large variety of effects up to and very often including making [[Your Head Asplode]].
** Also there is apparently ''708'' of them.
** Episode 25 of ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'' parodied this into the ground, where hitting the pressure points turned one into a [[Super-Deformed|chibi]].
* The most powerful and difficult variant of the Hyuuga clan's skills in ''[[Naruto]]'' involves striking certain points on the body to prevent the target from using their [[Life Energy|chakra]].
** Earlier in the series, Haku used senbon to strike pressure points. His aim and knowledge were such that he could put a person in a near-death state while in the middle of combat.
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** Combined with a special formula of shampoo (no, really) can be used to induce [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] with the added benefit of preventing the victim from ever relearning whichever facts were suppressed from memory.
** Also combined with moxibustion to sap Ranma's strength and make him weaker than a toddler.
** Happosai also used it as a full-on therapy to turn a [[Ill Girl|sickly, bedridden child]] into a [[Life Energy]]-draining accomplice, who was stuck as a child because of it, but [[Dual Age Modes|regains her true adult body]] upon [[Energy Absorption|absorbing]] [[Battle Aura
** Tofu has one which can be disguised as patting someone on the back, which 30 seconds later causes the victim's legs to stop working.
** Ranma occasionally uses them, or tries to use them, for example on Miss Hinako mentioned above, on Ryoga while in the girls' locker room, on Kuno to knock him out, and on the dojo destroyer.
* In the qualifying round of the Festival Tournament arc in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', we see Evangeline keeping a combatant incapacitated with one finger in the back. Apparently just to show that, yeah, she doesn't ''just'' know a hundred lethal spells and how to magically enhance her physical power to rip-people-in-half levels... she's a master of esoteric martial arts ''too''.
** Well, she is [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]. Like she says, you have to do something to fill the time, and martial arts allowed her to be lethal even after [[Power Limiter|Nagi sealed most of her powers.]]
* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', [[Law of Chromatic Superiority|Gold]] Saint Milo of [[Western Zodiac|Scorpio]] bases his entire ''Scarlet Needle'' fighting style on pressure points, which strike the opponent in the same configuration as the Scorpio constellation. In addition to irreparable damage to the nerves and the senses, the victim [[High-Pressure Blood|gushes blood]] from the strikes, and the final blow, ''Antares'', [[You Are Already Dead|is fatal]]. Impossibly enough, though, it's possible for Milo to save even an ''Antares''-ed foe by pressing ''yet another'' pressure point, stopping the blood flow and letting them regain strength.
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', Vivian uses this on Grandpa Moto, crippling him. She threatens to leave him like that unless Yugi duels her. After she is defeated, she reverses the damage.
* Dufaux from ''[[Zatch Bell]]'' uses [[Psychic Powers|the Answer-Talker]] to identify pressure points that will help [[Time to Unlock More True Potential|unlock the heroes' true potential]]. It works well enough to invoke [[Heart Is an Awesome Power]] {{spoiler|and a dose of [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]}} in the [[Plucky Comic Relief]].
* In ''[[Pani Poni Dash!]]'', Suzune attempts to keep Otome small by hitting her pressure point for stunting growth, but always hits the pressure point for diarrhea instead. (It remains uncertain whether either one works, though.)
* Ethan Stanley in ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'', practices Kalarippayattu, an Indian martial art, through which he has learned out incapacitate or even outright kill his opponents by striking specific points called Marmam, which he states served as the origin for pressure points used in other martial arts (since Kalarippayattu served as an originator for most other Eastern martial arts styles). Also of note is Chikage Kushinada, who shows that she can use pressure points to control Ukita (one of the weaker members of the Shinpaku alliance) like a puppet ''without him even noticing''.
* ''[[The Ultimate Teacher]]'' Ganpachi incapacitates a whole classroom of people by using his speed to press two points in their leg that causes a painful cramp.
== Comic Books ==
▲* Nearly any comicbook martial artist. Here's a few who've done so in the past:
** [[Batman]]
** [[Captain America (comics)]]
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** [[Dragon Lady|LadyShiva]]
** [[Batgirl]] - [[Legacy Character|specifically]], Cassandra Cain. After a mook she was fighting shot and killed one of his own men by accident, she temporarily ''stopped his heart'' to give him an idea of what he'd done.
* The comic version of Kevin from ''[[Sin City]]'' has the ability to make people go numb with pressure point attacks. It's also implied that this was his method of killing.
