Why the kidneys?

[logos]

The kidneys are good targets for multiple reasons.As Spark mentioned
they are very vascular and the renal artery is easy access.They are easy to access no bones or cartlidge to cover them.You access them from the backside so you have a target good with the element s suprise.

 

[memnoch]

why clean it up. Have the strider boys do it for you.

they should see the results firsthand...

 

[Flotsam]

The kidneys receive some protection from the muscles of the back - in a well developed person these can be fairly tough. Then there is the underlying fascia, and the fascia that covers the kidney. Then you have to hit a target about the size of your fist (normally sits just below the ribs, fairly close to the spine). It is a highly vascularized organ, but so are the spleen & liver - either of which will kill you w/ a significant laceration. You can lose a kidney & still have normal renal function - people donate kidneys all the time. The kidney makes a good target, basically because it is not _as heavily_ protected as the other vascular organs, which are fairly well covered by the lower ribs, and because each one receives a fairly signicant blood pressure (they each receive an artery directly off the aorta)

 

[Miketm]

Yea, we think it'll kill a due if you stab 'em in the kidney. It sure ain't gonna immediately incapactitate him. We think you'd probably be better off if you just grabbed ahold of the MF'er as tight as possible and stabbed the hell out of his throat. Get the carotid artery. Get both arteries. You'll cut off the O2 and blood to his brain and the guy will be on the ground trying to police-up all his blood. Let your adrenaline take hold and lock onto the dude and stab away. (This info comes directly from a group of paramedics that are sitting here heckeling me while I write this, believe me, we have seen ALOT of stab wounds).

 

[Flotsam]

The carotids, subclavians, axillaries - all big vessels, all reasonably close to the surface. A reasonable sized blade into the side of the neck & cutting outward would probably get the carotid & Internal jugular vein, maybe both sides, and probably the trachea and possibly theesophagus if you went in deep enough. For those a fan of the tomahawk, a shot to mid-clavicle (it's relatively fragile) would almost certainly get the subclavian artery & vein (which lie right behind it), and probably a good portion of the brachial plexus, and possibly enter the chest & get the lung (which bleeds like stink when cut).

I heard somewhere that Roman soldiers used to stab into the armpit to kill - the axillary artery sits deep in the armpit and is pretty decent caliber.

 

[Ken Cox]

Depending on the artery, the person cut loses blood pressure; some arteries quicker than others.
For an example of the importance of blood pressure, consider how woozy a person can sometimes feel just from standing up too quickly.
James Sass has a table on one of his web sites that gives time to unconsciousness according to the artery cut.

For a silent kill (just conversationally speaking), an artery will not do the job.
Even with a neck artery, my 1960's Marine Corps instructors told us to expect a lot of noise, if only from the blood going down the airpipe and the air coming up, and a few seconds of noisy struggling.

My instructors strongly recommended the kidney because a person stabbed in the kidney instantly goes into a state resembling shock.
Anyone who has passed a kidney stone can attest to this.
Most people who have a kidney stone fall to the floor and lay there quietly, unable to do much more than roll over, if that.
Additionally, most of us have an intuitive understanding of the location of the kidneys.
In a real fight, many people will strike the kidney area of their opponent without really knowing why they do it.

In the summer of 1967 I rendered an "opponent" unconscious with one blow to his left kidney.
He went down like a sack of bricks and lay there without moving or making a sound.

A blow with a heavy object to the nape of the neck (the bump above the shoulders) and/or a stab to the kidney with a proper knife (FS dagger or Gerber Mk II} provide the highest probablility of a relatively silent, instantaneous disablement.
If one doubts his ability to visualize the kidney in another human being, he can pick up a big rock (an M-14 rifle butt, tomahawk or heavy stick will do) and aim for the base of the neck.

Even then, no guarantees.
As an alternative, consider bribery or stealth (sneaking around).
Aesthetically and morally much more pleasant.