Advanced Pressure Point Grappling [Paperback]

Chris Thomas (Author), George A. Dillman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Easy to read and follow instruction on the life-saving art of pressure point self-defense.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George A. Dillman, a 9th degree black belt in Ryukyu Kempo Tomari-te, recently honored by Black Belt Magazine as “ 1997--Instructor of the Year” is one of the U.S.A.’s best known and well-established martial arts personalities. Dillman came to the attention of the martial arts press when he began competing in the early 1960’s. By the end of that decade, he had started running his own tournament, called the Northeast Open Karate Championships. This competition was held annually-- the first kicking off in Palmer Park, Maryland in 1966. The site was moved to Suitland Maryland in 1967, and moved again to Reading, PA in 1968 where it was held until 1996.

Official Karate magazine (Nov.1982), described Dillman as, “one of the winningest competitors karate has ever known.” Dillman was four-times National Karate Champion (1969-1972) and during this period was consistently ranked among top ten competitors in the nation by major karate magazines. During his nine-year competitive career, Dillman claimed a total of 327 trophies in fighting, forms, breaking, and weapons.

Dillman began serious martial arts training in 1961 with Harry G. Smith. He went on to study with Daniel K. Pai, James Coffman, Sam Pearson, Robert Trias and Seiyu Oyata. Dillman has always considered himself a student, never a master of the martial arts. To this end he and his wife and students have traveled throughout the United States to meet and train with various martial arts experts.

Because of his perseverance, Dillman’s martial arts talents have earned him widespread U.S. media coverage. He has appeared on 35 National TV shows, including: Real People, Mike Douglas, PM Magazine, Evening Magazine, and NBC’s Sports Machine. Dillman has also been featured five times in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and has been the subject of over 300 newspaper and magazine articles. Dillman, who was a professional boxer for three and one half years, is the only person known to have trained with both Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. In May of 1988. Dillman was inducted into the Berks County Sports Hall of Fame. He was the first martial artist to be included.

Currently, Dillman travels the world teaching seminars on pressure points and tuite (grappling) hidden within the traditional movements of the old martial arts forms. It is his research and scientific dissection of the old forms that is earning him his most notoriety. Never one to shy away from controversy, Dillman has rediscovered a formerly secret level of meaning for kata movements, and has made that interpretation understandable to all. He has produced a video tape instructional series on the pressure points, and has written six books with Chris Thomas: Kyusho-Jitsu: The Dillman Method of Pressure Point Fighting; Advanced Pressure Point Fighting of Ryukyu Kempo; Advanced Pressure Point Grappling: Tuite; Pressure Point Karate Made Easy; Humane Pressure Point Self-Defense; and Little Jay Learns Karate. The books have been said to be,” the definitive martial arts books of the century,” and “unparalleled among current martial arts literature.”

Dillman is the chief instructor for Dillman Karate International, an organization of over 85 schools worldwide, with an enrollment of nearly 15,000 students. He has studied under five 10th degree black belts from Okinawa and is currently furthering his personal study through research, practice, and the sharing of techniques with Prof. Remy Presas ( Modern Arnis) and Prof. Wally Jay (Small Circle Jujitsu).

Chris Thomas has studied karate since 1970, and holds a black belt ranking in three separate styles: Shotokan, Isshinryu, and Ryukyu Kempo Tomari-te. Thomas is a widely published and respected authority on martial arts whose works have appeared in martial arts periodicals world-wide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Dillman Karate Intl (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963199641
• ISBN-13: 978-0963199645
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #775,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pressure Point Fighting, May 25, 2000

By 

A Reader (in the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Pressure Point Grappling-Tuite: Dillman Method of Instant Self-Defense (Hardcover)

This is the third book in Mr. Dillman and Thomas' series on Pressure Point Fighting. In terms of overall content, there is a considerable amount of overlap with the material covered in their second book. The authors attempt to cover 60 of the 350+ classical Chinese acupoints (22 on the arms, 21 on the head and neck, 11 on the torso and 5 on the legs), and 4 "extra-ordinary" points (3 on the arms and one on the legs). Of the points covered by Mr. Dillman and Mr. Thomas, only nine are new to this volume; the rest were covered in the previous texts. In my humble opinion, the point location charts are excellent, and well presented. Some of the theories presented by the authors on the basis of Pressure Point Strikes, as well as the reasons why Pressure Points work, are controversial within the Martial Arts and Medical community.

