As mentioned in a previous article about the conspiracies surrounding the deaths of Bruce & Brandon Lee there are many opinions about how Bruce Lee really died. In this article guest writer, Clarke Illmatical examines the history of “The Death Touch” and poses the questions…
Was Bruce Lee killed by the nerve strike technique known as DIM MAK? Is DIM MAK real or only a myth?
Prologue
I am the man who killed Bruce Lee.
I am the man, silenced by lies to forget me.
No actor mind you, nor a man of fiction.
Nor superhero, nor invisible man; but a champion of obscurity.
I am transparent; Hong Kong’s greatest victory belongs to me.
Those who created Daniel Rand knew me. The first to plunge my hand
into the heart of the dragon. Jane Hallander once spoke of me.
Those men, those great bosses, they once had use of me. For it was in a room of silence when they first approached me. Promises of fame and riches; more than that of Lee.
Fearlessly, I stepped forward in seventy-three.
Plunging my hand into the heart of the dragon; sent on a journey
of loneliness and anonymity. This was all done, to provide solace and comfort for the widowed Lee.
The streets of Hong Kong mourned him and shunned me. The world sings of him, turning its back on me.
I step forward now; before the end and boldly share the wizardry.
You’ll have to forgive me. During the past few months, I’ve been slipping in and out of reality. Frequent conversations and meetings with martial arts masters; many feeling like seances.
During these meetings, It seems as though these men are being guided by some unseen force. Prodded until finally, they feel the urge to relate to me, with great confidence — as if I am someone with whom they must divulge a great secret. These masters spoke on the unexplained death of martial arts cinema’s greatest star — Bruce Lee.
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It has been continually suggested, that Bruce Lee was actually killed by someone who used a technique known as DIM MAK. In the 1980 film FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH martial artists, Aaron Banks discussed the death of Bruce Lee at the beginning of the film. Banks indicates that Lee was probably killed by THE TOUCH OF DEATH. A recipient of that strike would not die until days or weeks after. During an obviously scripted interview, Banks makes several interesting points, one being the excellent physical condition of Bruce Lee, and how it would have been impossible for him to have died of natural causes.The 1985 BLACK BELT MAGAZINE article KUNG FU PRESSURE POINT ATTACKS; written by Jan Hallander, mentions that Bruce may have received the DIM MAK strike several weeks before his death. According to the article, DIM MAK means TOUCHPOINTS, not DEATH TOUCH as it has been marketed by the likes of COUNT DANTE. The Japanese name for this technique is known as ATEMI. These techniques focus on attacking pressure points in the body.These pressure point strikes operate much like acupuncture. An acupuncturist’s goal is to release blocked energy on areas of the body known as meridians. By doing so blood circulates freely in the body, thus promoting health.A person who executes a DIM MAK strike does the opposite. Instead of releasing energy, this person seeks to disrupt blood flow and prevent the victim’s energy from flowing freely. In addition, the pressure points supposedly correlate to each hour of the day. So if a particular point is hit at a certain time, the body will sustain greater damage. For instance, the liver is said to correspond to the 1 am to 3 amtime frame. The liver is working hardest during these hours, so this will be the best time to strike that area or meridian in order to inflict the greatest amount of damage.According to Hallanders’s article, there are four categories of DIM MAK: pain, numbness, unconsciousness, and death.The article also states that knowledge of the points would not be enough, the person executing the technique would have to know how to harness their own energy or CHI, in order to make the strike truly effective.
DIM MAK is said to be a form of BAK MEI kung fu. Martial arts cinema fans have come to know him as the infamous WHITE LOTUS. You’re probably familiar with the white eyebrow champion from movies like FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS. BAK MEI, the chief of the White Lotus clan killed his enemies with a 7 STEP DEATH TOUCH and 100 PACE PUNCH. The victims who had been struck by BAK MEI would either die in 7 or 100 paces. There was a delayed reaction that BAK MEI had controlled. The movie strongly referenced pressure point fighting throughout, and the protagonist defeats the White Lotus by striking his vital nerve.A document named HIS YUAN LU which was published by the China review in 1874 supports the theory of delayed death. A core portion of this document covered vital points. The HIS YUAN LU was used as a reference for coroners while investigating a cause of death.The document identifies two classes or groups of pressure points. The first, those that are struck cause immediate death. The second, which are points that are less significant; those that if they are struck, death may take several days from point of contact.A DIM MAK practitioner may have struck Bruce Lee with this strike, intending to murder him, and avoided notice because of the delayed reaction.During the movie BLOODSPORT, the protagonist is required to prove his worthiness to the tournament, by demonstrating the DIM MAK technique. What was actually executed, was a form of the IRON PALM technique. One of the few people in the United States who can actually execute the DIM MAK and IRON PALM techniques is Soke Grandmaster Irving Soto.
