Much like my last Myth (registering hands as lethal weapons), this myth doesn’t seem to want to go away in spite of zero proof whatsoever, and seems to thrive due to an unfortunate knowledge base of anatomy and logic.

Whenever I do these Myths and Misconceptions, I do some research first to see if the myth is still out there and if people still truly believe or are skeptical and asking where it originated from. To my sadness, not only do I find that these myths are still very much alive, but people have long winded responses with fake information on how it’s true. So, I’ve decided to add this one to the list of myths to debunk.

The myth suggests that if you strike at an upward angle with a palm strike to the nose with enough force, you can jam the nose bone up into the skull and kill someone instantly.

First and foremost, no, this won’t happen. For starters, the nose is comprised primarily of cartilage, not bone. Therefore the cartilage would just get smashed if struck hard enough. What many people are referring to is the portion of the skull that is at the top of the nose, known as the nasal bones. While it’s connected to the skull, it’s a separate set of bones from the skull around it, which is probably why people think it can be dislodged and jammed up into the brain. However, it’s quite fragile compared to the rest of the skull. If struck with the force they say is needed to jam it into the brain, it would just shatter or be crushed instead. While it could do some serious damage to the area around it if shattered, killing the person isn’t on the list of possibilities. That’s not saying you can’t kill someone with enough force striking the face, but it’s not coming from the nasal bone. It would be no different if it were struck to the side of the head or back of the head.

If you still don’t believe me, then look at the millions of times this myth has been tested over the years. From boxing, to MMA to bar fights and so on. People have been punched in the nose from every single angle and I have yet to see a single case where the nasal bone has shot through the brain like a bullet, killing the recipient. Looking at the portion of the brain that would be damaged by where the nasal bone would supposedly enter into and kill someone, this is the Frontal lobe. Damage to this area, while potentially devastating, doesn’t seem likely to kill someone. Maybe mess with their temper or give you memory problems, but not sure if it would kill someone. Though I’m clearly not a brain surgeon. Then again, if you believe in this myth, let me get you my brain surgeon business card.

So, is it possible to kill someone by striking them in the nose at a specific angle and with enough force? Yes. But not because it jammed the nasal bone into the brain, and the angle doesn’t matter much. It’s more about the amount of force striking the head that would do the damage. I just don’t see any possible way to have enough force to jam the nasal bone into the brain without crushing the bone itself, nor have I’ve seen a single case of it happening.

So where did this myth come from? Unfortunately, in spite of my best efforts, I couldn’t find the origin of this myth. My best guess is that it may come from one of two places. One, many boxers/fighters have died in the ring, and the reasons why weren’t always available to the general public. Since the creation of the internet, you can now go back and find all of the reasons why they died, and not one is listed as, “nasal bone driven into brain”. I’m guessing people’s imaginations ran wild. Maybe one boxer died shortly after an uppercut to the nose and assumptions were made. The other possibility I see comes from martial arts instructors. Some of the ridiculous beliefs some instructors hold onto is mind numbing. I’ve heard a few students mention to me that their past instructor has stated this vary myth in class and showed the proper palm strike to make it happen. Set aside the fact that someone is out there teaching how to kill someone when that has nothing to do with self-defense, but to teach and promote a myth such as this is all but criminal in my opinion. Some instructors just can’t let go of things that were taught to them, even when all facts are so easily available. So, the next time you over hear someone spreading this myth, palm heel them hard in the nose to prove them otherwise. Or, if you’d rather avoid jail time, just point them to this blog.