Acupuncture’s Evil Twin: The Dim Mak Death Touch
Thu, May 29, 2008
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Enter the Dragon was his last completed film. Six days after it was released, Bruce Lee, one of the biggest icons of martial arts cinema died a sudden and mysterious death. But was he the victim of the legendary dim mak touch of death as many of his avid fans have claimed?
Known in Cantonese as dim mak and in Japanese as kyusho jitsu, the touch of death is legendary among martial arts nuts. The idea behind the death touch is somewhat mysterious: apparently there are several “meridians” or body lines where “chi” or energy flows through. According to Dr Cecil Adams, “A blow or squeeze applied to certain pressure points on these lines will supposedly put the whammy on the victim’s chi, leading to incapacitation or death.” Medical journals have even reported numerous incidents where seemingly mild trauma to the described dim mak pressure points results in disproportionately serious injury. But is this all a load of baloney? Is dim mak real or not?
Never take your eyes off your opponent… even when you bow” Bruce Lee
The guys over at Martial Development, point out that dim mak does not actually signify “death touch” as many budding westernized ninjas would have us believe. In Cantonese it means something more like “press artery.” Their argument therefore is “Anyone can press an artery right?” They then push home their point by stating that dim mak is not synonymous with pressure points, but arteries and that skilled operators who have mastery over their art can use it against their opponent. Dim mak in their eyes therefore, is like reverse acupuncture, its evil twin. It can be use to cure and to kill.Equally, Dr Michael Kelly, graduate of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and author of Death Touch: The Science Behind the legend of Dim Mak has spent years studying the medical effects of dim mak and has found numerous cases to support the validity of the martial art. The book covers delayed deaths resulting from dim mak, knockouts and attacking internal organs, all explained through modern medicine.Are there any Medical Explanations? and where are these points supposedly located?
Don’t try this at home kids! Images by dimmak.net
Commotio Cordis
Commotio Cordis or cardiac concussion is where the heart rhythm is interrupted by a blow, which isn’t of lethal force, yet nonetheless causes heart failure without any structural damage. To inflict this on an opponent would be notoriously difficult, because of the 15-20 millisecond window in the heartbeat cycle where this would actually work.
Rupture of the carotid artery
This carotid artery is located in the neck and carries blood to the head. Any pressure on the carotid sinus (a very sensitive area) could rupture the artery causing a stroke, paralysis and even death. This can be caused by a karate chop or something minor like playing a musical instrument.
Who practices the death touch?
Dr Kelly argues that in the past, knowledge of martial arts was taught only to the most advanced and trusted students. The true nature of the secret martial art therefore remains shrouded in secrecy. The potential application of knowledge after all is power. Now with the internet and numerous books various supposed Dim Mak masters have emerged. Here is a video of them in action:
Ok, But Could Dim Mak be Fake?
Quite possibly. Some of the Kung-Fu masters, claiming to possess the ability to practice the death touch have been exposed as frauds. I’m still skeptical. After all, although many have claimed Bruce Lee’s death to be caused by dim mak and inflicted by Kung-Fu masters who were angry at the icon for revealing their secrets, a more plausible explanation is that he died of a cerebral edema caused by a painkiller. The myth of the death touch could therefore fuel the legend.
On the other hand, it is quite plausible that with intense practice and knowledge, one could be trained to learn dim mak, but I don’t think it’s the precise art some Kung Fu masters profess it to be.
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May 29th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Umm… that is BS. The documentary is painfully cheesy
May 30th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Thank you for the link. I did not mean to trivialize dim mak by suggesting that anyone can press on an artery. Anyone can poke with needles, but that does not make them an acupuncturist.
Advanced martial arts is full of “secrets that keep themselves”, by virtue of the fact that very few people have the motive, means and opportunity to study the subject in great depth.
P.S. The real scuttlebutt is not that Lee was killed by a council of angry Kung Fu masters, but by the gangs that controlled the HK movie industry.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
am I the only one who first hear about this in an episode of Batman: the Animated Series?
there was a ninja involved… I think the climax took place on an erupting volcano…
That was a cool show.
what were we talking about?
May 30th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Seems very unlikely. Even if the big gloves mean this pressure point stuff wouldn’t work in boxing, wouldn’t we see this all the time in the UFC if it existed? In this day and age some skilled practitioner would decide to cash in. Fighting is big $$$.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I saw that episode too it was pretty good bye the way – it’s a good thing old Brucey study the dummy that the guy was testing on.
