Acudo ryu

The Evolution of Acudo ryu

Ever since the beginning of the times of Martial Art, whenever it was, dangerous points have been used to harm the body. Students were greatly impressed by their masters pressing - or striking a point to make the opponent faint. Gradually the fame of the science of dangerous points had grown to become a type of legend. When the Martial Arts entered the Cinema the viewers wanted three things Breaking of bricks, spectacular Fights and mystical points that killed. The old Myth about Dim-mak or delayed death was built. A good example in the film “Bloodsport” van Damme is challenged to use a Dim-mak to break a brick. The price for managing this was the access to enter the fights. The three preferred things of the viewers. Gradually, Dim-mak, gained fame around the world. As a result many masters started to clamed knowledge about these dangerous techniques.

Many youngsters went to the dojo to learn to break bricks with their bare fist just to discover that much of this were simple party tricks. The eyes then turned to the dangerous points. Many were those who searched for this knowledge. Just to find them self deeply into katas and normal martial art exercises. Year passed and the dangerous points seemed to be reduced to hit solar plexus and the tip of the nose. The master did actually not know the dangerous points, and if he knows some he often don’t know how to use them. If he knows some points it is most likely to only be a small hand full of dangerous points. For sure, it exist masters with a good insight into these dangerous points.

As a result of a deep interest in these dangerous points among a circle of Martial Art Artists it was arranged a meeting in China at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in 1997. Where the goal were to gather true information about this dangerous points and their mechanisms. Interesting were that the majority of the attendees were Doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. Since until this day this legendary points having nether been not systematized or accessible to the public. These People had the Foundation of what to be named Acudo. The People were Brought together by the Interest of the Inner Secrets of the Art - the Art of Budo. The Person Responsible for this Happening was me, Nils Erik Volden. With this as a Major Motivation We made the Foundation for a System called ACUDO. The name Acudo is developed from the words acupuncture and does (the way). Acudo literary that acupuncture is the way of this martial art. The word Acudo are used to indicate some knowledge used in this art rather than being an indicator for the medical system of acupuncture. An Association was made, World Acudo Association (WAA), to protect the interests of Acudo. Through the job as the president of WAA I have had the pleasure to be in a Central Position to help Acudo flourish.

The 1997 founding meeting decided the pathway of Acudo. WAA started a close cooperation project with The Norwegian Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Norsk skole for tradisjonell kinesisk medisin) and its partners. Where it were done research on the effects and side effects of the acupuncture points. The negative effects were collected by WAA and added to the WAA-database. The data collected were basically related to map the weaknesses of the body and try to explain relevant human mechanisms. This continued for a period of five years. Then WAA declared that the basis science of Acudo was settled. A new refined and down to point that a complete martial art system emerged. To mark this Acudo were renamed Acudo ryu. Acudo ryu having still close relations to the acupuncture schools and is still gathering information of relevance for Budo purposes.

From 1997 until now, Acudo ryu has spread to all continents of the world. Today is exist Acudo kas on all continents of different Acudo ryu degree. Slowly but steady martial arts masters starts to immatriculate Acudo techniques in other styles. Today we see an increasing interest of the style. In a way we can say that the World of Martial Art now is building its old knowledge of dangerous points stronger through Acudo ryu. It is important to understand that Acudo ryu is not a competition to the existing styles. It is better to see it like a complement that can be exercised individually.

Acudo is inspired by Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wu shu, Kung fu, Kodokan judo, Shaolin Qin na, Tai chi, Dianxue and Qi gong. These styles of martial art are by no means the same as Acudo ryu. They made the foundation for the new martial art. Classical styles like Kung fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Ju jitsu and Aikido also gave their contributions to Acudo ryu. Acudo ryu is not a static system, but rather an adaptive and strongly dynamic system. Different other styles of martial art will gain some profit from Acudo ryu. Benefits will go through adjusting or understanding the old techniques deeper. As a result the understanding of the Martial Art is getting better and thereby the practitioner more skilled. This rather new system is not a derivate of any other style. It is not a sort of Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Ninjutsu or Kung fu. It is simply Acudo ryu; the art of acupuncture points.

