Is the Dim Mak for real?

[AlwaysTraining]

I've done some reading with regard to the Dim Mak and the Martial Arts application to the study of chi, and, my question is "Is it for real?" I've read about scientific evidence supporting the existence of chi and meridian theory. But, is it applicable to MA? I know all about nerve center strikes, but, the concept surrounding the Dim Mak is different. It has to do with interupting the flow of chi and blood in the body. But, again, is it real? Anyone here with first hand experience? Knowledge needed.

 

[clfsean]

Sure it is...

If I hit you in the templem, crack your skull & you fall over dead ... I dim mak'd you.
If I hit you in the chest, interupt the rythym of your heart & you fall over dead ... I dim mak'd you.

Can you hit somebody hard enough in the right location to make them die a couple of days later? Sure if you rupture a vessel or the like & they don't seek out treatment. They've been dim mak'd.

Things nowadays are explained easier with advances in science & medicine as opposed to previous days when they had to go by the idea of cavity pressing & chi interruption. A hard damaging strike is just that & if it's in a weak or tender spot, even better. I personally don't see any magic with it.

 

[Xequat]

I've done some reading with regard to the Dim Mak and the Martial Arts application to the study of chi, and, my question is "Is it for real?" I've read about scientific evidence supporting the existence of chi and meridian theory. But, is it applicable to MA? I know all about nerve center strikes, but, the concept surrounding the Dim Mak is different. It has to do with interupting the flow of chi and blood in the body. But, again, is it real? Anyone here with first hand experience? Knowledge needed.

Oh, God. You could get every answer imaginable on this thread. Keep in mind, every answer you get will probably be opinion.

Like clfsean said, there are places you can strike that don't rely upon magical, mystical chi to work. Temple, floating rib, cpr-like strike to the heart, whatever, can blind or kill you now or later when you aren't expecting it. But if you believe in chi, as I do, then maybe there is a way to manipulate others' chi by hitting particular pressure points and cause later damage to occur. I've seen pressure point knockouts a couple of times, but on one level, pressure points are just kind of just places where nerves intersect, so sure, you can screw with someone's electrical flow by hitting nerves at weak points. I sure as hell don't know how to dim mak anyone, but honestly believe that it can be done, but not by many people. Nothing magical or mystical, just practice and awareness, IMHO.

Keep in mind, some areas of martial arts are very political. I bring that up because you have 9 posts and I want to warn you. There are some people on here who believe in everything, and some who don't believe in anything weird. You'll see fired-up arguments about particular martial artists who believe in chi and people trying to discredit them, but it's all just opinion. Spend a little time looking around the Tai Chi/Qigong Forum on here...you might learn a little more there about what people believe regarding chi and pressure points and such.

 

[Sam]

You will indeed get 10,000 answers to this thread. Before there are that many though, let me say this, and I hope you follow this advice;

Find out yourself. This thread may start a debate, and get locked, which doesn't help you. I don't know anything about the topic one way or another, but better than asking someone's opinon on whether it exists or not, go find a teacher. Talk to them. Possibly learn from them.

Decide for yourself.

*edit for silly grammar mistake*

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I've done some reading with regard to the Dim Mak and the Martial Arts application to the study of chi, and, my question is "Is it for real?" I've read about scientific evidence supporting the existence of chi and meridian theory. But, is it applicable to MA? I know all about nerve center strikes, but, the concept surrounding the Dim Mak is different. It has to do with interupting the flow of chi and blood in the body. But, again, is it real? Anyone here with first hand experience? Knowledge needed.

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

I'd like to repeat Sam's great suggestion to do some research. This is a very controversial topic. Personally, I think a study of basic anatomy and physiology from a martial art's perspective would be more valuable then a study of chi and meridian theory. Just my opinion of course - I can agree to disagree with other opinions on the subject.

 

[Makalakumu]

I've done a little personal study on this and I've noticed that most of the "dim mak" points are analagous to anatomical points that, when struck, would cause serious trauma. There are points that lie in fleshy areas or do not correspond to sensative anatomical regions and striking these in any sort of sequence does nothing but leave bruises.

This leads me to believe that meridians, in regards to martial arts, were ways of referencing the bodies weak points...and this is how I use them. I'm a skeptic regarding this stuff, however, if someone can show me how chi is involved and explain what it actually is, I'm all ears.

