Everything is Possible: The Vulcan Nerve Pinch

The Vulcan nerve pinch was first introduced by Leonard Nimoy because he didn’t like the idea of his character Mr. Spock being physically violent or using a gun. So instead, Nimoy invented a special pinch. “Producers saw it in the rushes — the dailies — the next day and said: ‘That’s a great idea. Let’s keep using that,’” Nimoy said in an interview.

And so the Vulcan nerve pinch (also known as the Spock pinch) stayed, and was used by other characters over time — Data, Captain Michael Burnham, and an alternate-universe version of Kirk.

Is There a Real World Equivalent of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch?

Growing up, I always wondered if there was a real world equivalent of the Vulcan nerve pinch. The closest I ever saw on TV was Xena Warrior Princess’s neck pinch, but it was a lot more violent, since it involved her poking a pressure point on her enemy’s jugular. The move was usually lethal, but she could undo it by poking it again. Something similar happened in old TV shows, where characters used a karate chop to knock out or sometimes kill the bad guy.

However all of these seem more violent than the Vulcan nerve pinch. And all of these do have a real world example — they’re various ways to damage the carotid artery. If a forceful blow is administered to the…