Ear, Nose, And Throat Specialist — YOU?

© COPYRIGHT 2010 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – September 2010 Issue

[Reprinted With Permission]

www.americancombato.com
www.seattlecombatives.com

WELL, not exactly the kind of ear, nose, and throat specialist that we find in reputable medical facilities, but you might one day find it very helpful to have developed the ability to zero in instantly on one of those three extremely vulnerable target areas of the human body, and destroy or injure it, in order to save your life.

EARS:

Just about everyone has two of them. They are within reach, and they are delicate. Seizing them violently is one of the tricks we teach our students in American Combato, in order to facilitate multiple knee blows to the enemy’s testicles.

"Boxing" the ears with that which Fairbairn referred colorfully to as the “thunderclap” (cupped palms blow) is a terrific way to drop an adversary. This dangerous blow can cause concussion and cerebral hemorrhage, under certain conditions. A great blow when you are seized from the front and pulled toward your attacker, or when an attempt is made to apply a frontal underarm body hold. The double ear box is also a great followup blow, after your man has been injured and disoriented.

(Do not open the attack with this blow, since it leaves you wide open for a moment).

After ear boxing — or simply after grabbing the ears suddenly — a strong grip on each ear followed by an archer’s movement will rip one or both ears off the enemy’s head. Grabbing one ear and then chinjabbing with the other hand is also likely to rip an ear off. But you’ve got to do it powerfully!

Smacking an ear always distracts a man. It may be done with the back or with the palm of the hand.

One hand ear boxing is excellent on the attack. It turns the adversary’s head upon impact, and automatically cocks your hand for a handaxe chop or hammerfist blow.

Biting an ear (we hate to say it, but like Mike Tyson did, except with a REAL BITE) and then ripping it off the head, is an excellent action to take when close in to the adversary.

If, in a lethal situation (military combat, for example; or defending against a home invader) you happen to have a sharp commando type dagger, driving it into the ear and through the brain will prove most decisive.
Remember that the ear box places both hands in a perfect position to drive thumbs to the eyes, following impact. A nice bonus.

NOSE:
Always a sensitive, easy target — and usually a convenient one — to hit. A powerful normal fist punch in the nose is always effective, but we would STRONGLY recommend using a heel of the hand blow, instead. Just direct a powerful heel-of-the-hand blow to the center of the attacking individual’s face and you will hit his nose. While not per se a "fatal" blow, it can always be counted upon to be a disorienting blow, and followup of a severe and aggressively destructive kind should end the encounter.

The bridge of the nose is a great target — especially for the handaxe chop and the hammerfist smash. By breaking the thin bone normally covered by the bridge of a pair of glasses, profuse bleeding, complete disorientation, and intense pain, coupled with an inability to see for at least several moments is the near certain result. This is an easy bone to break, and even a child or a small woman can do so, in an emergency. The heel of the hand is also a good weapon to employ against the bridge of the nose, especially in a downward smash, following a chinjab blow that landed only lightly, or that missed its mark.

The point right underneath the nose, above the upper lip (the “philtrum”) is extremely vulnerable to a handaxe chop that is directed into it. A slightly upward directed blow is best. Pat O’Neill favored this particular strike and target point, and always urged the "Forcemen" whom he trained to use it automatically in an encounter, when they could do so.

By striking a hooking heelpalm blow (like a boxer’s “hook”, but employing the heel of the hand as the striking weapon) to the side of the nose and into the corner of the eye or inner cheekbone of the enemy, an excellent disabling hit can be rendered.

Biting the nose always makes good sense in an anything goes fight for survival and defense — and you can actually bite the nose off the enemy’s face if you exert full force and determination with your jaw muscles and teeth.

Driving a finger deep up an adversary’s nostril will make him pull his head back, and will expose his throat (for a blow or for a bite).

Either nostril is an excellent target for a pen, pencil, thin blade, or other object capable of penetrating deep. Deep enough and the brain will be struck — which if hit with a sufficiently forceful and penetrating thrust, will be fatal.

