Targeting the Inner Knee For Quick Takedowns

Focusing on targets instead of techniques is one key principle of self defense that I constantly harp on. The trick is knowing the right targets and picking the right one at the right time.

Without going into detail breaking a fight down second by second it is difficult to say which is the right target for the moment (it changes every second of a fight), but I can tell you one great target that you should always have in your mind, the inside of the knee.

The inside of the knee is a particularly weak point of the human body. And it is almost always open for attack.

People almost always guard their heads in a fight. Which makes a lot of sense, but one good kick to the inside of the knee will take a guy down (no matter how big he is) just as easy as an eye gouge or throat strike, maybe even easier. That’s what makes it such a good self defense target.

The best part is this target is accessible even when you are being held from behind.

Imagine this situation:

You have just been attacked from behind with no warning and are being choked out. The choke from behind is a pretty typical attack that any self defense system must address.

You try a foot stomp but he is wearing boots what do you do?

You go for the inside knee. Nobody wears knee protection!

Why does an inside knee strike take a person down?

The knee is a pretty rugged joint in most respects. We have a knee cap to protect it from the front. The outside of the knee is also pretty strong and bony. It just collapses and protects itself if you kick it from behind. But the inside is weak and a strike there can be permanently damaging.

A kick to the inside of the knee can damage the soft tissue of the knee joint immobilizing a person. And in a self defense situation immobilizing the attacker gives you the ability to escape!

Once this soft tissue is damaged the joint will no longer work, you can’t hard core it no matter how tough you are.

That’s because it’s not about toughness, the knee can literally not longer hold up the weight of the body.

Stay tuned for the next post where I will go through a step by step guide to striking the inner knee and immobilizing any attacker.