Vulcan nerve pinch The Vulcan nerve pinch , also called a Vulcan neck pinch , was a martial technique developed by the Vulcan s . It involved applying pressure near the base of the neck , at the shoulder , and nearly instantly rendered the target unconscious , often so fast that the target was unable to cry out , but not always . ( ) Being able to perform it was seen as a mark of true Vulcanhood by some . ( ) In at least some cases , the results resembled an extreme trauma to the trapezius nerve bundle , as if the neuro - fiber s had been ruptured . ( ) The technique did not appear to cause permanent injury and seemed to be effective on most humanoid species . The only Human to have ever been insensitive to it was Gary Seven . ( ) When used on Human Augment s like , it caused pain but was not enough to subdue them . ( ) It was proven ineffective on robot ic android s when Spock took the time to softly try it on android Alice , who simply asked him calmly if that gesture had any significance . ( ) Vian s were unaffected by the nerve pinch . ( ) Spock once performed the Vulcan nerve pinch on a horse , Selek did one to a Le - matya ( prompting young Spock to ask if he thought he ' d ever do it as well as Selek did , which the older Vulcan affirmed ) , and Tuvok once did it to a member of Species 8472 that had disguised itself as a Human . ( ; ; ) Spock was also known to use a two - handed variety of the technique to subdue two opponents , an Andorian and a Tellarite . ( ) Sakonna used the Vulcan nerve pinch on a Starfleet security guard who was guard ing Gul Dukat on Deep Space 9 in 2370 . ( ) " In the alternate reality , when mutinied against acting captain aboard the , Spock used the nerve pinch to subdue him . " ( ) Use by non - Vulcans . On some occasions , non - Vulcans have been instructed in the technique . Spock attempted in vain to teach Kirk . On planet Omega IV , while fighting Cloud William and in his cell , Kirk expressed his appreciation for the neutralization of Sirah by Spock with the pinch . ( ) Overall , the nerve pinch seemed to be extremely difficult to learn for non - Vulcans , although the android Data was able to master it , as was Jean - Luc Picard , years after mind - melding with Sarek . ( , ) Having studied for many years on Vulcan , Michael Burnham was able to perform the nerve pinch , using it to render Captain Philippa Georgiou unconscious in the course of her attempted mutiny in 2256 . ( ) Jonathan Archer was also able to perform the nerve pinch while carrying the " katra " of Surak . ( ) Doctor Leonard McCoy , however , was unsuccessful in performing the technique on a security officer while carrying Spock ' s " katra " . ( ) Odo was observed dispatching a Starfleet security guard using the technique in 2372 . ( ) The reclaimed Borg drone Seven of Nine also displayed the ability to perform it , shown during a fight with Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Tuvok in 2374 . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The nerve pinch was devised for the episode , in which it is performed on a duplicate of Kirk . ( " The Star Trek Compendium " , 4th ed . , p . 34 ) In the final draft and revised final draft of the episode ' s teleplay , the moment of the nerve pinch ' s first on - screen appearance was described by saying that Spock " kayoed " Kirk ' s double , and a later line of ultimately unused dialogue had McCoy refer to the double as having received a " rap on the head . " The Vulcan nerve pinch was thought up by Leonard Nimoy , who felt that Spock was too dignified to render someone unconscious by striking them over the head . ( ) When Nimoy was pitching the idea for the neck pinch , the episode ' s director , Leo Penn , asked about it and Nimoy said that Spock was a graduate of the " Vulcan Institute of Technology . " ( He had probably conflated this with the Vulcan Science Academy , which Spock was not known to have attended . ) There , as Nimoy explained to Penn , Spock had taken a number of courses on Human anatomy . Nimoy also told Penn that Vulcans emitted a kind of energy ( he never specified what kind of energy it was , but presumably he meant bio - electrostatic energy , which was probably also used in mind melds ) from their fingertips , which , when applied to certain points on a Human ' s neck , renders the Human unconscious . Though Penn apparently had no idea what Nimoy was talking about , when Nimoy explained it to William Shatner , the latter understood the concept immediately . Thereafter , Nimoy credited Shatner ' s reaction for having sold the idea of the neck pinch . ( " 25 Year Mission Tour " video ) The Vulcan nerve pinch became known as the " Famous Spock Neck Pinch " ( or " FSNP " ) to the TOS production staff . ( ) This term ( and abbreviation ) was used to refer to the technique in the scripts for the series . ( " Star Trek Concordance " , Citadel ed . , p . 166 ) In the final draft script of " The Naked Time " , the nerve pinch was referred to as " the famed Spock hand - pinch . " In the final draft script of , it was identified as Spock ' s " famous squeeze at juncture of neck and shoulder . " In the final draft script of , it was referred to as " the famous ' Spock pinch ' . " Robert Hewitt Wolfe commented that Odo ' s use of the Vulcan nerve pinch in " Paradise Lost " was scripted by the writers to avoid having to spend money on Changeling morphing special effects in a scene where Benjamin Sisko is freed from detention . Rene Auberjonois commented that he did not know where Odo had learned the Vulcan nerve pinch , but that " " Odo is a man of many talents . " " ( " " , p . 303 ) Apocrypha . In , author Vonda N . McIntyre had Admiral James T . Kirk performing a Vulcan nerve pinch to stop one of the 20th century Earth doctors , who tries to prevent Dr . Leonard McCoy from doing a high - tech , non - invasive repair of Pavel Chekov ' s middle meningeal artery in a hospital scene in . In the novelization , after Kirk successfully uses the nerve pinch , he says , " " That never worked before , and will probably never work again . " " In the " Star Trek RPG " , published by Last Unicorn Games , the nerve pinch is part of the martial art " Taroon - Ifla " , the only known martial art which consists of a single advanced technique . Presumably , " Taroon - Ifla " includes nearly endless variations and applications of the nerve pinch ( the " Taroon " ) , making it effective on an assortment of lifeforms and includes less aggressive functions , such as healing techniques similar to acupressure .