Actually, it was before anyone in the US talked about karate, in the
50's or 60's when one would often see someone knock another
unconscious by hitting him at the base of the skull, neck, somewhere.

A) Can you kill someone this way. I probably wouldn't want to do
this.

B) Can you knock someone out this way, even if you only have moderate
strength?

C) Where exactly do you have to hit him,

D) and what percent of your maxium strength would you use / do you
think is necessary?

I ask because the news tonight talked about the L.A. Giants fan who
was almost beaten to death by two other men who were at the game.
There was a slighly similar incident in Balitmore a few weeks ago.
Were I to have seen this, I don't know that I'd have nerve enough to
hit the assailant in the face, hoping to knock him unconscious but
more likely to cause him to turn and try to beat on me.

And even if I could win, there are guys smaller than I am, and women
and girls, who could benefit if there were a way requiring less force
to knock someone out. The incident in Baltimore involved 3 females,
sort of, 2 kicking one who they had knocked down and was on the floor,
and I wondered what my 5'2", 105 lb. ex would do if she had been
there.

This used to be in the movies a lot, but it has disappeared, in favor
of fights that go on for dozens of blows. So that I wonder if it was
possible. Of course also in the 50's it was common for tv and movie
killers to use a silencer on their automatic and that disappeared for
30 or 40 years, during which they only used pillows, returning only a
few years ago.