The Question:

A great question came up on the forum about the abuse of steroids in some parts of the world and the increasing violent behavior of these users especially while drinking.

Hi all.

I have a question, but I need to give some background first:

Here in Australia there has been much in the media for a while now about street violence. Up until recently excessive alcohol has been blamed as the main driving factor, and there is no doubt that this is substantially correct.

However investigations by police, university researchers and journalists have recently revealed that the illegal use of steroids amongst young men is far higher than was previously thought – in fact almost at epidemic levels. There has apparently been a significant increase in the numbers of young men "pumping iron" for all the wrong reasons. They're not just exercising or getting into bodybuilding comps or weightlifting etc; the prime motivator seems to be body image. And in pursuit of the "perfect body" significant numbers of them are taking to steroids to accelerate the process.

And of course when there is a demand for something that's illegal and thus difficult to get, the criminal element steps in to take the profits. As a result significant numbers of gymnasiums have apparently been infiltrated by outlaw motorcycle gangs and other drug peddlers using them as a front for their wares. Consequently steroids have become easy to obtain and are being used widely.

Now, mix immature brains with testosterone, alcohol and steroids and you've got a rash of late-night street violence where every look, comment or even nothing at all becomes a reason to bash someone. People are dying from these attacks, usually because of the secondary trauma of head hitting concrete.

OK, that's the background to my questions, which are…

1. Given that we know that alcohol and drugs can affect how an individual will react to a strike, are there any Kyusho strikes or sequences that are most suited to handling a steroid-and-alcohol-pumped street thug?
2. Or, alternatively, any striking points that would normally be effective, but are likely to be largely ineffective simply because of the aggressors medicated state?

It's clear from TV news footage that many of these offenders have extraordinary strength coupled with their aggressive and antisocial mindset, and it's not unusual to see situations where it takes 4 or 5 or more police to restrain the offender.

Thank you.

The reply :

I can relate a story that may help.

Around 10 years ago I was invited to teach at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic, a combined event of Body Building, Health (?) and Martial Arts, strange combo, but there it is.

There were tens of thousands there throughout the weekend, and I was given a booth to sell my wares during the event.

Gary Rooks and I were there the whole weekend taking turns at the booth, walking around and doing seminars and demonstrations.  While at the booth there were two ladies next to us laughing the entire weekend… usually with fingers pointing.

As we started talking to them we found the were nurses and having a grand time watching "The Walking Heart Attack" as they passed by.  They were referring to the steroid abusing bodybuilders that had become grotesque over muscled Mr. Universe types.

Of course Gary and I discussed this at length with them and began to notice the same things they were pointing out…

• They all had disproportionate body mass to head size ratio's.
  • Martial Application: visibility and dexterity/balance affected.
• They all had very little body fat.
  • Martial Application: Low fat diets affect; Liver, Cholesterol Levels and Cardiovascular health (among others)
• They all had massive and over stretched vascular tissue to feed those huge muscles.
  • Massive strain on heart and all related physiological structures.
• Constant diet restriction hurts kidneys in many ways from dehydration to protein abundant diets.
  • Martial Application: Kidneys over taxed and already in various stage of failure.
• Over sized muscles strain tendons and ligaments
  • Martial Application: They now become targets… using GTO & MSC applications.
• Over sized Muscles hide or protect typical martial art targets
  • Throat is now retracted behind massive muscle
  • head smaller compared to upper body meaning that shorter people can not effectively reach or access it
  • Genitals shrink comparatively as they become in accessible due to thigh size and many other factors
  • Muscles become strength trained and limit dexterity, speed and other factors
  • Intelligence is detrimentally affected
  • Endurance from cardiovascular demand is limited

Well there of course is more,but I think we can see from this list the weak targets that we little Kyusho people can use….actually just common sense and the awareness of a Kyusho-Ka will make these all apparent.  This has been validated in many aspects over the years in hands on application, we have noted that when you do tap into the internal structures (past the mountain of muscle), the affects are profound.

So to simplify,; Blood pool targets (see Bubishi), MSC & GTO, Liver, Kidney, Seal the breath and other targets should start emerging… but they will of course all cause damage… and do not stop moving, the problem with most Kyusho people is they become stationary trick performers (from typical instruction methods), they will have a problem.

The Suggestion/s:

Work on mobile targeting, when you people watch look for the body structures and what it conveys (be careful not to stare or you may be testing your skills) and get your hands on this type of individual (be careful with them as the tendency is to hit harder due to size).

And ask your Kyusho instructor this same question (without discussing this post) and post responses in the comments section below....

-ep