Anyway the death touch (whether real or embellished) is something that live in Kung Fu movies forever – an old master with the knowledge of how to perform the death touch always levels the playing field.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
DIM MAK!
if you haven’t seen Bloodsport…you should watch it…BOTTOM BRICK
May 30th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
The carotid sinus is most definitely not just a “sensitive” section of the carotid artery. It’s a receptor organ located at the split of the common carotid into the internal and external carotid. This receptor organ is a peripheral receptor of blood pressure and detects blood pressure in the vessels carrying blood to the brain. If you squeeze it by a karate chop, as the article discusses, it would trick the sinus into thinking pressure was too high, which would trigger your blood vessels to dilate causing a drop in blood pressure, which would cause one to pass out. You would most certainly not have a stroke or rupture anything, but you would pass out, but only temporarily.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
“Dim Mak” does not mean “death touch”. It means “Blood Breath” because dim mak techniques attack veins/arteries or breath resevoirs. Meridian theory, while valid, is entirely separate from Dim Mak. Before you write an article on something, do some basic research.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Vulcan neck pinch FTW!
May 30th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
National Geographic has a documentary called Fight Science(if I recall) and they lightly covered the topic.
I recommend it.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Kyusho-jutsu is dramatically different from “dim mak”. Its simply exploiting the bodies sensitive areas. There is no “Death touch”. I mean come on. If you punch someone in the throat hard enough, they could die. That doesn’t make all strikes to the neck a “death punch” does it?
May 30th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I remember that episode, it was actually the second (and if I remember correctly) last appearance of Kyodai (voiced by Robert Ito, the professor in Buckaroo Bonzai)
Also, wasn’t that National Geographic special the one where they had that story of the master who broke the punk’s back through his stomache in some resturant?
May 30th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Count Dante used to be into that. Remember his ads from the old comic books?
May 30th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I have been practicing martial arts for going on 7 years now and while I have never seen this skill as they put it here, any accomplished/advanced martial artists know that there are ways to attack the chi and to use chi to attack with. You actually do see this in MMA well as in other sports but its not well understood and takes many years to use properly. How many times have we seen a fighter drop after a seemingly light blow? I have been hit and have hit others with similar strikes and caused severe pain with a simple touch strike. It exists, just not like in the movies.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:48 am
Yes, that Batman episode was awesome, I think they called it the onimari touch…not sure if spelled correctly…too lazy to research…so tired…
I’ve been studying martial arts for a while now, and from what I’ve seen; pressure points, acupuncture, lap dances, and that technique of placing empty bottles on one’s back after sucking out the O2 with fire, really work in most cases. Not all pressure points work on everybody, but if delivered by a master, you usually fall down; now, if that’s from pure fear of your master, then so be it, but the first time I felt a pressure point exposed by a master…holy…SH*T.
May 31st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
As I understand it, Dim Mak involves attacking blood-flow / air-flow / nervous system. Of the pressure points illustrated in the photos above, only a handful of these are potentially lethal from a single strike. The art of Dim Mak is to attack the points in specific combinations – e.g. a first strike may cause trauma to the liver, the second to the artery leading TO the liver, located in the armpit – entirely fictional! :¬). The compound effect is that the liver ruptures, or a blood-clot is formed, causing immediate or delayed death. It requires an understanding of the ‘body-map’ and having the learned ability to deliver the strikes effectively (years of practice).
May 31st, 2008 at 7:21 pm
In Ninjutsu, there is a move called a “Hammer Fist”, which is, as its name suggests, a fist delivered in a hammer-like motion to what I believe is the lower solar plexus. In the National Geographic show “Fight Science”, the guest Ninjustsu practitioner managed to achive a body damage number (Viscous Criterion) of 0.9. 1.0 is instantaneously lethal. Although it sounds impressive, in reality this is basically a CPR taken to extremes, used to stop a heart rather than start it back again.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Evening,
Great post and I thought I’d add another comment. I love fitness and fighting stuff.
Its an interesting topic and should be discussed. Ill check back soon for any added comments, thanks.
It would be great to get this thread really active again!
I have trained hard in the past with running etc in thew army but I have to say combining Q10 and sparring gets the best results.
ALso with the latest in mdeical science and wholistic techniques I would not be supprised if life expectancy rose to 90+ years in the modern world.
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:27 am
What is the name of this show? I want to see the part where the guy is cutting a cucumber with a knife on his forearm without cutting the skin. They show a brief sequence of this at the end of the video.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:12 am
i am always astonished how Acupunture helps in dealing with my migraine. it works wonders on other diseases like anxiety and allergy.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:46 am
Acupuncture does work. it helps me deal with my allergies and also i use acupunture for relaxation.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Acupuncture is really a good alternative medicine technique for common ailments such as allergies, minor headaches and pains. I have been practicing acupuncture for 4 years now.