Mental Nerve is a very special target point that responds to all three stimuli, (hit, rub, press) located just under the corner of the mouth and in-between the lower edge of teeth and base of the jaw. There is a hole in the bone called a Foramen, where the Mental Nerve exits. They are on both sides of the jaw and reachable from either side.
Attacking this point down and in toward the neck with a firm pressure or rapid rubbing, will weaken and dysfunction the neck as well as the body muscles. It will cause a withdrawal reflex of the head and can lead to a nauseous state. As it is attacked with more speed and power especially with a striking action, the effects will intensify to dizziness, altered vision and consciousness.
The mental nerve is a somatic, (sensory) nerve that includes the special fibers that help keep the body assimilated with its surroundings, such as those involved in touch. Sensory Nerves send messages from the muscles back to the spinal cord and the brain. These sensors help identify if something is sharp, rough, or smooth, hot or cold, standing still or in motion, in short it is all of our senses. Impediment or damage to the Sensory Nerves results in tingling, numbness, pain, or extreme sensitivity to touch. The somatic nervous system also consists of peripheral fibers that send sensory information to the central nervous system and motor nerves. These fibers project to skeletal muscle, for voluntary muscle control as a main purpose.
When we overload the sensory nerves with severe, multiple or varied input, we can affect the Motor Nerves and to varying degrees the Autonomic Nerves as well. So say we send an acute sensory message to the brain such as a hard striking action to this target. This in turn will inhibit motor messages to the most distal limbs first and the reason why the legs will buckle, body arms and neck will weaken. If it is struck harder the brain itself is affected with altered levels of consciousness, affecting autonomic function may also be impaired as well. This could result in difficulty in breathing, loss of blood pressure or even nausea.
These reactions are instantaneous and will also leave the recipient in a state of confusion as the brain is occupied with the more urgent need over cogniscent thought. This can assist the user in a total control over the opponent as the body, mind and therefore spirit to continue will also be severely hampered or stopped completely.
This is a very versatile point that yields fast and predictable reactions that once the user is aware of, can affect very easily for common self-protective actions:
Striking would be the easiest and most natural action for anyone to react with, it also carries the most effective disabling consequences. Using the natural actions of a hooking arm motion (which is labelled as a gross motor skill) will be the best result under severe stress. Under severe stress the fine motor skills like finger control and more complex physical actions are severely restricted by an adrenaline release. This also restricts hearing and even peripheral vision so that concentration is just on single point of sight. It makes the bigger actions such as running and the mentioned arm actions predominant in urgent life preservation. Since this hooking arm action is what will become natural even under extreme stress, we will look at this as our preferred method. These strikes could be with clench fist (more natural for males) or open handed (more natural for females). The recommended method is the open hand for many reasons.
The open hand using the palm to strike down and in on the target will need less accuracy as the area of contact will be broader and conform to the skeletal structure of the opponents chin for proper contact. The fist by comparison would need to be on just a few knuckles so that the harder broad surface of the whole fist would ride more on the raised edges of the jaw and possibly the cheekbone. This would limit the actual nerve compression unless targeted with just a few knuckles (a finer motor skill for correct angulation). There is also greater possibility of missing with a fist as opposed to the entire palm with its larger coverage area.
Physical Damage with a fist is also probable, as the hard knuckles will cut the skin of the recipient or possible break the jawbone leading to observable or permanent injury. Now at first thought one would conclude that the attacked deserved the injury and that is what you intended anyway. But taking the societal restrictions in these modern times, even if you are attacked, if the assailant takes you to court and they have injury and you do not, leaves you open to further persecution and unjust punitive judgement. By using the palm, the affects will not only be more efficient and effective for targeting, it also will not cause the physical damage or observable injury to worry about later in court.
Another factor you need to be aware of in this modern time is that of appearance to the onlooker! A fisted attack is seen by everyone as just that… an offensive attacking action. It will then be the burden of proof that you were first attacked and in possible threat of life. A palm strike on the other hand could be argued as being an attempt to push away or stop the opponent’s attack or approach. This can be augmented with a shout to stop, as that will reflect to onlookers you are trying to stop the attacker as opposed to attacking them. The visual and audible links will form a more ingrained and recognizable image of self-protection from the onlookers.
Size matters too. To use a fisted hooking action would require a same size or smaller opponent as reach and angle is more limited with this method. The elbow would also need to be in an upward and outward position to obtain the correct angle on the target in a down and in trajectory. This is a weak and vulnerable position for the swinging arm as well as the exposed body. This is especially not recommended for untrained individuals. As the arm is lifted it also weakens the further away from the body it arcs and the full potential power will not be readily available for the strike either.
By contrast using the palm will keep the defenders elbow down and in for more security (as less stretched body mass is exposed), as it also puts more muscles and weight into the action. This in turn will increase the power of the move so that a greater delivery of force can be utilized by a smaller practitioner. As a further benefit the palm strike can be deployed from inside or outside the opponents arms due to the smaller arc of the action, and exactly where the defender would be with a larger assailant.
One thing to note is that both are worthy of practice as one never knows what the circumstance or opponents position of attack will be. It is also worth mentioning that using the arm distal to the attacking action will be easier as the attacking action itself is not in the way of your defensive action. So if they grab or push your left side, your right hand will be free and have an unobstructed path to the target. Also if grabbed by one arm then the opposite side will be free to forward this application, but if both arms are grabbed then using a leg point such as SP-11 included in this compilation would be accessible to break free of the grip prior to using this target.
For escape it is also a very valuable point, as simple pressure will cause pain and physical weakening of the opponent. It will turn the attacker away from you so escape may be possible or also prior points in further defensive actions could be employed. Pressing it will also cause the recipient to have a withdrawal reflex possibly giving you the room for escape as well. It is suggested for pressure though to use a hard bony surface such as a single knuckle. The pain level will be dramatically increased as will the withdrawal and weakening of the opponent.
As has been mentioned many times in this compilation, the versatility comes not from a specific technique or complex actions, but rather just the ability to access each target. Knowing one target is good, but knowing many in different parts of the body will only increase the versatility, adaptability and compound the affects. Using multiple points as they become accessible will also compound the affects and increase your efficiency and ability to escape, maneuver or incapacitate the opponent or attacker. So train to see these targets in all situations, train to access them correctly and train in the most simple applications as it will insure far greater results, consistency and personal safety, even in stressful times.
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