Brachial stun- legit or not?

[KidKrav]

The way I have been taught to do this strike, you don't target the carotid artery but the pressure points in the neck. Like OhNoz says, it is generally done with a back hand strike as this gives you a greater striking area and hence a greater chance of hitting the pressure points.

In the original video clip the strike doesn't appear to be to the carotid artery either.

It is a strike that is generally best delivered from in close and as a counter. E.g. You deflect a strike, step in as they are pulling their hand back and deliver the backhand strike.

That's all fair. I just wanted to add my two cents as people were starting to talk about playing around with strikes to the sides of people's necks.

That can be a very dangerous thing.


Also, there were a couple comments from the YouTube users that I thought were pretty good and deserved to be copied here:

1. The way the brachial stun is being performed there is wrong, you're supposed to use an open hand, not a chop...chopping increases the risk of death if hit hard enough. Open hand (slap basically) covers more of the brachial nerve which means you don't need to use as much force and the move is much more affected.

Not sure as to how authoritative this guy is, but he had an interesting take on the move...

Also:


2. your rebooting the nerve that controls thier blood pressure which causes unconsciousness.

It can be lethal in a few circumstances.

1. If they have alot of plaque in their arteries you can break something off and stroke em out

2. If you accidentally hit their throat

3. If you collapse or pop a blood vessel ( but you shouldnt be hitting them hard enough to do that)

4. If they have really bad genes and their nerve doesnt reboot


These are all things to consider before you go out and pop your friends.

Interesting. I've been needing to add a deathblow into my repertoire.

haha

I'm not saying that if you do this someone will definitely die, but there is a real risk and the results can be unpredictable.

I would say that this technique is on par with a strike to the back of the head. I'm not sure as to the legality of it in MMA, but I think you could make an argument that it would be illegal as it qualifies as a strike to the side of the throat.


I really don't know...

 

[barnowl]

Generally, as a rule of thumb, it's not a great idea to put yourself in position to go for a backhand though, because you're essentially letting them beat you with footwork.

If they block the backhand (which wouldn't be entirely hard), they've got a great angle on you completely away from your power hand. From there, the opponent can hit you with a right hand, grab an easy takedown, whatever.

I would rather not give up that angle.

all depends on the angle you set up the back hand strike from

 

[barnowl]

No


The possibility of someone falling and breaking their neck after being struck exists as well. I know of someone who punched another person in a bar who fell down and died from a broken neck.

Imprisoned for life


I don't think that sherdog appreciates the potential repercussions of this technique.

While it isn't a high percentage technique like the Five Point Kill Bill Death Touch, it's not something to take lightly either.

Nice detail breakdown. Yeah, most people don't get how easy it is break somebody. the Body is amazing, on the one hand it can take incredible damage, if absorbed correctly, and keep going just fine, on the other it takes almost no force to total destroy the body if it takes an impact the wrong way

 

[Cannon_6]

This youtoob comment got my attention:

from a medical standpoint, you are all retarded. Please inform us of your credentials as you comment.
austinb34 2 days ago

 

[Blue Streak]

this is pretty relevant to why you don't see it in MMA or any other combat sport. Its a maneuver to use on the less knowledgable and when they are throwing that wild haymaker and your able to block it, its a quick step in with the backhand to mess up their equiliberium (cant spell that right now) and then proceed to another maneuver of choice. most criminals of general nature have no clue what footwork actually is or how to throw a proper strike.

This basically sums it up.

 

[ClintCole]

I am a PPCT Defensive Tactics Instructor, and the Brachial Stun in one of the techiques I teach.

As stated above, the brachial stun is a close quarter defensive COUNTERstrike. It can be used offensively, but is most effective when used as a counter. It targets the Brachial Plexus Origin nerve motor point, located in the dead center of the side of the neck. The reason it is effective (and believe me, it is effective) is due to the area that is struck. The Brachial Plexus Origin is a large bundle of effector nerve tissue, that is to say that the area is saturated with millions of nerve endings in a large bundle. When struck, each one of these nerve endings sends a simultaneous signal to the brain that says, "Ow!". The effect is similar to running too many applications on your computer at the same time or, as I say in class, it's like trying to run a 50 yd. dash with a Sumo on your back. Essentially, your brain can't handle all that stimulus so it briefly shuts itself down and reboots until it can process it all.

