Touch of Death
Martial arts techniques reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific points on the body
点穴 · 点穴术
- Classified as
- combat technique, fictional martial arts
- Part of
- Chinese martial arts
The touch of death (or death-point striking) is any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body.
The concept known as dim mak (simplified Chinese: 点脉; traditional Chinese: 點脈; pinyin: diǎnmài; Jyutping: dim2 mak6; lit. 'press artery'), alternatively diǎnxué (simplified Chinese: 点穴; traditional Chinese: 點穴) traces its history to traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. Tales of its use are often found in the Wuxia genre of Chinese martial arts fiction. Dim mak is depicted as a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure points and meridians, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent. Little scientific or historical evidence exists for a martial arts "touch of death"; however, in rare cases, death can occur in response to trauma such as commotio cordis, an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1225673 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.