Making a Point with Pressure Points

Imagine you're a martial arts student. One day you have a guest instructor, accompanied by some of his black belts. They're experts in so-called "pressure point fighting." You've heard a little of this system, whereby practitioners can knock out adversaries with a series of precise strikes that lack the power of a brute-force approach. Until today you've had no direct experience. You may be skeptical, or maybe you believe such techniques are possible.

The seminar starts. You watch the guest instructor explain his techniques. He starts knocking out his black belts. Maybe you believe what you see, or maybe you don't. Then the instructor asks for volunteers, and several of your fellow students agree. The instructor knocks them all out, including a student you really trust to not "take a fall" to make the guest "look good." You ask the student "what happened?" and he replies "that dude knocked me out!"

Next the black belts fan out through the class to help teach pressure point techniques. They ask you if you want to get knocked out with a three-strike technique, or if you just want to feel disoriented with a two-strike technique. You decide you're a believer at this point, but you want to see what it feels like to receive a two-strike technique. Sure enough, two rapid strikes later, you're wondering what happened but are still conscious. That's all you need to believe; you're glad you're not lying on the floor, out cold!

The class ends. Several bystanders were watching through the studio's windows. Some of them are laughing. They think the whole class was fake, a joke, or stupid. Some witnesses are curious. They believe what they saw and want to know more. A few ask questions. Others mumble to themselves incoherently, probably intoxicated or mentally ill.

One of the students decides to talk to a famous yet local news reporter about his experience. This widely-read newspaper reports the story the next day, attracting a lot of attention.

With a wider audience, an extended discussion takes place about this pressure-point fighting activity.

One company conducts a Webcast and a spokesperson says "my mom used to knock me out with a frying pan when I was a kid!" He also says there's no difference between pressure-point fighting and getting punched in the face.

Another company decides to register a domain name called "pressurepointfighting.biz" and starts talking about how it works, applying what they know from Western boxing. This misses the mark but uninformed observers can't really tell the difference.

A third company jumps on the pressure point fighting bandwagon, issuing supposedly original research, inventing its own analysis, and integrating the technique into its marketing material. It turns out someone at the company had a confidential agreement with the original pressure point fighting instructor, but unilaterally decided to take a few pages out of his notebook and run to the market to make a fast buck.

A fourth company knows a lot about pressure point fighting. It writes original reporting based on its experience. Critics claim this company is just offering marketing based on the new craze.

Reaction to the news among those without direct experience is mixed, as might be expected.

Some readers are martial artists themselves. They fear being irrelevant. They are afraid their skills are not sufficient. They decide to ridicule anyone who participated in the seminar, or who has knowledge.

Some readers distrust authority. They think these techniques are just a government conspiracy to justify additional police powers. The only reason anyone is talking about such affairs is their need to get greater budgets for their oppressive police powers, man!

Some readers think the whole affair is "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" (FUD). Who could knock out a person by hitting a few pressure points? It's all a lie, or just the latest craze. It must be fake.

Some readers have been learning and practicing pressure point fighting for the last several years. They know it isn't a joke, and it is real. Also, some readers without experience realize they should learn more about pressure point fighting. That knowledge could save their lives, or the lives of those close to them. These like-minded people communicate privately, since the public arenas are now clogged with too many false discussions.

Aside from the fact that advanced persistent threat is an adversary, and not a fighting technique, this story explains the last 6 weeks of APT activity in the security industry. Not all factors are included, but enough to make my point.

Incidentally, the pressure point class is true, at least as far as the class content is described.