Kyusho
急所
A sensitive or vulnerable spot on the body targeted by strikes and pressure. Literally “urgent place”, in everyday Japanese also “weak spot”.
Quick Facts
Term typeAnatomy, target levels and striking surfaces
LanguageJapanese
Formnoun
Pronunciation[kyoo-shoh]
Alternative Namessensitive point, vital spot
Readings and romanizations
Reading (kana)きゅうしょ
Hepburn romanizationkyūsho
Word breakdown
急kyūurgent, sudden
所shoplace
Definition
Kyusho (急所) means a vulnerable or vital spot. In martial arts these are places where a strike or pressure causes severe pain or incapacitates the opponent, for example the temple, neck, solar plexus, groin or places where a nerve runs just under the skin. Traditional jujutsu and karate schools taught them as part of atemi techniques. The modern commercial kyusho-jutsu associated with George Dillman claimed to be able to incapacitate an opponent even without touching. These claims did not hold up in independent tests.