Introduced on Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) could render a person unconscious with a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, but these two Star Trek captains could also perform the maneuver. First used in TOS season 1, episode 4, "The Enemy Within," the Vulcan Nerve (or Neck) Pinch involves applying pressure to a specific area at the base of the neck to render a person unconscious. The Vulcan Nerve Pinch has been used in over sixty episodes of Star Trek across the franchise and works on most humanoid species.
The idea for the Vulcan Nerve Pinch came from Leonard Nimoy himself. The original draft of "The Enemy Within" had Spock knock the evil duplicate of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) unconscious by hitting him in the head, but Nimoy felt Spock would have a less violent way to render someone unconscious. Nimoy reasoned that Spock would have learned about human anatomy and known exactly how and where to apply pressure. Nimoy also posited that Vulcans emitted a kind of energy from their fingertips that aided in the process. Although many Vulcans could perform the Neck Pinch, a few non-Vulcans also utilized the technique.
Kirk & Burnham Can Do Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch
Michael Burnham & An Alternate-Universe James Kirk Both Learned The Technique
A handful of humans have been shown performing a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, including Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and an alternate-universe version of Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). After Klingons killed Michael's parents, she was raised by Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and his human wife, Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner), on Vulcan alongside their biological son, Spock (Ethan Peck). Burnham embraced Vulcan logic, eventually becoming the first human to attend the Vulcan Learning Center. Michael presumably learned how to perform a Vulcan Nerve Pinch while on Vulcan. In Star Trek: Discovery season 1, Commander Burnham nerve pinched Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michaelle Yeoh), although Georgiou recovered quickly.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) encountered an alternate-universe version of James Kirk as Captain of the United Earth Fleet Enterprise. La'an and Kirk embarked on a mission to 21st century Toronto where the duo restored the proper version of Star Trek's Prime timeline. Kirk used a Vulcan Nerve Pinch on a civilian to steal a car. When La'an asked where he learned how to do that, Kirk said he learned it from his Vulcan cellmate in a Denobulan prison.
Should Humans Be Able To Do Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch?
Vulcans & Humans Have Many Differences, After All
Although fans have speculated about how exactly the Vulcan Nerve Pinch works, it has never been fully explained on screen. While it may look like someone simply pinching the neck of their opponent, there is clearly a level of skill and technique required to perfect the Nerve Pinch. This raises the question of whether non-Vulcans should even be able to learn how to do it properly. Although a handful of humans have been seen performing a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, it was usually in situations where they had either mind-melded with a Vulcan or were carrying a Vulcan's katra.
On Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock once remarked that he had unsuccessfully tried to teach Captain Kirk how to perform the Nerve Pinch, suggesting not all humans could learn how to do it.
It appears that a human can learn how to perform a Vulcan Nerve Pinch, but can only do it effectively when connected to a Vulcan in some way. Vulcans are not only physically stronger than humans, but they are also telepathic. Both of these traits likely contribute to the effectiveness of the Nerve Pinch. Michael's use of the technique on Georgiou only rendered the Captain unconscious for a couple of minutes. This suggests that while humans can learn where and how to apply the correct pressure to perform Star Trek's Vulcan Nerve Pinch, it will never be as effective as when a Vulcan does it.
