Zapped!!

Yesterday was my first test in Kali Majapahit.
I was in bad shape. I had to go to Sydney last week, and got sick mid-Afternoon Thursday. By test time I had eaten no food at all for about 2.5 days and already lost 7 pounds. I felt very weak to say the least.

Somehow I made it through the test and did OK. The most interesting thing, and the point of this post, is that during the empty hand application I got thrown down and somehow Frederick and I hit heads. I got smacked on the back of the head right where the head begins to curve up off of the spine. What happened?

To try and describe it, a bright flash of pain, and electrical shocks all the way down my arms and to the tips of my fingers. Wow. I haven't felt anything like that since I trained in the US nearly 20 years ago. I was stunned, and Guro Fred kindly checked me out to make sure I did not have a concussion or anything long-lasting. I was back up in 5 minutes or so.

I have written before in other posts about how the body is basically a hydro-electric system.
This is what I mean. Disruption (especially due to blunt force traumatic shock) causes electrical signals down the nervous system, in effect "shorting" the circuits. It hurts. This was not a massive shot, but it still would have been enough to put me out of a fight.

At the base of the spine, where it connects to the head, is an area of the brain called the medulla oblongata, which controls the basic motor functions like heartbeat, respiration, and so on. It also happens to be only thinly protected by the skull, especially relative to other parts of the brain.

This is an area where, if struck even mildly, the victim will almost certainly lose consciousness instantly. A direct, forceful blow usually causes coma or death. I missed hitting mine by about 3 inches, and I am very glad for that.



this is what a hard shot to the medulla oblongata feels like




BE VERY CAREFUL ALWAYS!
DO NOT PRACTICE WITHOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR NEARBY!

The life you save could be your own.