Kino mutai is a specialized sub-section of some Filipino martial arts

Filipino martial arts

Filipino Martial Arts refers to ancient and newer fighting methods devised in the Philippines, the most popular of which are known as Arnis/Eskrima/Kali. The intrinsic need for self-preservation was the genesis of these systems. Throughout the ages, invaders and evolving local conflict imposed new...

 that emphasizes biting and also covers eye-gouging

Eye-gouging

Eye-gouging is the act of pressing or tearing the eye using the fingers, other bodyparts, or instruments. Eye-gouging involves a very high risk of eye injury, such as permanent eye loss. It is disallowed in combat sports, but some self-defense systems teach it...

. It involves extensive use of grappling

Grappling

Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

, so as to allow the practitioner to control the opponent while applying the techniques.

The biting aspect of kino mutai concerns itself with what targets to bite, how much to bite at a time, and the angle and movement of the bite. Favoured targets include sensitive and easily accessible areas such as the face, neck, ear, groin, nipple, and latissimus dorsi muscle

Latissimus dorsi muscle

The latissimus dorsi , meaning 'broadest muscle of the back' , is the larger, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the trapezius on its median dorsal region.The latissimus dorsi is responsible for extension,...

. These targets are also chosen over others because of the difficulty countering a kino mutai practitioner biting them, and hence to ensure that an uninterrupted bite can take place.