How To Perform The Strike Of The Sleeping Cobra?

• The strike of the sleeping cobra is a martial arts move used by characters in the popular Japanese Manga series, Naruto.

It does not appear to be a move adopted by any of the major disciplines of martial arts. It is more than likely to be made up, or merely a name given to an existing move for dramatic effect.

Simply, the move is executed by putting your index and middle finger together. Placing the pointed tips of your fingers on somebody's forehead, and applying slight pressure until they fall backwards.

Though this does not seem to be a plausible move in reality, similar moves within martial arts rely on the use of your free hand performing a secondary motion on an opponents pressure points.

Naruto, written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, is an ongoing story first published in 1999. The story follows a young ninja called Naruto Uzumaki through his journey to become a Hokage, the leader and strongest ninja in his village.

The Manga, graphic novel serialization, has now been made into a anime/cartoon, and was first aired on 3rd October 2002. The first series had a total of 220 episodes, while the second series, Naruto: Shippuden, has been broadcasting since the 15th February, 2007.

A commercial success, the Naruto brand has extended to movies, video games, novels and trading cards. While the original Manga has sold over 100 million copies in Japan, and won numerous awards and accolades in North America and Europe.