Poking

{{Confusing|date=April 2026}} [[File:Double Poke in the Eye II (39384241195).jpg|thumb|right|alt=a neon and aluminium sculpture depicts two people, each poking the others' eye|''Double Poke in the Eye II'', a 1985 sculpture by Bruce Nauman depicting eye-poking]]

A '''poke''' or '''prod''' is a blow using the tips of one or more fingers.

== Sports ==

In sporting events, a losing fighter will sometimes break the rules and poke someone in the eye, leading to the fight being ruled "no decision," thus preventing the poker from taking a loss.<ref name="yahoo1">{{cite web|last=Holden |first=Eric |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/ufc-address-eye-poke-issue-wake-wagner-prados-145700724--mma.html |title=How Should the UFC Address the "Eye Poke" Issue in the Wake of Wagner Prado's Fight at UFC on Fox 4? Fan's Look - Yahoo! Sports |publisher=Sports.yahoo.com |date=2012-08-05 |accessdate=2012-09-02}}</ref> Some events try to prevent eye poking by having fighters wear gloves with webbing over the fingers.<ref name="yahoo1"/>

== Self-defense ==

In a street fight situation, when one's opponent may be trying to inflict serious harm, martial arts expert Kelly McCann advises that the eyes should be a "persistent primary target".<ref name = "kelly"/> An eye poke needs little power to be effective, and it can stop even highly determined attackers. If the hand is kept at an approximately 45° angle to the opponent's face during the strike, there is less risk of hurting ones fingers, and even if they do not connect with the eye, the palm can impact on the opponent's face.<ref name = "kelly">''Combatives for street survival '', by Kelly McCann, Black Belt Books, {{ISBN|0-89750-176-4}}, (2010, second edition) p 126</ref>

== Comedy ==

The eye poke was a signature move in the slapstick antics of the comedy and vaudeville act The Three Stooges, who mastered the technique. In reality, the Stooges poked each other on the eyebrows to avoid actual injury.<ref>{{citation |title=Fighter's Fact Book |author=Loren W. Christensen |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-880336-37-3 |chapter=The Three Stooges Technique |page=134}}</ref> The form of attack was well known among children who watched the show.<ref>{{cite book|last=Baran|first=Stanley J.|title=The viewer's television book: a personal guide to understanding television and its influence|year=1980|publisher=Penrith Pub. Co.|isbn=0-936522-00-3|page=74|quote=Many of us (and our children) who grew up watching "The Three Stooges" learned the two-fingered eye poke and the defense against that tactic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1999-06-21/news/25499047_1_three-stooges-curly-howard-stooges-films|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714220711/http://articles.philly.com/1999-06-21/news/25499047_1_three-stooges-curly-howard-stooges-films|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2014|title=Three Whoops For The Three Stooges|last=Atkins|first=Larry|date=June 21, 1999|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=8 September 2012}}</ref>

== Targets ==

=== Eyes ===

An '''eye poke''', '''eye jab''', '''eye stab''', '''eye strike''' or '''poke in the eye''' is a strike at the eye or eyes of a human or animal. It is typically made with the fingers which may either be forked to jab both eyes or held together, like a bird's beak, to strike with force and protect the fingers from damage.<ref>{{citation |chapter=The Eye Jab |page=60 |title=Martial Arts Techniques for Law Enforcement |author=Mike Young |year=2006 |publisher=Tuttle |isbn=978-0-8048-3794-1}}</ref><ref>{{citation |page=32 |title=Complete Krav Maga |chapter=Eye Strike |author=Darren Levine, John Whitman |year=2007 |publisher=Ulysses Press |isbn=978-1-56975-573-0}}</ref> The attack became better known among the public due to its use in comedy; the idea of using it to entertain was likely invented by the vaudeville duo of Joe Weber and Lew Fields.<ref>{{cite book|last=Epstein|first=Lawrence J.|title=Mixed nuts: America's love affair with comedy teams : from Burns and Allen to Belushi and Aykroyd|url=https://archive.org/details/mixednutsamerica0000epst|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=PublicAffairs|location=New York|isbn=1-58648-190-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/mixednutsamerica0000epst/page/34 34]}}</ref>

== References ==

== Bibliography ==

* Vannoy-Rhoades, Cynthia (2000). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Iarp2VWp8tkC&dq=%22Eye+poke%22&pg=PA77 ''Conceptual Self Defense'']. Turtle Press. Page 77. {{ISBN|1-880336-54-5}}

Category:Martial arts techniques category:Slapstick comedy category:Violence category:Human eye