Touch of Death
Encyclopedia
The Death Touch refers to any martial arts
technique that can kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body.
The concept known as Dim Mak ' onMouseout='HidePop("85919")' href="/topics/Jyutping">Jyutping
: ), alternatively traces its history to Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture
. Tales of its use are often found in the Wuxia
genre of Chinese martial arts
fiction. Dim mak is depicted as a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure point
s and meridians
, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent.
The concept known as Quivering Palm originates with the Chinese martial arts Nei Jing
("internal") energy techniques that deal with the Qi
energy
and the type of force
(jin) used. It is depicted as "a technique that is part psychic and part vibratory, this energy is then focused into a wave".
Although Dim Mak originates in Wuxia fiction, there have been a number of martial artists claiming to practice the technique in reality, beginning in the 1960s with American eccentric Count Dante
, who gave it the English name "The Death Touch". However, the subject of the death touch in real life is in much debate and controversy.
There is a possible medically related condition called commotio cordis
. Commotio cordis is reported as the second most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes after hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the United States. Commotio cordis is defined as an instantaneous cardiac arrest produced by a nonpenetrating blow to the chest occurring within a specific 10- to 30-ms portion of the cardiac cycle in the absence of preexisting heart disease or identifiable morphologic injury to the sternum, ribs, chest wall, or heart. This period occurs in the ascending phase of the T wave, when the ventricular myocardium is repolarizing. With the average cardiac cycle duration of 1000 ms, the probability of a mechanical trauma within the window of vulnerability is only 1-3%.
By the 1980s, Dim Mak was well known in American pop culture. In 1985, an article in Black Belt magazine speculated that the death of Bruce Lee
, in 1973, might have been caused by "a delayed reaction to a Dim-Mak strike he received several weeks prior to his collapse". Other authors, as well, have said the death of Bruce Lee
may have been due to a "Quivering Palm technique" (alongside an article about Cai li fo
instructor Wong Doc-Fai
) to the effect that "dim mak does actually exist and is still taught to a few select kung fu practitioners."
A 1986 book on qi identifies dim mak as "one of the secret specialities" of wing chun
.
Dim Mak is referenced non-ironically in Bloodsport
(1988), a film allegedly "based on true events in the life of Frank Dux
", the founder of the first Neo-ninja school of "American Style Ninjutsu
".
In ca. 1990, Taika Seiyu Oyata founded the style of Ryū-te which involves "pressure point
fighting" (). In the 1990s, karate instructor George Dillman
developed a style that involves kyūshojutsu, a term that he identifies with Dim-Mak. Dillman eventually went as far as claiming to have developed qi
-based attacks that work without physical contact ("no-touch knockout" techniques), a claim that did not stand up to third-party investigation and was consequently denounced as fraudulent.
Also during the 1990s, Erle Montaigue (1949-2011) published a number of books and instruction videos on Dim Mak. Montaigue claims to be "the first Westerner to be granted the degree of 'Master' in taijiquan", awarded by Master Wang Xin-Wu in 1985. According to Montaigue's own account, Dim-Mak is an aspect of traditional old Yang style Taji Quan which he claims he began learning in 1978 from a master called Chiang Yiu-chun, though Montaigue has stated this man was an illegal immigrant, making his existence difficult to verify. Erle subsequently learned the remaining "qi disruptive" forms of Wudang Shan from Liang Shih-kan in 1995.
Paladin Press has other titles on the topic of Dim-Mak, including Kelly (2001) and Bauer and Walker (2002), both with a foreword by Montaigue.
Dim mak is also used in Laura Joh Rowland's book "The Assasin's Touch" which is a sequel to "The Perfumed Sleave" in Rowland's Sano Ichiro mystery series. The story takes place in 17th century Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate where the Shogun's personal detective, Sano Ichiro, must investigate the death of a man who spontaneously died in the midst of a horse race. Sano concludes that dim mak was the cause of death and must track down and face a suspect with the formidable power to kill with the touch of a finger.
