Deathtouch Block Vs. Damage

Dim Mak

• Although the phrase "death touch" is commonly used for this legendary skill, the actual phrase in Cantonese is "dim mak," which does not literally translate as death touch but "press artery." Dim mak is based on the ancient theories of Chinese medicine, in which a life energy known as chi or qi circulates through the human body through channels known as meridians. The strike of the dim mak expert disrupts the victim's chi flow, thus causing injury or death. Some modern dim mak practitioners prefer an explanation based on modern Western medicine, in which the strike takes effect through nerve endings connected to particular arteries, thus damaging the artery.

Kyusho Jitsu

• The Japanese or Okinawan equivalent of the Cantonese dim mak is kyusho jitsu, which is defined as the art of striking pressure points on the body to cause injury through the human nervous system. The skill of kyusho jitsu is supposed to have been taught within traditonal Okinawan karate systems, and its secrets are thought to still be hidden in the classical karate kata or training forms. Fighters trained in kyusho jitsu can supposedly activate pressure points not only by hitting them, but also by pressing on them or rubbing them.

Blocking the Death Touch

• Assuming there is any validity to the skill of the death touch, the technique could certainly be blocked by ordinary defensive methods. For example, one of the supposed dim mak pressure points is an acupuncture point known as St9, which is found at the end of the vegas nerve. The vegas nerve connects to the carotid artery, so it is conceivable that a strike performed at this precise point could somehow damage the heart. Dim mak practitioners claim it can be used to make the heart stop. However, when an acupuncturist places needles at specific points, the patient must be lying down or sitting still in a chair. Striking a precise point on the human body during a real fight would be much more difficult, when both fighters are moving around and doing everything possible to avoid being struck.

Preventing Damage

• Preventing damage from a death touch strike is not just a matter or blocking and avoidance, although both of these would make such a technique extremely difficult to perform effectively. Many dim mak exponents believe that the strike must not only land at a specific acupuncture point, but must be made in a particular direction and with either a clockwise or counterclockwise movement, depending on the point in question. In addition, the effectiveness of the death touch is said to depend on the time of day and the schedule of the body's chi flow. For example, a strike to the spleen is only supposed to be effective between the hours of nine and 11. Considering all of the requirements that have to be met for a death touch strike, even a partially effective blocking technique should prevent all damage.