A peroneal strike is a temporarily disabling

blow Blow commonly refers to: * Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blo ...

to the common fibular (peroneal) nerve of the leg, just above the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the ...

. The attacker aims roughly a

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

span above the exterior side of the knee, towards the back of the leg. This causes a temporary loss of

motor control Motor control is the regulation of movement in organisms that possess a nervous system. Motor control includes reflexes as well as directed movement. To control movement, the nervous system must integrate multimodal sensory information (both ...

of the leg, accompanied by numbness and a painful tingling sensation from the point of impact all the way down the leg, usually lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 hours in duration. The strike is commonly made with the knee, a

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

, or

shin kick Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese gi ...

, but can be done by anything forcefully impacting the nerve. The technique is a part of the pressure point control tactics used in martial arts and by

law enforcement agent The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

s. The peroneal strike was used against detainees during the 2002 Bagram torture and prisoner abuse scandal.Rashid, Ahmed. ''Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia''. 2008. New York: Viking Penguin, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peroneal Strike Law enforcement techniques Violence

See also

References