* The villainess Faora likes to use these techniques. Since she has [[Super Strength]], they can even work on [[Superman]].
== Film ==
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* The "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique", which is used by Pai Mei in the backstory of ''[[Kill Bill]]'' to slaughter an ''entire temple'' because one of its members accidentally insulted him. Specifically, when Pai Mei nodded at him, he didn't see it and respond. {{spoiler|It was later taught to the Bride, who used it to... well, to [[Kill Bill]].}}
* Tai Lung in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' uses pressure points to paralyze his victims. (The same technique was also used on him by Master Oogway in the [[Flash Back]].) {{spoiler|Po turns out to be invulnerable to this, as he is insulated by all his <s>fat</s> fur.}} Use in a more comical fashion when a misplaced acupuncture needle causes Po to make a funny face... and maybe stop his heart.
* In ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'', our [[Badass Bookworm]] hero Hiccup accidentally discovers through playing with his Dragon friend Toothless that you can render ''any'' dragon unconscious with a '''single''' finger by pressing an acupuncture point on their necks between the aorta and the larynx.
** I thought they just really liked being tickled...
*** It's very clearly shown to be that dragons love being scratched behind the ear so much that they roll over and rumble contentedly.
* Mr. Miyagi in ''[[The Karate Kid]]'' knows a couple. Enough to help Daniel go from near crippled to being able to compete in the final showdown.
* This becomes a ''major'' plot point in ''[[
** And, oddly enough for that movie, realistically in that kids actually had to forcibly strike the points in question.
* [[Sean Connery]]'s thumb-fighting technique in ''[[The Presidio]]''.
* The eponymous ''[[Kiss of the Dragon]]'' was an acupuncture version performed by Jet Li right at the end of the film.
* The AIP ''[[Beach Party]]'' movies had a running bit that started with Bob Cummings' anthropologist character using a mystical finger touch to the temple to incapacitate doofus-bad guy Eric Von Zipper, making him freeze like a statue. This happened to him through most of the movies, often self-inflicted.
* ''[[Our Man Flint]]''. Flint does a Vulcan neck pinch on the Galaxy agent supervising Gila's hypnotic indoctrination and several others as well.
* ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'': Both Jade Fox and Li Mu Bai use pressure points in their first
* A downplayed, but quite severe version is shown in the ''[[Rocky]]'' series. One of the title character's favorite techniques is to deliver a machine-gun-like series of punches to the abdomen, until the target collapses from internal bleeding and cut-off respiration. In this case there is nothing subtle or mystical or cool about it and anyone who is large enough to stand up in a boxing match can do it. The target is a fairly large one. The abdomen is however a pressure point in the sense that it is a better target then the chest which is covered in bone. -->
== Literature ==
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* Scout, the [[Weak but Skilled]] Padawan in ''Yoda: [[Dark Rendezvous]]'', is a master at these, striking arms to make them go numb and tingly. She also has a perfectly centered grab on the carotid triangle that makes targets black out within ten seconds, though that might be less "pressure point" and more "cutting off blood to the brain".
** [[Choke Holds]]
* In ''[[Horatio Hornblower|Lieutenant Hornblower]]'' a doctor patches up Bush after he was [[Covered in Scars|stabbed several times]] by revolting Spanish prisoners. He notes that all Bush's opponents had stabbed overhand and the ribs overlap like the gables of a roof and then says it is more reliable if one is going for the chest to use an upward blow that can sneak through the bones into the vitals.
* Some parts of the ''[[Belisarius Series]]'' deal with Indian unarmed combat techniques. In one part it is claimed (probably fictionally) that Indian assassins had a secret move to paralyze an opponent but leave him alive as a sort of torture technique for targets they have a particular grudge against. While this is probably medically possible it is unlikely that the author would have known much of anything about the traditions of Indian assassins in the sixth century much less whether they actually had a move to bring about this result.
== Live-Action TV ==
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* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Goodies]]'' entitled "Kung Fu Capers": Reading from a book of martial arts instructions, Graham delivers a large number of light taps and pokes to various spots on Tim's body. After several seconds of nothing happening, Tim suddenly spasms and jerks back and forth before collapsing unconscious.
* ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' episode "The Living Dead". Emma Peel applies pressure to two points on the neck of a female guard's neck to render her unconscious.
