Martial Arts Articles by Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas is a pressure point fighting expert (Kyusho-jitsu) and author of 6 books and numerous articles on pressure points and other topics. He has been published in magazines all over the world, including Black Belt Magazine and S.W.A.T. in the United States, Blitz Magazine in Australia, Budoka in Finland, and Combat and Fighting Arts International in the UK.
He has studied in the martial arts for over 30 years and holds Master ranks in Isshin-ryu and Ryukyu kempo. He has also studied Tai Chi Chuan. He is the head of Kyusho-Jitsu Kenkyukai.
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(June 2009 to the Present) Me, blogging! I can't believe I'm entering the 21st century. People who know me, know that I am notoriously lax in using that 1980's technology, email. My wife is the one who has the texting component of the phone contract. And twitter and IM are completely strange and mysterious to me. Makes sense if you know me as a martial artist. I am a practitioner of "old school arts." I use the traditional styles in their intended ways. In fact, I am even more old fashioned than a traditionalist – I am a classicalist. The traditional martial artist is seeking to mimic the founder's method. The classical martial artist is trying to live in the purpose of the art. (Read Blog)

(September 2005)  "If you want to perform brain surgery, you first have to strap down the patient". In the martial arts community, those who practice kyusho-jitsu (pressure-point fighting) are often subjected to criticism. It all started when their self-defense method was first brought into the limelight and onlookers didn’t even want to believe the techniques were real. Those days are long past, however, and the reality of pressure-point knockouts has been convincingly demonstrated time and time again—most notably by Black Belt Hall of Fame member George Dillman and his students. (Read Article)

(November 2004) Among the most important elements of the traditional martial arts are the uke waza, or "counter-techniques." Each is constructed from two main motions: The first is typically regarded as the preparatory, or "setting" movement, and the second is viewed as the technique proper.
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Shotokan Karate Magazine, July, 2004 - There is a well known photo of Gichin Funakoshi in his 80’sperforming kumite. In the photo, Funakoshi has grabbed the right wrist of the attacker with his left hand,and is delivering a right upper level reverse punch (jodangyaku-zuki) using a middle-knuckle fist (nakadaka-ken). Some Shotokan practition-ers look at that photo and observe,“How spry and healthy he was.Shotokan karate is clearly an excellent health regimen.” Other practitioners (notably those whose lineage trace more to theShoto-kai) react with, “See, O-sensei was using a middle-knuckle fist. That proves that we should be doing the same.”Practitioners with an intimate knowledge of the use of pressure points (jintainokyusho), however, draw the following conclusion, “Gichin Funakoshi understood and used pressure point fighting methods (kyusho-jitsu).” (Read Article)

(March 2004) When traditional karate practitioners are introduced to pressure-point fighting and shown how it unlocks the secrets of kata and other aspects of classical training, several reactions may be observed. Some people remark, “Everything I’ve learned finally makes sense.” Others exclaim: “How come I was never taught this before? (Read Article) (Read Original Black Belt Article)

(March 2002) One day George Dillman called me and said, “We’ve been teaching women incorrectly!” Most martial artists will only reluctantly admit when they are wrong; Dillman, on the other hand, was positively ecstatic about learning something new. He explained his findings in a convincing manner, but I am the type of person who must try things for himself. I don’t simply believe what I’m told, even if it is George Dillman doing the telling. So I conducted a simple test: I had my teenage daughter stand close to me (so I could not see her feet) and strike me lightly on the S-5 point. She struck my left S-5 with her right hand in four different ways: palm strike with her right heel down, palm strike with her right heel raised, fist strike with her right heel down and fist strike with her right heel raised. I did not tell her which techniques I expected to be more effective, nor did I designate what order she was to perform them in. (Read Article)

(March 2001) Much has been made of the philosophical differences between budo and bujutsu. Typically, these terms are translated as "martial way" and "martial science," respectively. The martial ways are said to focus more on the development of moral character. This notion has been well represented by Gichin Funakoshi, who wrote, "The ultimate goal of karate-do lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of the participant." In contrast, the martial sciences are said to be primarily interested in the functional value of the art as a method of combat.
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(September 1998) From the time George Dillman began to demonstrate kysho-jitsu (pressure point fighting), which he learned from Hohan Soken and Seiyu Oyata and then spent the past 15 years perfecting, people have criticized him and his students for teaching and performing pressure-point knockouts. The criticism has ranged from simple caution ("Since we do not really understand what is happening, are we certain this is safe?") to outright condemnation ("Pressure point techniques are dangerous, and demonstrating pressure point knockouts is reckless and irredponsible.")
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