Today you will find Acudo as a martial art system who actively uses acupuncture points and meridians. In addition does Acudo use the science of the skeleton, nerves, blood vessels, clinical psychology and fighting psychology and everything is guided by an inner knowledge of Chinese philosophy. Acudo is by nature a very adaptive martial art system, something who means that it both changes with time and adjusts to new research. Acudo ryu does not originally have any kata or fixed techniques. But an after realizing the need for standard techniques it was decided by WAA that a kata borrowed from the Shaolin temple should be included. This was the standard Shaolin Qinna kata. Whom many of the manual techniques are taken from. Beside this kata Acudo ryu is a rather free system within the limitations of qi.

Acudo is a specialized martial art, in that it uses the Acupuncture points. In a way it is possible to clam that Acudo uses the knowledge which lies within this ancient medical system. By using this system, a powerful and unique martial art emerged. A practitioner of Acudo not only masters Acupuncture points and Qi, but he also masters the Science of anatomy, physiology and psychology. In practice, a person will use Acudo to press, apply pressure, strike, hit and kick at a specific Acupuncture point or points. In addition to this he will also manipulate joints, tendons, muscular junctions and nerve points. In short, by using and taking advantage of the internal energy and weaknesses within the body an advantage in gained. This internal energy that is manipulated is better known as Qi; the Chinese concept of energy.

For other practitioners it is easier to see Acudo as a type of Atemi in Japanese or Dim-mak (death touch) in Chinese. I often choose to call it a type of Atemi because the word Dim-mak points originally to killing techniques who Acudo is more than. The first person mentioned in literature about Dim-mak is Chang San Feng (1300 AD). Chang is named as the inventor of Taijiquan. Something indicating that the founder was interested in dangerous points. Through research WAA having found many interesting links between acupuncture points and Taijiquan techniques. Going back in history we find that acupuncture points have been used intensively in China. This is shown among others in the historical classic Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen (The yellow emperor) the oldest medical classic in the world dating back 3- 2500 years. Acudo is a system of strikes and painful joint holds aimed to use some of the 361 standard acupuncture points and more than 1000 extra points. The focus within Acudo ryu is very similar to Qin Na (Chin Na) and Dianxue.

Qin Na is a Chinese method of controlling, take downs, breaking bones, joint manipulation and the use of pressure points. At the Shaolin Temple this is regarded as a specialized training and the techniques are only thought to qualified students only after an approval of the Shaolin master. Acudo ryu is closely related to the Shaolin Qin Na. WAA have arranged several trips to the Shaolin temple. Through the years the Shaolin masters have given insights of their knowledge of Qinna. Same goes for Dianxue. Dianxue is the art of hitting and squeezing acupuncture points. In Chinese WAA call Acudo officially for Dianxue.

Based on a profound knowledge of human anatomy and - physiology The Atemi strikes within Acudo gives several advantages: Atemi strikes require no flamboyant stances, no flashy movement, they are direct and decisive. In this way a person with knowledge of Acudo can give a fatal blow quickly to end a life threatening confrontation or a use a quick disabling strike - minimum power, little effort and maximum effect. Through using Acudo in a real way it is possible to give the victim a pressure without him feeling anything special, but he can feel very bad after immediately or days later. The legend of dim-mak talks about delayed death. Acudo can certainty: in the hands of a skilful practitioner paralyze, maim or kill.

Acudo ryu is dedicated to make the Ultimate out of any Martial Art Technique. This is done through using the Science of Acudo on Martial Art Techniques. Acudo is practiced by Practitioners of several different styles but pure Acudo ryu Practitioners also exists. One of the most important goals with Acudo is to use the weaknesses of the body in the Pursuit of the ultimate technique. It is three important issues in the theoretical foundation: acupuncture points, yin/ yang and qi. Acudo Philosophy is to manipulate the body according to its fundamental principles. The rationale goes like following. The body is built according to our genetic code, and the genes give us several common human features. Chinese medicine have ways do explain this shared features. Giving us a tool to predict how the body functions and how we can manipulate with it. The starting point is to understand qi. Qi is the guiding principle in the body closely related to the other used words like Prana and Energy. In the context of Acudo ryu we analyze qi like a prolongation of Li. Li is jing in the body or our bodily essence. Making Li become the philosophical equal of our genetically structure. What our Li gives of information to out body will give a reaction, a reaction that results in Qi. Qi is the reflection of Li. In Li there is information that makes the limitation of how our body can function. Making our qi less free and govern by Li. In martial arts this gives us an edge on any opponent. Since all movements are predictable within the Li framework.

