Touch of Death

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The Touch of Death refers to any martial arts move that can hypothetically kill a person while using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body. In culture, Ninjas in particular are sometimes credited with the skill.

1 Actual Touch of Death
2 Cultural references
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Actual Touch of Death

Commotio cordis, in which heart rhythm is interrupted after the chest is struck by an otherwise less than lethal force, sometimes results in death. In Chinese martial arts, the Dim Mak techniques are said by adherents to allow execution of the touch of death. One speculation about Bruce Lee's death is that he was killed in this manner,^[1] although the official cause of death was a cerebral edema. This "Touch of Death" assassination theory was supported by promoter Aaron Banks, particularly in the martial arts documentary Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980).

[edit] Cultural references

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In an episode of The Simpsons, Bart threatens Lisa with the touch of death, that he supposedly learned from karate class, but really the name of an arcade game he played while he was supposed to be in the class.
An episode of Batman: The Animated Series titled "Day of the Samurai" was themed around the touch of death.
The fictional martial art "Hokuto Shinken" from Hokuto no Ken and Souten no Ken uses pressure point strikes to instantly kill.
The Kill Bill film duology by Quentin Tarantino climaxes when the Bride kills Bill with such a technique, titled the Five-Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.