On our way come from school, a boy at least 6 yrs older grabbed both my friend's wrists & his 2 friends were closing fast. Feeling that grappling @ his hands would be ineffective, I stepped behind him & sought the spot on his spine that was on a line with his mid-scapulae & hit him with my ulnar-side fist. Not knowing why I had wanted that 1 spot, I was extremely surprised when he huffed out air, released my friend, & slowly sank to his knees. While his 2 wingmen stopped to check on the bully, my friend & I got away. What the is that spot? Why did that work?
Backstory: I was 10 & had no training; no one I knew had training. As an adult, I became a registered occupational therapist with a emphasis on hand & upper extremity rehab. As a kid, the weird bit for me was the calm & wider perceptual field: "knowing" how much time I had before his 2 friends arrived; that it would be risky to try to release his hands; that to "find the spot" I had to search for "the line" running across his spine to reveal my target, and the certainty. It WAS as if I knew what I was doing, but I was only going on instinct. As an adult, I later understood that there are powerful centers on the body that can be used for wide effects, but this was never explained. The boy was fine but I got in trouble. Was wearing an identifiable catholic school pinafore, was reported & the nuns did not want to hear my opinion it was justifiable,that my friend was scared & I was not willing to find out what 3 bullies might do. Whatever meta-mind place the info came from, I was grateful, but remain curious about the whole experience & that spot. Thanks for any opinions.