In many instances, the descriptive information listed for the points is identical to the information given in the second book In fact, the most significant difference is the point location graphics have been greatly improved. In addition, there are some minor changes. For example, the authors have added some text to selected points, describing the use of set-up points to augment certain strikes.

The level of information given on each point is not consistently presented. In general, the authors give a description of the point location, and give what they believe is the anatomical structural association of the point (i.e., why it works in that area of the body). Then they usually (but not always) give a block of text marked "Method" in which they give some point activation instructions and occasionally discuss the results of the strike. This lack of discussion on the effects of the strike / rub / slap came as a great surprise, and may leave some readers disappointed. For example, on page 56, they discuss Liver 14 (LIV-14), simply noting that it is in close proximity to Gall Bladder 24 (GB-24), which lies slightly below it on the rib cage. The authors note that these points are "in close proximity and are used together," by striking them both diagonally. No additional narrative is given regarding the martial effects of the strike, nor the effects to the body from either point. This lack of basic information is concerning to me, since both points are extremely dangerous; a medium strike will produce a knockout (KO). With a slightly harder blow, both points have been known to be fatal! These points are highly reactive, and even mild strikes to LIV-14 can stop the heart from beating, and also adversely effect the Liver. None of these issues or risks are discussed for this point, nor the majority of the other points.

In addition, the authors provide a large section on application techniques, consisting of 50 waza.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pressure Point Fighting, May 25, 2000

By 

A Reader (in the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Pressure Point Grappling (Paperback)

This is the third book in Mr. Dillman and Thomas' series on Pressure Point Fighting. In terms of overall content, there is a considerable amount of overlap with the material covered in their second book. The authors attempt to cover 60 of the 350+ classical Chinese acupoints (22 on the arms, 21 on the head and neck, 11 on the torso and 5 on the legs), and 4 "extra-ordinary" points (3 on the arms and one on the legs). Of the points covered by Mr. Dillman and Mr. Thomas, only nine are new to this volume; the rest were covered in the previous texts.

In my humble opinion, the point location charts are excellent, and well presented. Some of the theories presented by the authors on the basis of Pressure Point Strikes, as well as the reasons why Pressure Points work, are controversial within the Martial Arts and Medical community.

In many instances, the descriptive information listed for the points is identical to the information given in the second book In fact, the most significant difference is the point location graphics have been greatly improved. In addition, there are some minor changes. For example, the authors have added some text to selected points, describing the use of set-up points to augment certain strikes.

The level of information given on each point is not consistently presented. In general, the authors give a description of the point location, and give what they believe is the anatomical structural association of the point (i.e., why it works in that area of the body). Then they usually (but not always) give a block of text marked "Method" in which they give some point activation instructions and occasionally discuss the results of the strike. This lack of discussion on the effects of the strike / rub / slap came as a great surprise, and may leave some readers disappointed. For example, on page 56, they discuss Liver 14 (LIV-14), simply noting that it is in close proximity to Gall Bladder 24 (GB-24), which lies slightly below it on the rib cage. The authors note that these points are "in close proximity and are used together," by striking them both diagonally. No additional narrative is given regarding the martial effects of the strike, nor the effects to the body from either point. This lack of basic information is concerning to me, since both points are extremely dangerous; a medium strike will produce a knockout (KO). With a slightly harder blow, both points have been known to be fatal! These points are highly reactive, and even mild strikes to LIV-14 can stop the heart from beating, and also adversely effect the Liver. None of these issues or risks are discussed for this point, nor the majority of the other points.

In addition, the authors provide a large section on application techniques, consisting of 50 waza.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Over-Priced, failing to deliver sufficient information, June 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Advanced Pressure Point Grappling-Tuite: Dillman Method of Instant Self-Defense (Hardcover)

This book contains little information per page, prefering oversized graphics and white space. I feel the money could be better spent to buy several books with more information. Dillman leads the buyer to believe that secrets will be revealed, yet the book barely scatches the surface of Pressure Point Arts. Better are the books by Yang Jwing Ming, such as "Shaolin Chi Na".