PPCT PRESSURE POINT CONTROL TACTICS
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION — 2026/2027
ACADEMIC YEAR |200 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
COVERING ALL FOUR CORE DOMAINS WITH
VERIFIED CORRECT RESPONSES
DOMAIN I: FOUNDATIONS OF PPCT & USE OF FORCE
SCIENCE
1. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is divided into two branches. What are
they?
✅ Correct Answer: Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic
Nervous System (PNS)
2. What is the primary function of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)?
✅ Correct Answer: Activates the "fight or flight" response during stressful or
threatening situations
3. What is the primary function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)?
✅ Correct Answer: Operates in quiet, non-stressful conditions; "rest and digest"
functions
4. A person can experience up to what percentage reduction in peripheral
vision during SNS activation?
✅ Correct Answer: 70% reduction
5. What is the Inverted-U Law?
✅ Correct Answer: A concept that examines the optimal heart rate zone for
,optimal performance; as arousal increases, motor performance increases to a point,
but if arousal is too high, performance decreases
6. What is the optimal heart rate range for combat performance according to
PPCT?
✅ Correct Answer: 115-145 beats per minute (BPM)
7. What happens to fine motor skills as heart rate exceeds 115 BPM?
✅ Correct Answer: Fine motor skills begin to decrease in effectiveness
8. What happens to complex motor skills as heart rate exceeds 145 BPM?
✅ Correct Answer: Complex motor skills begin to decrease in effectiveness
9. Which type of motor skill increases in effectiveness as heart rate increases?
✅ Correct Answer: Gross motor skills
10. What are the three basic motor skill classifications?
✅ Correct Answer: Fine motor skills, complex motor skills, and gross motor skills
11. What is Critical Incident Amnesia?
✅ Correct Answer: A form of temporary amnesia that occurs subsequent to SNS
mass discharge, which includes the release of the stress hormone cortisol
12. How can memory recall be improved after a critical incident?
✅ Correct Answer: The first sleep period increases recall by 50-90%; most
complete recovery occurs after the second sleep period
13. What are the three mental states during combat identified by PPCT?
✅ Correct Answer: Combat Anxiety (anticipation of danger), Survival Stress (deadly
force threat activates SNS), and Combat Stress (post-event symptoms from SNS to
PNS "backlash")
14. What is Combat Anxiety?
✅ Correct Answer: The anticipation of danger
, 15. What is Survival Stress?
✅ Correct Answer: A deadly force threat that activates the Sympathetic Nervous
System
16. What is Combat Stress?
✅ Correct Answer: Mental and physiological symptoms resulting from the SNS
activation and sudden return to PNS; also known as "PNS Backlash"
17. What are the four triggers that activate the SNS?
✅ Correct Answer: Objective threat perceptions, objective fear perceptions,
physical exhaustion, and startle response
18. What triggers the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) to activate?
✅ Correct Answer: Perception that the threat has diminished, injury or trauma to a
vital system, or exhaustion of the aerobic/anaerobic systems
19. What is the definition of reaction time?
✅ Correct Answer: The time to see, analyze, and initiate a physical response
20. What is the definition of movement time?
✅ Correct Answer: The time from initiation of a motor skill to its completion
21. What is the definition of response time?
✅ Correct Answer: Reaction time + movement time
22. What is Hick's Law?
✅ Correct Answer: If you have more than one option to select from, your reaction
time increases; each option added increases reaction time by 58% or 150
milliseconds
23. What are the three stages of memory?
✅ Correct Answer: Short-term sensory store, short-term memory, and long-term
memory
24. What is the basis of all PPCT striking techniques?
✅ Correct Answer: The Fluid Shockwave Principle
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION — 2026/2027
ACADEMIC YEAR |200 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
COVERING ALL FOUR CORE DOMAINS WITH
VERIFIED CORRECT RESPONSES
DOMAIN I: FOUNDATIONS OF PPCT & USE OF FORCE
SCIENCE
1. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is divided into two branches. What are
they?
✅ Correct Answer: Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic
Nervous System (PNS)
2. What is the primary function of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)?
✅ Correct Answer: Activates the "fight or flight" response during stressful or
threatening situations
3. What is the primary function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)?
✅ Correct Answer: Operates in quiet, non-stressful conditions; "rest and digest"
functions
4. A person can experience up to what percentage reduction in peripheral
vision during SNS activation?
✅ Correct Answer: 70% reduction
5. What is the Inverted-U Law?
✅ Correct Answer: A concept that examines the optimal heart rate zone for
,optimal performance; as arousal increases, motor performance increases to a point,
but if arousal is too high, performance decreases
6. What is the optimal heart rate range for combat performance according to
PPCT?
✅ Correct Answer: 115-145 beats per minute (BPM)
7. What happens to fine motor skills as heart rate exceeds 115 BPM?
✅ Correct Answer: Fine motor skills begin to decrease in effectiveness
8. What happens to complex motor skills as heart rate exceeds 145 BPM?
✅ Correct Answer: Complex motor skills begin to decrease in effectiveness
9. Which type of motor skill increases in effectiveness as heart rate increases?
✅ Correct Answer: Gross motor skills
10. What are the three basic motor skill classifications?
✅ Correct Answer: Fine motor skills, complex motor skills, and gross motor skills
11. What is Critical Incident Amnesia?
✅ Correct Answer: A form of temporary amnesia that occurs subsequent to SNS
mass discharge, which includes the release of the stress hormone cortisol
12. How can memory recall be improved after a critical incident?
✅ Correct Answer: The first sleep period increases recall by 50-90%; most
complete recovery occurs after the second sleep period
13. What are the three mental states during combat identified by PPCT?
✅ Correct Answer: Combat Anxiety (anticipation of danger), Survival Stress (deadly
force threat activates SNS), and Combat Stress (post-event symptoms from SNS to
PNS "backlash")
14. What is Combat Anxiety?
✅ Correct Answer: The anticipation of danger
, 15. What is Survival Stress?
✅ Correct Answer: A deadly force threat that activates the Sympathetic Nervous
System
16. What is Combat Stress?
✅ Correct Answer: Mental and physiological symptoms resulting from the SNS
activation and sudden return to PNS; also known as "PNS Backlash"
17. What are the four triggers that activate the SNS?
✅ Correct Answer: Objective threat perceptions, objective fear perceptions,
physical exhaustion, and startle response
18. What triggers the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) to activate?
✅ Correct Answer: Perception that the threat has diminished, injury or trauma to a
vital system, or exhaustion of the aerobic/anaerobic systems
19. What is the definition of reaction time?
✅ Correct Answer: The time to see, analyze, and initiate a physical response
20. What is the definition of movement time?
✅ Correct Answer: The time from initiation of a motor skill to its completion
21. What is the definition of response time?
✅ Correct Answer: Reaction time + movement time
22. What is Hick's Law?
✅ Correct Answer: If you have more than one option to select from, your reaction
time increases; each option added increases reaction time by 58% or 150
milliseconds
23. What are the three stages of memory?
✅ Correct Answer: Short-term sensory store, short-term memory, and long-term
memory
24. What is the basis of all PPCT striking techniques?
✅ Correct Answer: The Fluid Shockwave Principle
