Yeah. They're actual pressure points. Their effects and even locations are accurate (I'm not an specialist but...)

As far as their use on actual combat goes, realistically one could disable or even lethally injure someone. But hitting them accurately while on combat is another story. It requires precision, agility and above all else, extremely specific situations. 

EX:  if someone punches you, but they miss/you dodge/"deflect" their punch, you could hit the nerve just below the armpit (its a pretty big one, hard to miss.) with a quick strike.