hand at right angles to the arm attacked. This is very useful when the inside of the elbow is assailed, but at all other points impact at an angle of forty-five degrees is to be preferred.
At the side, just below the lower rib, the edge-of-the-hand blow may be delivered with telling effect. At whichever angle it is struck the results are about the same. In actual combat the blow should not be used unless it becomes absolutely necessary in defence. It drives all the breath out of the victim, and, when delivered with sufficient force, will leave the uninitiated enemy with muscles that will be very sore for some days to come.
For the man who seeks strength alone this blow against the side is useful in hardening the muscles there. A Japanese master of jiu-jitsu will withstand a very heavy blow at this point, whether delivered with hand or stick, without so much as wincing. The Japanese student is so gradually trained that, once the possible pain of the blow has been shown him, he feels no more, for in time the side at that point above indicated becomes all but pain-proof. The same blow is employed against the middle
