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Spy movies frequently feature a suicide pill, which a spy would ingest if caught, preferring to die than being interrogated by the enemy.

Could martial arts be used to the same effect? E.g., imagine a martial arts expert who was a spy is captured and placed by the enemy in a room where he has no weapons. Suppose, even, it's a special room adapted to hold those who're a suicide risk, e.g., no hard walls (maybe whatever they use in psychiatric hospitals). Suppose also the spy is stripped naked, but he isn't tied up.

What could a martial arts expert who was a spy do in these circumstances to kill himself effectively, without using any devices or substances but his own body, and a few long minutes to spare while no one's watching?

jchevali
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because martial arts don't really cover self harm AND, more importantly, there's a whole sector of the internet of people looking for possible methods of suicide - even assuming someone comes up with a meaningful answer, it would be on the same level as harmful medical advice, which is disallowed here. – Bankuei Jul 29 '17 at 19:43
  • @Bankuei I think it's clear we're talking about a fictional realm here, since it'd be quite impractical for someone to become an expert, years of study, etc., just to take his own life. Sure, there could be some experts out there who turn to suicide, but those wouldn't probably be asking SO. I know nothing about martial arts, but I figure targeting one's neck could be a start. However, as a non-expert, it'd be foolish to hit myself, as that'd cause at best only pain, and at worst disablement, but not death, and once disabled, there's no second chance. That's why IMO only an expert could do it. – jchevali Jul 30 '17 at 11:47
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    I was looking up stuff on chokeholds awhile back - ended up finding entire forums of people looking for techniques on suicide trying to figure out ways to utilize that knowledge for self harm. That alone makes it a rather sketchy place to provide an real information, including informed guesses, on the topic of self harm. – Bankuei Jul 30 '17 at 15:05
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    IMO this "what if" type of question is more likely to bring speculation than a real use for readers. – Daniel Reis Jul 30 '17 at 20:07
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    Also flagged as off topic because it falls between general medical advice and self harm – pojo-guy Jul 30 '17 at 20:36
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    Yes, plenty of ways to kill oneself. Don't even need martial arts. And no, we're not telling you, for obvious reasons. – Steve Weigand Aug 01 '17 at 03:08
  • @DanielReis Yours is the only reason against answering this question that resonates with me. – jchevali Aug 01 '17 at 09:24
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    Personally I'm not a fan of fictional situations, they serve no purpose in a Q&A site. This question could have some merit if there was some historical documentation of this happening, but other than that this question cannot be practically answered. – slugster Aug 02 '17 at 04:50

1 Answers1

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My BJJ practitioner friends and I were talking about this recently. Naturally we decided a choke would be the best method.

You would need to lay on your stomach. Make two fists, and put them in your neck, one on each carotid artery. flair your elbows out a little bit, and rest on them. Drop the weight of your head down. If your elbows don't move, you're good. Now you wait. A good Rear Naked Choke takes ~5 seconds to put someone to sleep. Without the RNC squeeze, we guess it would take 10-15 seconds. Once you're out, the blood choke would continue, eventually killing you in no longer than 10 minutes.

This is just an educated guess though, as obviously we didn't try it. We did test the position and found out that you are able to stabilize your elbows, so it SHOULD work. If you don't have enough weight to complete the choke, prop up your knees on something.

coinbird
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