| Done wrong, the thumb gouge to the eye is | | | | aggressor were to try to push you away from |
| almost useless . . . but done right, it is one of the | | | | him, a keylock will automatically force your thumb |
| most dangerous and effective self defense | | | | even more forcefully into his eye. |
| techniques that street fighting or WWII | | | | 4. Aim your thumb gouges with your palms and |
| combative training has to offer. Read on, to learn | | | | fingertips--If you were to try to shoot your |
| the five simple guidelines to the effective use of | | | | thumb directly out into an aggressor's eye, you |
| thumb gouges to the eyes: | | | | would miss much more often than not. Instead, |
| 1. Don't "poke" the eyes, gouge past | | | | first make contact somewhere on your attacker's |
| them--Regardless of whether you are trying to | | | | body with the palm of your hand. As soon as you |
| control someone through the use of pressure | | | | have made contact with your palm, you should be |
| against his eyes or are actually trying to destroy | | | | able to run you hand along his body and find his |
| the eyeball, don't ever just poke at the eye itself | | | | head, even with your eyes close or in the dark. |
| like a little kid. Rather you should try to force | | | | When your palm is on the side of his head, find |
| your thumb between the eye socket and the | | | | his ears with the tips of your fingers, which will |
| eyeball into the skull. This will cause more pain, | | | | bring your thumbs automatically into position to |
| more fear and continued, increasing pressure will | | | | gouge the eyes. Try it on yourself right now: Put |
| either destroy the eyeball or pop it out of the | | | | the palm of your right hand on the right side of |
| skull. | | | | your face and touch your right ear with your |
| 2. Thumb the eyes from the inside--If you were | | | | fingertips. Now circle your thumb around and it will |
| to place your thumb between the eyeball and eye | | | | automatically go between your nose and eyeball, |
| socket on the outside of his eye, near his temple | | | | as when using a thumb gouge to get out of a |
| and he were to push your hand away, that would | | | | choke from behind. Put your right palm on the left |
| be the end of your thumb gouge. If you had | | | | side of your face, fingertips on your left ear and |
| chosen to gouge the eye between the eye and | | | | your thumb automatically goes into position to |
| the nose, on the inside of his face and he were | | | | gouge the eye, like a thumb gouge to someone |
| to force your hand to the side, he would have to | | | | standing in front of you. |
| rake your thumb across the entire surface of his | | | | 5. Make hooks with your thumbs--As you can |
| own eyeball, causing pain and damage to himself. | | | | imagine, the optimal body weapon for causing pain |
| 3. Don't gouge with one hand, keylock around his | | | | to and / or damaging the eyes is a small or |
| head or neck--I hate it when I see pictures of | | | | pointy one. Therefore, you need to be sure that |
| inexperienced trainers just grabbing a person's | | | | you are always using the tip of your thumb and |
| head and forcing their thumbs into his eyes. If | | | | not the wide and soft pad to apply pressure. A |
| you were to do that, he could easily just push or | | | | very simple way to make sure that you do this is |
| pull your hands away. Now imagine holding his | | | | to make a hook with your thumb. In other words, |
| head in a sort of headlock, keylocking your arms | | | | curl your thumb in so that contact with your |
| (a keylock is a way to cross both forearms to | | | | opponents head is only made with your palms and |
| control a part of an opponent's body and | | | | the tip, not the flat pad of your finger. This holds |
| simultaneously combine the strength of both arms | | | | true regardless of whether you are attacking with |
| on a hold) and then thumb gouging his eye. Its | | | | your thumb or the other fingers. |
| hard to explain a keylock in words, but, if an | | | | |