The average stun lasts anywhere from 3-7 seconds, which in my line of work is sufficient to establish some sort of follow-up control. There are reports of stuns lasting much longer, however.

The strike is delivered using either the back of the hand, the palm heel, the inner forearm or the outer forearm. The bony structures of the wrist and hand are never used for striking unless it is a deadly force situation, the reasons for this are stated rather accurately above by KidKrav's post. The forearm versions of this strike are used when in extreme close quarters, as the arm extension required for the backhand and palm heel is not feasible.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[def1]

No




Knife hand has a smaller surface area for the point of contact. Smaller surface area results in concentrated force.







The results you get using this technique will vary greatly based on how exactly the strike lands and who it is being applied to. If you land it improperly it won't do anything but piss the person off. It you land it too well you might just kill the person you hit.

Part of what makes this technique affective is the vulnerability of the carotid artery.

(The big red thing with no protection)

The carotid artery carries blood to the brain. When a a person applies a blood choke (rear naked choke, triangle choke, etc.) they are cutting off blood flow to the brain by plugging this artery. If you strike the carotid with force you can cause an aneurysm (essentially an artery spasm which can cause weakening or a rupture in the artery wall) which is potentially lethal.

The possibility of someone falling and breaking their neck after being struck exists as well. I know of someone who punched another person in a bar who fell down and died from a broken neck.

Imprisoned for life




I don't think that sherdog appreciates the potential repercussions of this technique.

While it isn't a high percentage technique like the Five Point Kill Bill Death Touch, it's not something to take lightly either.

I don't think punching someone can "give" them an aneurysm but if they already have one, then you can certainly make it rupture and kill them.

 

[gregsusmc]

The strike is taught in the Marine Corps with a knife hand. That being said we are also not being taught to fight for competition but for a kill. It is an extremely risky and dangerous strike if not used properly. When being trained in this strike your are told to hold the target area while you are being struck with a knife hand your palm is what is making contact. I highly advise that his not be tried on anyone unless you are trying to kill somebody cause it very well can.

 

[ClintCole]

The strike is taught in the Marine Corps with a knife hand. That being said we are also not being taught to fight for competition but for a kill.

As I stated, the knife hand version of this strike is a Deadly Force option only. When you strike with the palm heel, backhand, and forearms, you are distributing the force of the strike over a wider area, thus reducing the potential for serious injury to the subject. Even with the impact being distributed over a wider area, the effect is still the same as it's the impact on the Brachial Plexus Origin nerve motor point that is creating the stun phase.

The carotid artery carries blood to the brain. When a a person applies a blood choke (rear naked choke, triangle choke, etc.) they are cutting off blood flow to the brain by plugging this artery. If you strike the carotid with force you can cause an aneurysm (essentially an artery spasm which can cause weakening or a rupture in the artery wall) which is potentially lethal.

I'll concede that if an aneurysm is already present, that the brachial stun could potentially cause more problems to an already bad situation, but I doubt that the strike itself could cause the aneurysm. Arteries are the high-pressure hoses of the body. Much more durable than veins. This is because the arteries are under more pressure, as they are pumping the blood away from the heart. Veins are drawing the blood back into the heart, much like a suction hose, so are not under as much pressure.

Another technique I teach is called a Shoulder Pin Restraint (a modified kese gatame, or "scarf choke"). Part of what makes that techique effective is carotid compression. A catch is that carotid compression alone would require about 80% compression of the carotid, which shy of digital compression (actually using the finger or thumb to compress the carotid), is not possible. The forearm alone cannot generate that much compression. As for striking the carotid, simply striking it (even with a knife hand) is not going to cause unconciousness. Once the forward momentum ceases, the artery is just going to fill back up and uncompress. In other words, it's going to hurt like hell, but won't cause unconciousness.

 

[EWhite77]

I can't watch the video on this computer (i'm at work right now) but I'm pretty sure I saw Steven Segal demonstrating this move on Anderson Silva in one of those training video they released. Silva started shaking out his arm like it had gone dead on him. I doubt Silva is the type to feign weakness even if it would be to placate Steven Segal.

 

[nomilkforsanta]

I've been kicked in the neck by a shin and I was not knocked out, however, I could not move my head for a week.