"Touch of Death" techniques appear in a number of kung fu films:
The concept has entered pop culture to the point where it has been referenced in diverse media, including the following:
Dim Mak
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
technique that can kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body.
The concept known as Dim Mak ' onMouseout='HidePop("85919")' href="/topics/Jyutping">Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
: ), alternatively traces its history to Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
Acupuncture
Acupuncture point
Acupuncture points are locations on the body that are the focus of acupuncture, acupressure, sonopuncture and laser acupuncture treatment. Several hundred acupuncture points are considered to be located along meridians...
. Tales of its use are often found in the Wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
genre of Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
fiction. Dim mak is depicted as a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure point
Pressure point
A pressure point in the field of martial arts refers to an area on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific manner...
s and meridians
Meridian (Chinese medicine)
The meridian is a path through which the life-energy known as "qi" is believed to flow, in traditional Chinese medicine. There is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.- Main concepts :...
, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent.
The concept known as Quivering Palm originates with the Chinese martial arts Nei Jing
Nei Jing
The term Neijing is a salient concept in traditional Chinese kung fu . It purports to be the key to unlock the secrets of advanced kung fu in many classic Chinese martial arts training scripts according to Wu Tunan, the expert practitioner of Taijiquan...
("internal") energy techniques that deal with the Qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
energy
Nei Jing
The term Neijing is a salient concept in traditional Chinese kung fu . It purports to be the key to unlock the secrets of advanced kung fu in many classic Chinese martial arts training scripts according to Wu Tunan, the expert practitioner of Taijiquan...
and the type of force
Nei Jing
The term Neijing is a salient concept in traditional Chinese kung fu . It purports to be the key to unlock the secrets of advanced kung fu in many classic Chinese martial arts training scripts according to Wu Tunan, the expert practitioner of Taijiquan...
(jin) used. It is depicted as "a technique that is part psychic and part vibratory, this energy is then focused into a wave".
History
The concept of Dim Mak (Dian Xue) appears among fictional kung fu styles in the novels of Jin Yong from the 1950s.Although Dim Mak originates in Wuxia fiction, there have been a number of martial artists claiming to practice the technique in reality, beginning in the 1960s with American eccentric Count Dante
Count Dante
Count Juan Raphael Dante was a controversial American martial artist figure during the 1960s and '70s who claimed he could do extraordinary feats such as Dim mak....
, who gave it the English name "The Death Touch". However, the subject of the death touch in real life is in much debate and controversy.
There is a possible medically related condition called commotio cordis
Commotio cordis
Commotio cordis is a disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart , at a critical time during the cycle of a heart beat. It is a form of ventricular fibrillation, not mechanical damage to the heart muscle or surrounding organs, and not the result...
. Commotio cordis is reported as the second most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes after hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the United States. Commotio cordis is defined as an instantaneous cardiac arrest produced by a nonpenetrating blow to the chest occurring within a specific 10- to 30-ms portion of the cardiac cycle in the absence of preexisting heart disease or identifiable morphologic injury to the sternum, ribs, chest wall, or heart. This period occurs in the ascending phase of the T wave, when the ventricular myocardium is repolarizing. With the average cardiac cycle duration of 1000 ms, the probability of a mechanical trauma within the window of vulnerability is only 1-3%.
By the 1980s, Dim Mak was well known in American pop culture. In 1985, an article in Black Belt magazine speculated that the death of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
, in 1973, might have been caused by "a delayed reaction to a Dim-Mak strike he received several weeks prior to his collapse". Other authors, as well, have said the death of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
may have been due to a "Quivering Palm technique" (alongside an article about Cai li fo
Cai li fo
Cai Li Fo or Choy Li Fut is a Chinese martial art founded in 1836 by Chan Heung . Choy Li Fut was named to honor the Buddhist monk Choy Fook who taught him Choy Gar, and Li Yau-San who taught him Li Gar, plus his uncle Chan Yuen-Wu , who taught him Fut Gar, and developed to honor the Buddha...
instructor Wong Doc-Fai
Wong Doc-Fai
Wong Doc-Fai is recognized internationally as a master of Choy Li Fut kung fu and T'ai chi ch'uan . He was born in 1948 in the Guangdong province of China; the Wangshan village of Wushan - Doumen district of Zhuhai City. In April 1960, he immigrated to San Francisco, California with his mother...
