How to Hit Dim Mak Meridians in Presssure Points Self Defence

In the last dim mak pressure points article, we looked at the 14 Main Meridians and the flow of Chi. Just to recap, the 14 Main Meridians are Lung, Colon, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Three Heater, Gall Bladder, Liver, Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel.

Chi energy flows through these meridians in a continuous cycle that begins at the Lung meridian and flows in a wave like pattern through the other meridians. It doesn't flow through the Conception Vessel or Governor Vessel, as these meridians have other functions than the 12 bilateral meridians.

Chi flows DOWN the Lung, UP Colon, DOWN Stomach, UP Spleen...and so on till it ends at the Liver meridian; then re-entering the Lung meridian and beginning the process again.

Knowing how to hit the meridian system and knowing the effects of striking meridians, and the points that lie on them, is critical to effective dim mak pressure points defence; both for the practical application of your techniques and as a theoretical base for the effects of dim mak on the human mind and psyche.

Learning any craft, skill or art comes in stages, but it's important to go back to the basics as you progress through the learning system, and incorporate that earlier knowledge into a much fuller understanding of what you are doing and why.

Let's look at how this works to help your dim mak training. As a beginning student, you start to learn the practical moves and techniques; your concentration is immense, you don't have much background knowledge so you consciously focus on what moves you're making.

At this stage in your learning process your dim mak will be the most effective if you:

• read and try and understand the concepts of Chi flow, how meridians work and the numbering system. This will help you in remembering and understanding why your instructor is asking you to target specific points.

  ------ At this stage you'll probably still need to consciously remind yourself that the meridians are bilateral - that they run on both sides of the body. For example, there are two Liver 14's, one on each side, two Lung 1's and so on. Are you only targeting one side of the body...Remember bilateral...two sides. But you knew this, right? ------

• You'll begin to remember what effects are caused by hitting those points, and your aim will be to hit them as directly as possible with a natural blow

• In practice, your concentration should be locating and targeting these points. While you are building your knowledge your best bet in a self defence situation will be to target those points you've practised, because you don't yet have the knowledge to be very creative.

  As your skill progresses, and you keep up with the theory study, you begin to think less about the location of points as you strike. You know their location so well that you are now targeting them without conscious thought. At this stage your dim mak will be most effective as you:

• begin to target other points. By now you should be revisiting your theory on meridians so that you can develop your knowledge about the positioning of the meridians themselves. With practice you'll be able to visualize where they are in the same way that you visualize points. At this stage you'll also begin to know at which points meridians diverge deep into the body, where there are connections with other meridians and vessels. You'll also begin to understand why you have been instructed to hit points in specific ways.

• In practice you are still honing your physical techniques. But now you're targeting more points without conscious thought and you're hitting them accurately. You're also looking for the meridians and you're beginning to understand that while you're not as effective if you miss the point, but hit the meridian, you're still more effective than if you were to hit willy-nilly anywhere on the body.

• Now you can begin to be a little creative, you miss a point - that's not good - but you've hit the meridian and you're starting to link points together. Because you know what meridian you've hit, now you target a point on a paired meridian, to try and make the most effective use out of your first miss.....

Keep in mind that knowing a full account of how and why the paired meridians work will improve your effectiveness.

By now you've begun to understand why the theory of dim mak, and the meridian network, are so important. This knowledge is more than just understanding what pathological results will be caused in your attacker, it has practical applications in terms of how you apply the actual techniques you're learning.

Back to Meridians