* Used in ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]''. Jesse's father needed him to calm down, so he put a comfroting hand on his shoulder. When that didn't work, he increased the pressure. Jesse protested and folded up. The unconsciousness lasted long enough for them to drive out of LA and for his father to have a long discussion, and there are no obvious side effects.
** Of course, Jesse should probably consider himself lucky his father didn't just choke him into unconsciousness like he did to Steve...
== Professional Wrestling ==
* Dr. Sam Sheppard, the man whose life inspired ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'', went into wrestling in his later years. As he was a trained surgeon, he had in-depth knowledge of the human body, including where all the pressure points are, knowledge he used to his advantage in the ring. His [[Finishing Move]], the Mandible Claw (later used by [[Mick Foley|Mankind]]), was said to activate a pressure point under the tongue that paralyzes the opponent and induces intense pain.
== Tabletop Games ==
* Pressure Points and Pressure Secrets in ''[[GURPS]]'' work by "tearing or crushing organs and nerve clusters with lethal precision" but are considered cinematic skills. The second one is so powerful that the game gives a word of caution about its potential [[Game Breaker]] status.
* Several Fu powers from ''[[Feng Shui]]'' are meant to simulate pressure point attacks as shown in kung fu movies. Dim Mak and Lightning Fist from the Path of the Hands of Light ignore armor and Toughness respectively, and the healing path of the Path of the Healthy Tiger, which includes Healing Chi, which uses pressure points to heal, Flow Restoration, which negates the effects of harmful chi powers on you, Point Blockage, which is the classic pressure point paralysis move, Shadowfist, a truly nasty move that trades a permanent reduction in Chi and Fu for a permanent reduction of an opponent's Martial Arts skill and the loss of one Fu power of the attacker's choice, and Storm of the Tiger (which requires mastery of both the healing and counterattack paths of the Tiger style), which uses twice the Chi you spend to deal out serious damage and quite admirably replicates the killer pressure point moves you see in a lot of kung fu movies.
* Many other games will have some sort of pressure point-related abilities if Eastern martial arts are featured. Modern game like ''Spycraft''? Spirit and Vital Points Basics, Moves, and
== Video Games ==
{{quote|[[Death From Above|Top approach]], [[Eye Scream|double-strike to eye ridge]], slide down between blinded target's rising arms,
* This is basically what's {{spoiler|keeping the Dark Dragon asleep}} in ''[[Mother 3]]''; {{spoiler|when all seven needles are pulled, the dragon awakens, and, depending on the heart(s) of the one(s) who pull(s) them, either destroys the world, or recreates it into a paradise}}.▼
== Western Animation ==
* The Vulcan nerve pinch is parodied in a ''[[Futurama]]'' episode where the Planet Express crew end up in a death-match with the cast of the original ''Star Trek''. Leonard Nimoy tries to see if the "Vulcan nerve pinch" actually works but tries it on Bender, a robot and thus lacking nerves, who doesn't even flinch.
* A [[Ki Attacks]] example: Ty Lee from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' hits on pressure points to block the chi of her opponents, disabling their bending abilities and
* Uncle from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' did this to many a [[Mook]] in the first season. He even did this to Captain Black when he wouldn't heed his warnings about attacking a magical demon [[Big Bad]].
** "Who else wants a piece of Uncle?!"
** Tohru does this once at least, as does Jade [[Grand Theft Me|(when possessed by Shendu).]]
* The ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' episode
* In ''[[My Little Pony:
▲* How [[Mass Effect 2|Thane Krios]] kills [[Made of Iron|krogan]].
▲{{quote|[[Death From Above|Top approach]], [[Eye Scream|double-strike to eye ridge]], slide down between blinded target's rising arms, [[Pressure Point|precision nerve strike to throat]], secondary nerve strike to counter [[Unstoppable Rage|blood rage]], [[Groin Attack|quad-kick]] to bend target, grip each side of skull, running leaping spinning [[Neck Snap|neck-snap]]. Alternate: [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|Bomb]]. }}
▲* This is basically what's {{spoiler|keeping the Dark Dragon asleep}} in ''[[Mother 3]]''; {{spoiler|when all seven needles are pulled, the dragon awakens, and, depending on the heart(s) of the one(s) who pull(s) them, either destroys the world, or recreates it into a paradise}}.
== Real Life ==
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[[Category:Combat Tropes]]
[[Category:For Massive Damage]]
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