) to the effect that "dim mak does actually exist and is still taught to a few select kung fu practitioners."
A 1986 book on qi identifies dim mak as "one of the secret specialities" of wing chun
Wing Chun
Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...
.
Dim Mak is referenced non-ironically in Bloodsport
Bloodsport (film)
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux, and was followed by three sequels Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Bloodsport III and Bloodsport 4: The...
(1988), a film allegedly "based on true events in the life of Frank Dux
Frank Dux
Frank W. Dux is an American martial artist and fight choreographer. Dux established his own school of Ninjutsu in 1975, called "Dux Ryu Ninjutsu".He was the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.-Martial arts career:...
", the founder of the first Neo-ninja school of "American Style Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
".
In ca. 1990, Taika Seiyu Oyata founded the style of Ryū-te which involves "pressure point
Pressure point
A pressure point in the field of martial arts refers to an area on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific manner...
fighting" (). In the 1990s, karate instructor George Dillman
George Dillman
George Dillman is a martial arts instructor who is controversial due to his claims regarding the use of pressure points and "Knockout" Chi. He refers to the art of using pressure points as Kyusho jitsu. He calls his style of karate Ryukyu kempo karate....
developed a style that involves kyūshojutsu, a term that he identifies with Dim-Mak. Dillman eventually went as far as claiming to have developed qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
-based attacks that work without physical contact ("no-touch knockout" techniques), a claim that did not stand up to third-party investigation and was consequently denounced as fraudulent.
Also during the 1990s, Erle Montaigue (1949-2011) published a number of books and instruction videos on Dim Mak. Montaigue claims to be "the first Westerner to be granted the degree of 'Master' in taijiquan", awarded by Master Wang Xin-Wu in 1985. According to Montaigue's own account, Dim-Mak is an aspect of traditional old Yang style Taji Quan which he claims he began learning in 1978 from a master called Chiang Yiu-chun, though Montaigue has stated this man was an illegal immigrant, making his existence difficult to verify. Erle subsequently learned the remaining "qi disruptive" forms of Wudang Shan from Liang Shih-kan in 1995.
Paladin Press has other titles on the topic of Dim-Mak, including Kelly (2001) and Bauer and Walker (2002), both with a foreword by Montaigue.
Dim mak is also used in Laura Joh Rowland's book "The Assasin's Touch" which is a sequel to "The Perfumed Sleave" in Rowland's Sano Ichiro mystery series. The story takes place in 17th century Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate where the Shogun's personal detective, Sano Ichiro, must investigate the death of a man who spontaneously died in the midst of a horse race. Sano concludes that dim mak was the cause of death and must track down and face a suspect with the formidable power to kill with the touch of a finger.
Cultural references
- In BloodsportBloodsport (film)Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux, and was followed by three sequels Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Bloodsport III and Bloodsport 4: The...
(1988), Jean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
's character proves that he was trained by Master Tanaka by demonstrating the Dim Mak attack to the judges. Though the demonstration was conducted on a stack of bricks instead of a human opponent, the film does refer to the move as a "Dim Mak" and "Death Touch". - In Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
(2000), Jade Fox uses a Dim Mak attack on Bo during a fight which paralyzed Bo and prevented him from moving and further attacking her. The effects were quickly reversed when Li Mu Bai applied a similar Dim Mak move to counter it. - In Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) the BrideBeatrix KiddoBeatrix Kiddo, primarily known as "The Bride", is a fictional character and the protagonist in the movie Kill Bill by American director Quentin Tarantino...
learns the "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" from her teacher Pai Mei. In the Shaw Brothers films Clan of the White LotusClan of the White LotusClan of the White Lotus is a 1980 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Lo Lieh, with action choreography by Lau Kar Leung, and starring Lo Lieh and Gordon Liu. It is released as Fist of the White Lotus in North America.- External links :...
and Executioners of Shaolin, the character Pai Mei/Bak MeiBak MeiBak Mei is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty imperial regime — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government...
uses a Five Point Exploding Heart Technique as well as a "100-step soul catching" Dim Mak which allowed the victim to take a certain number of steps before dying.