 

[terryl965]

Is it real if you believe they will come! One of the greatest lines ever said.
People believe in alot of things does it matter one way or another not really, in reality. I personally believe and have a few time broke cement blocks and when doing it have only broke the bottom one while the other never even got cracked, did I dim mak it sure the book says I only focus on the bottom brick, but what the book does not really I personally tried to break all of them. So see I have dim mak without dim makking.

Believe in your training ang your training will believe in you.
Terry

 

[evenflow1121]

Sean gave you a great explanation on it. I am sure that it means different things to different people. Is it real, sure I like to believe what Sean wrote there which is what I agree with.

 

[dmax999]

Sure it is real, but be realistic. If striking on a point of the body disabled someone, even a non trained person would do it occasionaly by pure accident. Think back to all your sparring matches of someone being lightly hit and reacting like they got walloped, it happens once in a while but not frequently. Getting the wind knocked out of yourself comes to mind as one example.

The study of DimMak is just a study of all these possible strikes. One point is on the bottom of the foot, if you can injure your opponets bottom of their foot it is the "kidney" point (Don't think literal kidney, it was just the word they chose) "Kidney" is the place where power generates, so injuring that will limit the power someone has to strike. When punching correctly if you can't root your foot because of injury you will puch weaker. I personally think that most of it just translates poorly and was based on poor knowledge of anatomy when first developed. If you can understand what they truly meant it makes sense, but isn't really magical.

 

[Drac]

I once saw a book that was supposed to accompany Dim Mak training..It showed EVERY meridian in the body including times and months on what point to strike that would cause the most damage..Written in Japanese and English at a cost of over $ 500.00..No, I didn't buy it...

 

[arnisador]

I am...highly skeptical. I've seen some odd things in the martial arts, but much of what one hears regarding chi/dim mak/etc. is greatly exaggerated.

 

[Flying Crane]

I once saw a book that was supposed to accompany Dim Mak training..It showed EVERY meridian in the body including times and months on what point to strike that would cause the most damage..Written in Japanese and English at a cost of over $ 500.00..No, I didn't buy it...

times and months to strike certain points. How could anyone ever think that would be useable, even assuming it is true? Gotta check my Moon chart and cross reference time of day before I defend myself against this guy swinging a tire iron at my head...

If dim mak in the mystical/chi related sense is real, it is certainly difficult to practice it realistically. It assumes you have a large supply of training partners on whom you can practice crippling and deadly strikes...

 

[brothershaw]

times and months to strike certain points. How could anyone ever think that would be useable, even assuming it is true? Gotta check my Moon chart and cross reference time of day before I defend myself against this guy swinging a tire iron at my head...

If dim mak in the mystical/chi related sense is real, it is certainly difficult to practice it realistically. It assumes you have a large supply of training partners on whom you can practice crippling and deadly strikes...

My comments arent about dim mak per se, but imagine somebody who is really into a particular hobby or sport or trade, they can randomly and accurately give you all types of info that you would normally not be able to remember or use, like somebody into dim mak based on time of day, body type etc.

Alot of things that are practiced in m.a. can be very damaging if done all the way but they are still taught and practiced in a safe manner.


Many things are exaggerated in the explanation to make it easier to remember and pass on the info, and also to hide the truth.

 

[The MMA kid!]

yes, I think i have teh Dim Mak, it kills on contact right, or a postponed kill??

let me check.....

oh nevermind, its just an AK47, but it works pretty much the same!:mp5:

 

[Kobayashi]

I've been knocked out from strikes, but they were always vulnerable areas of the body (i.e., gall bladder points at the base of the skull, corotid artery on the side of the neck, or when a good hit to the chin shifts your jaw back to hit the nerves near your jaw hinge). My experience is that either your nervous system is overwhelmed or blood flow is interrupted - it isn't not a chi thing.

Personally, I think it is better to have a working knowledge of the human body and know where the weak places are. If you hit some of these places hard, an adversary might get KO'd but I wouldn't rely on that.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I know a man in NY who got kicked inthe leg, broke a blood vessel, a clot formed then broke away and headed for the heart. If it had reached the heart or brainbefor surgury he could well have died or had a stroke. Dim Mark may be explained by science in some instances