Found...one hit, one kill...

[ShoriKid]

FitOrDie,

Define "Dim Mak" so anyone can say what they believe in.

[tallgeese]

As it's commonly understood or defined...no, I don't.

[bushido_man96]

I don't buy into the Dim Mak idea either. I just don't see enough out there to prove it is true.

[ryukasagi]

I think it's basically the same concept of doing CPR on someone who doesn't need it, which i've heard can kill them, but i think you'd have to do it a lot more than once to actually kill someone. I've taken plenty of hard hits to the chest and haven't died yet (at least i don't think i'm dead) so i don't think it would really work.

[joesteph]

"Dim Mak" is often translated as "Death Touch." It's not referred to as a powerful blow, but a mysterious and precise technique that ends the victim's life either then and there or soon afterwards.

I put it into the same category as astrology. Each can be thought of as interesting, but I don't believe in either one.

[yamesu]

Just to throw something in the mix....

One of my friends (term used loosely) was in an altercation while drunk at a train platform a few years back... he got wordy with the wrong person, and this guy delivered one heck of a punch to his temple/eye.

Long and short of it was the punch fractured his skull, released fluids/blood into the brain cavity and put him in hospital for a good couple of weeks.... Doctors told us at the time that he was lucky to be alive and that severe trauma such as this directly to the cranium can result in death more often than is assumed.

Just a thought...

Osu

[Otto]

You actually can cause a severe reaction to a persons body with a simple hammering type strike to the body. Just make sure you tie the person to a chair like in that Fight Science video and not have him move while you strike.

As far as Dim Mak is concerned - it ranks just above "verbally warning somebody that you know Karate" before defending yourself and just below having your hands registered with the local police department as dangerous weapons.

[furry_Homeboy]

Of course I'm no expert on this subject, but I do think that it's possible for someone to die from one or few hits (though not that it's something that should probably be promoted). However, I also think that it's not very likely, but I can't really say what the absolute answer is.

Anyway, one of the reasons I have heard for the delayed death, or death touch techniques of old times past, was the poor medical care in areas such as China. Granted, the strikes were probably precise and well performed, but also many people didn't have access to medical care. Complications could arise from a strike. If someone had their liver damaged by a powerful strike, or some other organ damaged, then without proper medical care, their injuries could worsen.

Just a thought though, and everyone's allowed their own.

[joesteph]

[O]ne of the reasons I have heard for the delayed death, or death touch techniques of old times past, was the poor medical care in areas such as China. Granted, the strikes were probably precise and well performed, but also many people didn't have access to [proper] medical care.

This is an insightful analysis of the past, where the root of tales, legends, and myths begins with a germ of truth. Someone could have genuinely been struck, internal damage (often bleeding) occurs without those present understanding it, and the individual dies much later than the strike was performed, the erroneous conclusion being that a "death touch" was the source.

I remember reading in the past (and found--but failed to bookmark--a Black Belt magazine article that was similar) that the heart is affected, a "spin" of force entering in, causing cardiac arrest at a time about one or two weeks later than the strike was performed--the Dim Mak. At least that's the idea (or one of them) behind it. I wonder if, in this offering, there's some knowledge about the heart and a lot of speculation, resulting in a "satisfactory" conclusion.

It's not Dim Mak if it's immediate. When Max Baer killed Frankie Campbell by a powerful whirlwind of a blows in the ring, sending Campbell to the hospital where he died by the next day, it was that the force caused his brain to be "knocked completely loose from his skull."

(Source is Wikipedia. Select "boxer" from the list.)

Edit: To make the name "Wikipedia" the link.

Edited June 7, 2009 by joesteph

[sensei8]

Does anyone posting still believe in the Dim Mak?

Nope!

Just as soon as I heard the meaning...I didn't believe in it. Delayed? Death Touch? In the same sentence? OXYMORON! Anything delayed in the martial arts means, imho, it just didn't work and/or it won't work; therefore, I'll label it as "Delayed"! As far as "Death Touch" goes, it's a gimmick to make it sound...important/cool/amazing! Hhhhmmmmm?!?