Juneberry's Jungle

a lot of time and research, but initially I learned about them in martial arts as a non lethal way to stun/disable an attacker and became fascinated with them.

they have a lot of uses as well, I primarily use them to help my grandfather with the pain he suffers from various injuries over the years so he can sleep at night.

however I've found a lot of uses for them for everything from headaches and tight jaw muscles to stomach cramps.

it's sorta like knowing what buttons to push on a machine to get a desired result.

I am by no means an expert however.

Did you know there's a pressure point in your hand that helps headaches?

Indeed!
though I prefer the one at the base of the kneck given most of mine are caused by muscle tension ^_^

There's one at the base of the neck? Is it safe to use when you have spine damage?

I'm honestly not sure, my grandfather has spine damage but I've never needed to use it on him since I can usually remove muscle tension through normal means.

however It's not on the spine it's self but on either side of it.

there's a point on either side of the spine at the base of the neck where the nerves and muscle ligaments are, in there is a pressure point that causes them to relax thus removing tension headaches, one for each side.

it's sort of where the neck begins to curve from the shoulders.

there's also one just at the edge of the jaw under the ears that can remove sinus pressure and jaw muscle pains.

I don't do the whole jab thing either, I apply a gentle force with steadily increasing pressure until it releases.

it's very safe and difficult to do incorrectly.

I've only ever had to use pressure points for combat once, and that was in self defense when someone had grappled me so I could get out of it.

What pressure point did you use for self defense? It sounds like it might be good to know.

there's several, at the time I was a high school freshman.
I'd been interested in martial arts for some time and had been taking kung fu for a couple years to help with some PTSD and anger issues.
as is probably normal elsewhere the seniors were at the peak of the yearly freshman hazing.
unfortunately at my high school the hazing act was called "Creeking" where they gang up on a person and throw them into a nearby creek.

I had been grabbed and was being held as they began carrying me over to the creek preparing to throw me in.
I was pretty frightened of course and had been trying to desperately escape as I grew closer to the shallow rocky waterway.
I'd realized that I wasn't going to get out with strength given their bigger size and stronger builds so in a desperate move I'd done a pressure point strike, something I'd learned recently at the time, to the one restraining me striking a point in his arm designed to force muscles to spasm briefly.

he dropped me and I quickly got up preparing to run only to find my exit blocked by his two friends.

being smaller I was able to get behind them and utilize another pressure point, this one near the base of the neck on either side of the spinal column specifically designed to stun.

they both fell into the creek and I escaped.

that was the only time I've ever used pressure points for combat.

while my assailants were unharmed, if a bit waterlogged I'd managed to escape.

High school was not a good time for me, I'd managed to garner unwanted attention and my lack of desire to socialize, primarily due to not being interested in other students due to my interests at the time being physics, engineering, computing, etc, had painted a target on my back, not only among many students but staff as well, to the point that I was put in special education despite not needing it.

I really didn't get involved in social relationships and I kind of regret this in hind sight, however I've since corrected this failing.

during the following year I left high school and went on to get my GED after I'd had my home searched for WMD's due to that same negative attention.
During one of my few attempts to socialize I'd answered a rather joking question about creating a weapon from science fiction, specifically a light saber, explaining about magnetic fields, plasma confinement, power sources, etc.
unfortunately someone took my explanation the wrong way and assumed that because I had this knowledge I was part of some sort of terrorist group involving atomic weapons and I was escorted out of the school and to my home by swat teams much to my family's shock.

this was about 10 years ago right around the economic depression

of course nobody found anything, primarily because I kept my browser history clean out of a sense of paranoia and any notes I had I'd taken on an old 286 on floppy discs which the search ignored.
I was rather lucky in that regard because had they found that they'd likely have started confiscating stuff

All charges were dropped of course because there was nothing to find, I just happened to be an introverted, intelligent teenager who felt it difficult in communicating with his peers due to their inability to understand concepts that many college students struggle with.

after this incident I'd been jokingly referred to as a mad scientist by my peers and it kind of stuck, so I kind of ran with it.
I'd soon became disinterested in my grades and the bulk of my studies simply because I'd already read the material and was able to correctly answer tests however due to the school keeping me in special education I was unable to take advance courses, extra circulars, or attempt to move up a grade.
I spent most of my time there reading science fiction and text books I'd borrowed from the library.
it was also around then I began wearing trench coats and shades rather than the normal fashions of the time having been inspired by fiction and media.

I later discovered that other than my anti-social tendencies which were simply disinterest there was no real reason for the school to put me in special ed and that they were keeping me there due to receiving funding on a per student basis for the class.
it was about two months later that I dropped out and gained several college credits in astronomy as well as studying a year of botany at a tech school with the school districts blessing, primarily after my family had pushed and gotten the truth about everything revealed with the principle and vice principles of the school being replaced.

I would have to wait until I was 18 to get my GED due to federal policies at the time, the no child left behind act hindering my ability and desire to learn and grow ahead of my peers, or at least that's what I'd been told.

Did you end up getting your GED then?

Yes, passed on my first attempt

What was the hardest part of the exam? <- person who needs to take it eventually still