The movement of the body is qi in circulation. By reading qi in the light of the predictable li a picture is evolving. The next step is to use the yin/ yang theory as a tool in analyzing this behavior. To make commonsense of this we need to know that we have both acupuncture points and meridians that is categorized as yin and others like yang. Through combining the knowledge of yin/ yang we can explain why a movement of a yang type will make a person’s yang acupuncture points more open for stimulation. At the same time it exist a method to find the most open acupuncture points on a meridian. All together this makes the Acudo master able to see the opponent as a open book of signals where the weaknesses are disclosed. For example if a opponent give a normal punch with his right hand the following happens. This is in general a yang movement. Making the yang meridians on the active body part more active: in this case the sanjiao, stomach and the large intestine meridian. All the points are activated through the movement and ready to be used. At the same time the opponent initiate a yang movement with his right hand he is needed to initiate a yin movement equal but opposite the yang movement with his left hand. Making his left hand more activated on his yin meridians: in this case the heart, pericardium and lung meridian. As on the right hand all the points on these meridians are activated and ready to be used. According to the way the hit is given we select the actual meridian. There are three basic movements according to the Tendino-muscular meridians to give and land a normal hit. Landing the fist in the little finger direction (Small intestine TMM), ring finger direction (San jiao TMM) or index finger direction (Large intestine TMM). All these movements are possible to judge after some training in Acudo ryu. Of course the opposite will happen simultaneously on the left side, but the meridians will change from Small intestine to Heart, San jiao to Pericardium and from Large intestine to Lung. In the meridian we have a circulation of qi. On yang meridians of the hand this circulation goes from the fingernails to the head, and on the yin meridians of the hand this circulation goes from the chest region to the finger tips. If we want to manipulate with this qi we need to understand how qi can be afflicted. Of course all hitting will give pain and reduced movement, but we are interested in the innermost effect of the point. Through hitting against the flow we create pain and through hitting with the flow we create radiation. Radiation gives more movement than pain, but pain gives more demobilization. Everything is a battle to arrange your opponent so that you can land your finishing technique.

Let us take a step back at look at Dim-mak. Going straight to the essence Dim-mak is according to the legend or myth that though hitting a point the opponent will die weeks after. Another myth is the story about people who say that they were knocked out but they were in fact never touched. This is often explained with that the strike were to fast to see or simply that knock out often gives the person being knocked a lost of memory from the second just before he went into knock out. Dim-mak is filled with myths and legends. The word Dim-mak or Dim Hsueh is Chinese and means Death Touch or Touch of Death. Some means that the more correct translation of the Chinese character should be Poison Hand. Dim-mak is an aproximate Cantonese pronunciation written in pinyin as Dianxue. Pinyin is the common Chinese language and Cantonese is the common language in the South of China. Dim-mak is the Ancient Chinese Martial Art of using Vital Points of an opponents body; once forbidden in Chinese kung fu. Most of these techniques are using acupuncture points as it basis. Often we find that the name of the acupuncture points are changed a little to fit the new use. These techniques are engineered to cause specific moments in the opponent, knock-out, Death, control the opponent or a specified delayed reaction. Many see Dim-mak as the mother of the Japanese Atemi. As of the core is much the same.

As we have yin we also have yang. Dim-mak is made to kill an opponent. Then we also have a type of Dim-mak who is made to only afflict the opponent with pain, this aspect is called Dar-Mak. In Dar-Mak we see that the pain principle is more central. By inflicting a sudden, sharp pain to interrupt an attack and at the same time use of this short lapse to position ourselves in an advantageous position, from where another technique would be used on the opponent. Dar-mak is in a way the little brother to Dim-mak.

