While you should know as many vulnerable points as possible,you will undoubtedly have your "favorites".

In [b]non-lethal [/b]situations, I am partial to strikes to the testicles(punch or grab & pull),eyes(open hand or finger jab),nose(horizontal stoke at the top),throat(open hand jab) and knees(kick to the front or side).

In situations where your life is in danger I can't think of a more devastating blow than the [b]"45 degree upward blow to the nose"[/b]
While the horizontal strike to the nose mentioned above(non-lethal)will break the nasal bone or septal cartilage and cause profuse nasal bleeding by rupturing the nasal portion of the angular vein,the upward blow could kill an opponent.

I hope you never have to use this blow,but if you do,you must not hesitate and strike THROUGH the target.

By hitting the tip of the nose with the base of your palm you will be forcing the cartilage in the septum through the crista galli and through the frontal part of the brain,thus causing hemorrhage/compression of brain tissue,and death!

[red]This is not a blow you want to screw around with in anything other than "life or death situations".
To me, use of this is equivalent to pulling out a gun and shooting someone![/red]
[b]To be used only in the utmost extreme![/b]

What are your favored spots and why?

Just open your hand, fingers together-like a Karate chop or like when you simulate an airplane flying-hit with the tip of the fingers!

I saw a guy get eye gouged in a fight once. Worked great-he fell on his butt holding his eye and screaming. He also ended up in the hospital. I would be careful to only use this one when you can justify it later.

I've seen a few guys keep going after being kicked in the groin. It usually works, but if the other guy is determined enough it might be a few minutes before that move catches up with him.

I've always been pretty skeptical about the nose blow killing anyone, but it sure will make your eyes water and lose focus.

I don't think learning martial arts is any more likely to get you in trouble in court than having pepper spray-"Fred egged the "the victim" into fighting him, because Fred had pepper spray with him. Fred was just waiting to let someone have it with a blast of that pepper spray, that's why he carried it and that's why FRED started the fight, because he knew he could win it."

I hope no one makes a decision on how to handle their personal safety based on the comments of some guy who calls himself "Aimless" on the internet [:D] but coincidently I have defended a few people against assault prosecutions, two of which I remember were boxers, however I don't think the DA brought in a self defense instructor in either case (which resulted in not guilty verdicts) and maybe that would have changed the outcome of the case. I don't doubt that you know more about this stuff than me and maybe if you'd testified things would have played out differently; but I'm not a complete drooling idiot on this subject.

I did try the "you know karate" tactic in a case involving a fight between my client and a police officer who was a local karate instructor-it really had little to do with the case, but I didn't get the impression that the jury thought much of it, but who knows.

You are right about this.But the same can be said of a number of blows,including one to the side of the neck.

Delivered with enough force to the side of the neck,a blow can rupture either/or both major blood lines(Internal Jugular Vein or the Carotid Artery)  below the sternocleidomastoid muscles and you can kiss the persons ass goodbye!

Anyone who has seen one of these vessels go(lacerated,ruptured,etc)will be happy to never see another one!

I value your actual experience in the field,and not EVER having done it myself,I cannot argue with what you have seen.
However,in my military training,watching transphenoidal(through the nose approach)surgery to remove pituitary gland tumors and empirical experience in medical examiner's (forensic)cases it is a very probable thing to get the osteocartilagenous tissue right into the base of the brain near the olfactory nerves (coming from the nose to the brain)with a severe blow.

I guess I will continue to hold this blow in the [b]"do not try unless your life depends on it category![/b] [:)]

If their names are A.Gore,H. or W.Clinton,C.Schummer,D.Feinstein,etc I wish they were "man" enough to threaten someone like you with lethal force so you could defend yourself![;)]

That is...... if you can get by their S.S. bodyguards![:)]

Generally I begin by pushing back in my chair, trying to keep the force back rather than up to avoid tipping the chair- this usually means you trip over it and should be avoided.  Once the chair is back and I've extended my legs as far as practical I stand straight up, take a half step forward and reach to the table with my right hand in a claw like grip, thumb to the left.  The grip catches the bowled glass of Château Belle-Garde Bordeaux (1984) and firmly but smoothly lifts it with a slight outward and forward motion.  (Some prefer the Château Les Ormes Sorbet but its technically a Médoc and I find the Bordeaux stains MUCH better).  A continuing upward and outward motion towards my opponent across the table builds the momentum of the liquid but keeps it from rising up out of the lip of the glass.  It's important to keep all this after the half step in one smooth motion.  As my arm nears full extension I roll my wrist forward and down, using the thumb for leverage on the glass.  This motion rolls the liquid up and over the REAR lip of the glass and causes it to travel forward, arcing over the table in a sheet-like fashion providing much better coverage than conventional methods.  If done properly, the shirt, tie, jacket, vest AND trousers can be impacted.

I follow up the move by putting the glass down on the table upside down (which I find increases the emotional impact of the move) and striding towards the door with head held high and back straight.  As I pass my opponent I generally conclude the entire combination by addressing my opponent with a "don't ever call me again" sufficient to be heard by other patrons while avoiding all eye-contact.

Hotel Sierra Tatjana, has any of your victims, er, opponents, ever survived the encounter?
Are they too busy eyeballing your molded trauma plate to see the attack coming?
Edited to add: Or worse yet, your date was eyeballing another woman's molded trauma plate. [BD]