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Pressure Point (view source)

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{{trope}}
[[File:treknobabble29.jpg|link=Star Trek: theThe Original Series|right|[[Futurama|Momma said]] [[Pun|Spock you out!]]]
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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 Onon the Head]]. For the more lethal version see [[You Are Already Dead]].
 
In martial arts, can overlap with [[Ki Attacks]], as ki/chi flows in the body are supposedly the underlying mechanism of both pressure points and acupuncture according to certain Eastern practices.
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* 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 (Animeanime)|Excel Saga]]'' parodied this into the ground, where hitting the pressure points turned one into a 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|Battle Auras]] or [[Ki Attack|Ki Attacks]]. A similar therapy can seal away this power, but [[Thanks for Thethe Mammary|the location of the pressure points]] make it [[Accidental Pervert|a dicey proposition]].
** 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.
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** 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: theThe 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.
 
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== Film ==
* In [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[Spaceballs (Film)|Spaceballs]]'', the hero is infiltrating the Big Bads' flagship. He tries the Vulcan Nerve Pinch on the guard, who asks our hero what he's doing. The hero [[Sarcastic Confession|tells him straight up]], at which point the guard corrects him. ''"Like this?" "Yeah...."''
* The Operative in ''[[Firefly|Serenity]]'' does this to paralyze people preparatory to executing them with his sword. {{spoiler|It doesn't work on Mal because that nerve cluster had to be moved by the surgeons because of a war injury}}.
* ''[[The Princess Bride (Filmfilm)|The Princess Bride]]''. In [[The Film of the Book]], Fezzik uses a Vulcan neck pinch to render Buttercup unconscious.
* 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 (Filmanimation)|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.
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== Live-Action TV ==
* The Vulcan nerve pinch from ''[[Star Trek: theThe Original Series]]'', which is apparently effective against the vast majority of humanoids ''and'' some non-humanoid aliens. As an interesting bit of history, the origin of the pinch came from [[Leonard Nimoy]]'s insistence that Spock would not perform an aggressive karate chop to subdue an opponent from behind. Demonstrating on [[William Shatner]], he showed the director that this new technique would be convincing enough on screen.
** Also from ''[[Star Trek: theThe Original Series]]'', in "The Way to Eden", Tongo Rad used his knowledge of human anatomy to knock out an Enterprise crewman by squeezing the nerve pressure point at the back of the jaw, just under the earlobe (Truth In Television, though it causes great pain and delayed unconsciousness rather than instant).
* In an episode of ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'', Jim West renders a female villain unconscious by pressing a pressure point in her back.
* This was one of [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Xena's]] big talents. Her favorite was a neck poke that cut off oxygen to the brain as an interrogation method.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "Survival", the Seventh Doctor paralyzes a bullying physical education instructor by pressing a finger on his forehead. Also a standard tactic of the Third Doctor.
* Natsumi of ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' has the Hikari Family Secret Technique: Laughing Pressure Point, which [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|makes the victim laugh]] and is used as an alternative to the anime-style [[Megaton Punch]] (since Natsumi is our requisite [[Tsundere]] female lead. Originally she used it when protagonist Tsukasa was too much of a [[Jerkass]]. And sometimes when he's completely blameless. And sometimes on innocent [[The Heart|Yuusuke]]. And sometimes on [[Phantom Thief|Kaito]]. [[Overly Long Gag|And sometimes on]] her own grandfather.
** It even turns out to be a [[Chekhov's Skill]], since in the [[Kamen Rider Den -O|Den-O]] story arc it helps get the [[Demonic Possession|Imagin]] out of Tsukasa and in the [[Kamen Rider Kabuto|Kabuto]] arc it reveals the [[Shapeshifting|Worm]] that's impersonating him. {{spoiler|In the [[Grand Finale]] movie, when she becomes a Kamen Rider herself, it's even turned into a full-on special attack!}}
* In an episode of ''[[NCIS]]'' , Ziva uses her Mossad interrogation techniques to obtain information about a kidnap victim. Although what actually happens is mostly left to the viewers' imaginations, the woman being interrogated is at one point convinced to answer a question because the threat of death later is not as scary as Ziva tweaking her shoulder now.
* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Goodies (TV)|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...
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== 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 (Tabletop Game)|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 Mastery--even lets you heal a comrade. ''[[Street Fighter]]'' RPG? Of course; it even mentions the 'Dim mak' below. Escape into [[Dungeons and Dragons]]? Enter the monk, who can kill you (or at least make you save versus dying of getting smacked with a special ability) with a touch since 1st Edition.
 
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* 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 and paralyze them in combat.
* Uncle from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|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: theThe Animated Series]] episode ''Day of the Samurai'' revolves around a martial art called Kiba no Hoko (The Way of the Fang), which uses precise strikes against pressure points. Batman's foe, [[The Rival|Kyodai Ken]] managed to learn its most fatal technique, the [[Touch of Death|Oonemuri Touch]].
* In [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]] Big Macintosh knows just the right one to treat Granny Smith's muscle spasm.
 
 
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* 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 (Video Game)|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}}.
 
 
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