Vital points on the body are manipulated for effect. The Dim-mak - and Dar-mak points are the same as used within Acupuncture. There under the name acupuncture pints. All Martial Arts focusing on the Acupuncture points will have some roots in Dim-mak or Dar-mak. In Japan this way of fighting were commonly called Atemi. Atemi means Hit (ate) body or person (mi) in Japanese. Atemi means in short to strike the body. The Chinese Dim-mak and Dar-mak is Atemi in Japan. Atemi is systematization of strikes and joint manipulations often using acupuncture points. There is many not knowing this close and intimate relation regarding the acupuncture points. Acupuncture is a fundamental part of Chinese Medical Science that clame that energy called qi circulate along specific pathways called meridians on the human body. On this meridians there exist hundreds of acupuncture points. Through Pressing, seizing or striking these points or by using combinations of points and at certain angles the practitioner can heighten or diminishing the qi circulation in the body. By manipulating qi in the body the opponent will react in different ways everything from pain to death can occur.

The most commonly used dangerous points or vital points are the 361 standard acupuncture points and 50 standard extraordinary acupuncture points. A total of 411 acupuncture points. This is points that actively are used in the Acudo ryu techniques the actual action is often called for Dim-mak, Dar-mak, Dianxue, Qinna or Atemi all depending. Many of this points are useless to kill, but very useful to give pain.

Some famus techniques used in Acudo ryu are trauma to carotid artery and commotion cordis:
Trauma to carotid artery. The carotid artery is very reseptive to trauma. The main reason to this is the location of the carotid artery on the side of the neck providing blood to the head. It is easy to administrate Acudo ryu techniques at this artery. The Carotid sinus area is especially sensitive for manipulations like pressure and blows. The essence in understanding this point, st 9 and st10, is to understand where the artery divides into two branches. This is the anatomical weak point on the artery. To injure the blood vessel walls on this spot is to be regarded as easy. Leading to conditions like: Stroke caused by thrombosis followed by partial paralysis, neurological problems and possible death. Applied force on the Carotid artery might vary from a hard blow to a innocent touch. Again the most important feature is speed to get Dim-mak, delayed death.
Commotio cordis. This is a cardiac concussion; a syndrome in which a no penetrating impact to the chest causes heart failure. Commotio cordis does not give any structural damage to the external body. By getting a hard blow to the chest (ren17 or Ki24) it is possible that the heart stops with death as a result from ventricular fibrillation. This is a state in which the lower parts of the heart stop pumping blood. This is a true Dimmak using commotion cordis you need a relatively little force, but it is more important with speed. For the technical interested the essence to this technique is to strike within a 15-20 millisecond window in the heartbeat cycle. Death does not need to occur immediately since deaths related to Commotio cordis occur after hours so Dim-mak, delayed death.

When it comes to use acupuncture points in a Acudo technique it is a few important issues to pay attention to. Issues summed like LDASA. Of outmost importance is the Location of the acupuncture point. The second most important is the Depth of the impact on the point. The third most important aspect is the correct Angle of the impact. The forth most important aspect is perhaps the most important, a high Speed of the impact. The fifth most important aspect is the Analysis of the opponent.

An example of an Acudo ryu technique is a stroke to St9 is located on the top of the vegas nerve, the cartoid artery and the carotid sinus. If a light strike lands at St9 it will cause knock out. Done properly it can result in a delayed death. The main reason to this is that the carotid sinus reflex controls the blood pressure to the head. Hitting the carotid sinus sends a strong signal to the heart via the vegas nerve to slow down, blood pressure drops and the opponent faints, is knocked out. If St9 is hitted to hard the heart gets in huge problems and might stop. As a result the opponent will die. Due to this potential result it is not advisable to play with Acudo techniques. Demonstrations of knocking out opponents at St9 are to be regarded as an extremely dangerous act. If not resulting in immediately fainting, the stroke might create a traumatic injury on a small section of the interior wall of the cartoid artery. This injury might eventually detach itself from the wall and flow to the brain where it will cause a clot resulting in a stroke and possible death. The time prospect of this process can be everything from a few weeks to years; as a Dim-mak. Acudo ryu is a Martial art who focuses on striking a target once to concer the opponent. Acudo ryu is Elegant, Impressive and Effective. Press a point on the hand and the opponent falls like being drunk. Hit is lightly and he will lose his mobility for some time. Hit it strongly and he can faint.

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