THROAT:

The throat is probably the closest to a "certain stop" target there is in the human body — providing a forceful, crushing blow is directed against it (the handaxe chop being the best). In a long time ago conversation with that marvelous producer of practical firearms training films, Alec Jason (ANITE PUBLICATIONS — producer of DEADLY FORCE, and other classic, outstanding videos) the retired SFPD detective asked us "What shot would you take to what target area with your handgun, if you only had one shot and you had to stop the guy right now?" Our answer, which we recall pretty much word for word was: “In a situation where we had only the chance of one, single hit, and it was life or death, we’d rather rely upon a powerful open hand chop to the attacker’s throat than we would any single shot from any handgun.” Retired detective Jason was a little surprised by our answer, but he did not disagree!

Obviously, when it’s life or death, a powerful, fast chop to the throat should be employed without hesitation.

The web of the hand (hand yoke) strike is a non-lethal blow that is sometimes useful to discourage a pest, or to set a suspect up for a restraining hold (if you are a police officer). The best use of this strike however is to index the hand for the potentially lethal throat lock. The fingers seize the upper part of the windpipe — under the jaw — in a pincher grip. By crushing hard and jerking forward, a fatal injury to the breathing apparatus of the body will be effected.

The throat lock is an excellent attack, and should be perfected by anyone training in practical self-defense.

Remember, when you secure a throat lock with your fingers, if you hold onto that grip and then smash your attacker’s head powerfully with a heel of the hand blow, hammerfist smash, or elbow strike, using your opposite arm, you will effect an injury that will likely prove lethal.

Biting into the throat (or neck) is always effective — but please, it’s got to be a ripping, tearing animal-like bite, not a reluctant nip!

The area immediately to either side of the throat is highly vulnerable to any sharp blow (again, the handaxe is best).

A half-fist strike into the throat is an excellent blow, or if you have strong fingers, a fingertips thrust to the throat is good.

Charlie Nelson taught us a terrific little trick for striking the throat with the fist: After clenching the fist normally, cant the wrist slightly upward. Now snap those foreknuckles (the same ones that hit with the half-fist blow) to the attacker’s throat. You will find that your fist fits very naturally into that area between the opponent’s jaw and his neck. This is a quick, snappy blow, and should be followed up immediately with more destructive actions.

Remember the classic “rising block” that virtually every style of karate invariably teaches? Well, this blow served as a striking action as well as a block in William Chow’s original kenpo-karate. It is still excellent when used to hit. In kenpo-karate the blow was normally directed against the arm or arms — ostensibly to break the enemy’s elbows. We believe that a far better use of the blow is into the throat or underside of the jaw and throat of a taller, larger attacker who moves in close. It will stop his advance cold, and followup should be immediate.

One final unarmed tactic that targets the throat is a little-known technique developed by Pat O’Neill as a counter to an enemy closing in suddenly from the side. Let’s say that your enemy is moving in against you on your left side. You snap your body toward him with a sharp pivoting action while bringing your left forearm high in a lateral movement across your own forehead (fist clenched). Simultaneously, your right arm (fist clenched) applies a lateral forward blow across your high abdominal area. Both of your forearms form a "wall" of sorts, and your attacker will drive himself into this wall as he moves in to attack you. Your left forearm will slam hard into his throat. Your right arm will hit his midsection. Followup!

Attacks to the ears, nose, and throat target areas may of course be undertaken with all sorts of improvised weapons and objects-at-hand. The main thing is: Attack and devastate those vital, key target areas, when you are in a desperate, dangerous self-defense situation! “How” you do it is important to a degree, but that you do it — and do it fast — is what counts the most.

There is no place for squeamishness or hesitation in close combat and self-defense. Remember: there is no relation between what you do without hesitation and immediately in a personal defense emergency, and that which you might do in any sporting/competitive "match". Get it clear, straight, definite, and decided, as to which type of encounter you wish to be ready for.