Dim Mak

For the American death metal band, see Dim Mak (band).

For the record label, see Dim Mak Records.

Dim Mak, (simplified Chinese: 点脉; traditional Chinese: 點脈; pinyin: diǎnmài; lit. 'press artery'; Jyutping: dim2 mak6), alternatively diǎnxuè (simplified Chinese: 点穴; traditional Chinese: 點穴), more famously known as the Death Touch, is an attack on pressure points and meridians in some styles of Chinese martial arts used which is said to incapacitate or sometimes cause a delayed or even immediate death to an opponent. The points of attack used in Dim Mak correspond to the same locations as acupuncture points and other Chinese healing arts.

Origins

There are many different legends concerning the origins of Dim Mak. Pier Tsui-po says secrets of Dim Mak were only passed along to close family members and trusted students, making professional trainers of authentic Dim Mak nearly impossible to find since Dim Mak isn't a normal martial arts training activity.

Purported effects

Adherents of Dim Mak say that its practitioners are capable of inflicting serious harm to an individual by disrupting their qi or energy flow throughout their meridian channels, causing stagnation of qi, which in turn can lead to injury or death.

The technique depends on the ability to strike precise locations along an appropriate meridian at an appropriate time of day during which specific points are "open" and are thus vulnerable to attack. In these circumstances, certain vital points move throughout the day, and must be struck in relation to their position in the body at that particular time of the day, taking into account the circadian rhythm and associated changes in blood flow on or near the skin surface to have the desired effect. Thus, it is an easy matter for a novice to learn the stationary vital points, but to understand and use the "fatal" moving points in combat is akin to a relatively inexperienced person who can see the electronic elements in a diagram, but without the deep understanding of what they do individually or with each other.

Skepticism

Dim Mak is a practice whose validity is often held in doubt, due to its effects, use, and apparent potency. Some instructors like George Dillman are accused of being frauds , and demonstrations are viewed by some as little more than stage acts.

References in popular culture

• In an episode of The Simpsons, Bart threatens Lisa with the touch of death move that he supposedly learned from karate class, but which was really the name of an arcade game he played while skipping the class.
• An episode of Batman: The Animated Series titled "Day of the Samurai" was themed around the touch of death.
• The fictional martial art "Hokuto Shinken" from Fist of the North Star and Fist of the Blue Sky uses pressure point strikes to instantly kill.
• In Bloodsport, Jean-Claude Van Damme's character proves he belongs in the Kumite tournament 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 Dragon, 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.
• The Bride in Kill Bill learns the "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" from her teacher Pai Mei. In the Shaw Brothers films Clan of the White Lotus and Executioners of Shaolin, the character Pai Mei/Bak Mei uses a Ten 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.
• In the 2008 animated film Kung Fu Panda, Tai Lung and Master Oogway demonstrated Dim Mak-style moves that paralyzed their opponents while Po and Master Shifu possessed a more powerful accu-pressure maneuver called the "Wuxi Finger Hold".
• In the series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ty Lee uses techniques akin to Dim Mak, stunning her opponents by striking at appropriate pressure points.
• The title character in Xena: Warrior Princess frequently uses Dim Mak-style attacks to immobilise her opponents. Other characters from the series are also shown to use such attacks to injure and kill.
• The Street Fighter character, Gen uses Dim Mak along with various animal styles of Kung Fu.
• In Worms 4: Mayhem, one of the slot possibilities in multiplayer is Dim Mak, making the weapon Prod kill any target instantly.
• Dim Mak Records, founded by DJ Steve Aoki, is named after this technique.

See also

• Touch of Death
• Iron Palm
• George Dillman
• Kyusho-jitsu
• Varma Kalai
• Vulcan nerve pinch
• Hokuto Shinken
• Ryukyu Kempo
• Rick Moneymaker

External links

• Chris Marshall: "Investigating the Dim Mak Death Touch"
• Jin Jing Zhong. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Dian Xue Shu (Dim Mak) - Skill of Acting on Acupoints Original edition: Tanjin, 1934; translated from Chinese in 2004. (pdf fragment)
• Dim Mak/Dianxue on youtube
• The science behind Dim Mak