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Medical Implications Of Kyusho
Author: Tony Christian
Saturday 26th February 2005 saw a first in martial arts history with a seminar on the medical implications of Kyusho, inspired by the book "Medical implications of karate blows" written in the seventies.
The seminar was held at the Shevington DoJo in Wigan. The speakers were Sensei Tony Christian 7th Dan GoJu Ryu with 40 years experience in martial arts and one of the very first instructors of GoJu Ryu in the country, and Dr Gary Masterson, consultant in intensive therapy and anaesthesia at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Dr Masterson has extensive experience in trauma injuries from working in both the UK and the USA.
Sensei Christian opened the seminar and described the hierarchy of karate strikes that can potentially result in death.
Head strikes were described as the most lethal type of strike and included such techniques as: knee and elbow strikes to the head to create a smashing or crushing type injury to the skull; palm hand strike to smash the jaw; and uraken (back fist) strikes to the temple and eye sockets. Next came the throat as a target and as Dr Masterson pointed out any resulting airway obstruction will almost certainly result in death. The importance of maintaining the airway was highlighted as the most important aspect of saving a trauma victim's life. A range of techniques including hiraken (fore-knuckle) strike, forearm strikes and strangles to crush the throat, and therefore airway, were demonstrated and discussed.
The chest was the next target discussed and strikes included the standing fist and elbow to either stop the heart's electrical activity (resulting in a cardiac arrest) or damage the heart and sternum. Moving through the hierarchy, the abdomen (frontal stomach area) was attacked using powerful front kicks with the intention of damaging important organs such as the spleen and liver. The kidney area (back of abdomen) was attacked using a round-house shin kick. Abdominal injuries result in death because of massive bleeding or haemorrhage. At the bottom of the anatomical trauma hierarchy were strikes to the limbs that result in bone fractures and joint injuries. Kensetsu geri (stamp kicks) to the knee joints causing fractures of the leg bones breaks and dislocation of the knee joint was demonstrated and discussed. As time was limited, Sensei Christian stated that these were only a few of the Karate techniques that could be used to kill or disable an opponent and that his list of demonstrated techniques was far from exhaustive.
The second half of the seminar was opened by Dr Masterson, using slides of trauma victims who had been severely assaulted. These head trauma victims had been either punched or kicked in the head repeatedly. A number of x rays and CT scans demonstrated the increase in pressure within the head that results from trauma to the head. Such an increase in pressure frequently results in death. Slides showing clinical photographs, X-rays and scans of trauma to the neck, throat, chest, abdomen, pelvis and limbs were also presented. As you can imagine there were a number of questions from a very inquisitive audience, even though some of slides were gory at times, it was fascinating to see the extent of the injuries and the damage that could be caused from strikes.
Dr Masterson ended the second part of the seminar with a session on how to maintain the airway in an unconscious casualty using a resuscitation dummy. The most interesting thing that I discovered as a qualified first-aider was that Dr Masterson told us not to move the head if there is any suspicion of damage to the head and neck. If possible, airway maintenance in an unconscious victim should be carried out by two people, one to keep the head and neck stabilised while the second person lifts the chin to open the airway.
The seminar concluded with loud applause from the audience. I can say that this has been the best seminar I have attended for a long time and is a must for all instructors and serious martial artists.
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