The concept has entered pop culture to the point where it has been referenced in diverse media, including the following:
- The martial art Hokuto ShinkenHokuto Shinkenis a fictional two thousand year old martial art that is shrouded in mystery, from the eponymous manga and anime franchise, Fist of the North Star. Hokuto Shinken is based loosely on Dim Mak kung fu, but very few conventional martial arts compare to it....
from Fist of the North StarFist of the North Staris a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...
is based on this touch of death concept - An episode of Batman: The Animated SeriesBatman: The Animated SeriesBatman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
(1992–1995) titled "Day of the Samurai" was themed around the touch of death. - An episodeWhen Flanders Failed"When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of the The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, Homer makes a wish for Ned Flanders's new left-handed store to go out of business. The wish comes true and gets the Flanders...
of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
involves Bart lying about having learned the Touch of Death in karate class. - A third-season episode of Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,...
centers on an assassin who uses this method to kill his victims, touching them with his middle finger which has a snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
branded onto it. - In Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's Novel VinelandVinelandVineland is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's re-election...
, one of the protagonists uses the "Quivering Palm Death Touch", which kills the opponent one year after it is used - DJ and producer Steve AokiSteve AokiSteve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.-Early life:...
is founder and owner of the music recording label called Dim Mak RecordsDim Mak RecordsDim Mak Records is a record label founded in 1996 by Steve Aoki and based in Los Angeles, CA. Dim Mak's first release was a 7" by a little known hardcore band from southern California, Stickfigurecarousel.-Roster:Active* Steve Aoki* All Leather... - There is a death metal band, featuring former Ripping CorpseRipping CorpseRipping Corpse was a thrash metal band formed in 1987 in Red Bank, New Jersey. They released one album, Dreaming with the Dead , and several highly regarded demos. Members included singer Scott Ruth, guitarist Shaune Kelley, bassist David Bizzigotti, drummer Brandon Thomas. They later added future...
members, called Dim MakDim Mak (band)Dim Mak is a death metal band from New Jersey. The band was formed from the ashes of Ripping Corpse, by guitarist Shaune Kelley, vocalist Scott Ruth, and drummer Brandon Thomas...
. - In the series Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
(Season 3, 1977) an episode entitled Touch of Death was about a martial arts movie star that mysteriously died while making a new film. Jack KlugmanJack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
as Dr. Quincy discovers that he died because he had received the dim mak 10 days earlier. - In the Brentford Trilogy series of books by Robert RankinRobert RankinRobert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
many characters (e.g. Archroy) and the author himself (in one of his various Details about the Author sections) states that they are masters of Dim Mak. - In The Men Who Stare at GoatsThe Men Who Stare at GoatsThe Men Who Stare at Goats is a book by Jon Ronson about the U.S. Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal. The title refers to attempts to kill goats by staring at them...
, Larry Hooper purportedly uses the Dim Mak on Lyn Cassady, before he leaves the New Earth Army. Lyn Cassady has a terminal case of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and he blames Hooper's touch of death on it. Jon RonsonJon RonsonJon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
goes to meet Guy SavelliGuy SavelliGuy Savelli is a martial artist and teacher. He teaches the spiritual and mental aspects of martial arts. He has a classified relationship with the U.S. Military, and has been featured in the book the Men Who Stare at Goats...
and oversees snapshots of a soldier karate chopping a goat to death with the "Quivering Palm." - The film Kung Fu PandaKung Fu PandaKung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
makes an early reference to the Wuxi Finger Hold, a technique which appears to be a method of holding an opponent's finger between one's thumb and forefinger with the pinky lifted. Flexing the pinky down is accepted to bring destruction to one's enemy (with the hard part, according to Shifu, being cleaning up afterwards). Later in the film, the protagonist Po uses the Wuxi Finger Hold to defeat the antagonist Tai Lung, with extremely destructive results. - The American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch stated in a radio interview that they derived their name from the movie Kill Bill in which Uma Thurman's character uses a similarly named Dim Mak technique.
- The Sci-Fi based MMORPGMMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
Anarchy OnlineAnarchy OnlineAnarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
has a line of skills built for the class of players who use Martial Arts skill called Dimach. The effect of the Dimach is one time massive damage hit capable of killing an enemy in pvp, pve, pvm if done correctly at the proper time. This is an homage to the Dim Mak. - In multiple versions of Dungeons and Dragons the class monk is built around these types of attacks with one in specific being named "quivering palm".
- In the Anime, "NarutoNarutois an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
" and "Naruto: Shippuden" The Hyuga Clan uses a martial art known as "The Gentle Fist", that focuses on the striking (Chakra) Pressure Points.
See also
- QiQiIn traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
- Neo-ninja
- Pressure pointPressure pointA pressure point in the field of martial arts refers to an area on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific manner...
- Hokuto ShinkenHokuto Shinkenis a fictional two thousand year old martial art that is shrouded in mystery, from the eponymous manga and anime franchise, Fist of the North Star. Hokuto Shinken is based loosely on Dim Mak kung fu, but very few conventional martial arts compare to it....
- Iron PalmIron PalmIron Palm or Iron Hand is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. These conditioning techniques are typically meant to condition the hands to allow a practitioner to deliver very powerful blows without injury to his or her hands.-Overview:Iron Palm is a broad term covering...
- Ryukyu KempoRyukyu KempoRyūkyū Kempo is a generic term often used to describe all forms of karate from the Ryūkyū Islands, and more specifically to refer to the particular styles associated with Taika Seiyu Oyata and, without any form of endorsement by Oyata or his organization, with George Dillman.Oyata is credited with...
- Varma KalaiVarma KalaiVarma adi or Marma adi is a part of the art of healing and harming Varma Kalai Marma Vidhya, It is a component of adi murai "law of hitting" which is a martial art that teaches methods to attack pressure points of the human body.This system of marmam is part of Siddha Vaidhyam, attributed to...
- Commotio cordisCommotio cordisCommotio cordis is a disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart , at a critical time during the cycle of a heart beat. It is a form of ventricular fibrillation, not mechanical damage to the heart muscle or surrounding organs, and not the result...
- Ōyama Masutatsu
Further reading
- Michael Kelly, Death Touch: The Science Behind the Legend of Dim Mak, Paladin Press (2001), ISBN 9781581602814.
- George A. Dillman, Kyusho-Jitsu: The Dillman Method of Pressure Point Fighting, Dillman Karate Intl (1993), ISBN 9780963199614.
- Erle Montaigue, Dim-Mak: Death Point Striking, Paladin Press (1993), ISBN 9780873647182
- Erle Montaigue and Wally Simpson, The Encyclopedia of Dim-Mak, Paladin Press (1997), ISBN 9781581605372.
- Rick Bauer and Flane Walker, The Ancient Art of Life and Death: The Complete Book of Dim-Mak, Paladin Press (2002), ISBN 9781581605747.
- Art Mason, Novice Kyusho Jitshu Certification Workbook http://www.kyusho.thepeacefulwarriors.org/en/news/81
- Jin Jing Zhong. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Dian Xue Shu (Dim Mak) - Skill of Acting on Acupoints /Tanjin, 1934/ http://www.kungfulibrary.com/dian-xue.htm
Dim Mak