Irving Soto is a 10th-degree black belt, who has studied ATEMI JUJITSU for several years. He is a member of law enforcement and he has trained the federal police, FBI DEA, US Treasury, and the Navy Seals. I sought out the Grandmaster to find the truth about these pressure point attacks.Although he had started studying ATEMI JUJITSU in Brooklyn, Irving would learn IRON PALM techniques from a teacher in Chinatown. He would use these techniques to give him the advantage in tournaments. He recalled his main reason for studying the technique, saying “My reason for studying Iron Palm, it was one of my techniques to knock out an individual.”He then recalled the method his teacher suggested for preparing his body to execute the technique, which was reminiscent of scenes in the movie FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH.“I would put sand in a grill, then stick my hands in there, and then work on the bags. I would then heat up the sand and add gravel. I did that for seven or eight years consecutively. Then when my hands got stronger, I added gravel and glass, and did that for a year, after that I added rocks, my hands got very strong. I was able to break bricks with my fingers” said Soto.I asked Irving if it was possible to strike someone and for them to have a delayed death, and die a few days later.“I have hit people in a demonstration and three days later, they tell me that they are coughing up blood,” Irving recalled instances where those who have participated in demonstrations with him and have received an IRON PALM blow, have said that they have had to go to the hospital and doctors could not explain why their bodies were traumatized.Irving then went on to explain that ATEMI was the Japanese version of the DIM MAK technique. It was a technique that focused on the serves and pressure points within the body. He explained how real these pressure point attacks were, saying “It is a fact. It is a secret from the masters for many years. Many people stopped practicing Atemi for years. I was real fortunate my teacher taught me. It’s a proven fact, you can grab someone with a hand, and with enough pressure, with a wrist lock, a man can die if you suppress that nerve. Most people don’t know this. This is something that that all martial arts [all forms] have, but people aren’t doing it… If I hit you below the fragment of your nose, on the bridge of your lip, you’re dead, if I hit you on the back of your neck, you’re dead! These are actual Atemi strikes! I have studied meridian and pressure points to the max, this is one of the things I am an expert at! I can contort and put pressure on your nerve and you will bleed and have a blood clot and die later. It is a dangerous art. I’m afraid to teach it. I only teach it to black belt level, but a lot of them don’t do the things I did to cultivate it” explained Soto.It took Irving over thirty years to develop and cultivate the strike and make it effective. Irving then stressed one and important area of cultivation, saying “Breathing techniques. In order to learn how to hit someone, you have to learn how to breathe.”I asked Irving about the death of Bruce Lee and if he was possibly killed by a pressure point strike. He said “I believe Bruce Lee was killed by a Dim Mak strike. According to Chinese people I know, he got into a fight with someone on the set. One guy challenged him and this guy was an expert on pressure points.”In the highly unpublicized book UNSETTLED MATTERS: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRUCE LEE” author Tom Bleeker suggest that Bruce Lee’s death may have been linked to organized crime. Various triads were after him because they wanted him to sign exclusive film contracts. There were others who were offended because Bruce Lee had not attended the funeral of his former teacher Ip Man, because he was busy filming ENTER THE DRAGON.Knowing that DIM MIK attacks are physically possible, I myself wonder who the unknown fighter is.EPILOGUESo there it is, or some of it. Hopefully, now, you will begin to see.Your greatest champion, your greatest hero; killed by me.Now, when you hear the name Dim Mak or Death Touch;you think on me.I am the man, destroying a generations greatest hero,the “W” belongs to me.Sparring now, heavily with Ellison’s champion; yes that is me.Never mind Douglas, forget Toyko; I scored the greatest knockout in seventy-three.I am Dim Mak, I am Bak Mei, I am Irving Soto, yes that is me.I am the most unknown; the man who killed Bruce Lee.
written by Clarke Illmatical
More Posts by Clarke Illmatical:
- 7th Heaven and the Harlem Blues – the last in-depth interview with Leo O’Brien
- Listen to Bruce Leroy
- Count Dante: The Greatest Story Never Told
- The Forgotten Fury: 12 Black Martial Arts Master You Need to Know!
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Good points all around. Truly apreceiatpd.
This is absolute garbage!!!! are you serious!!!!! debunking this wont be hard the history of any so called death touch is rare to non existent and in rare cases the victim will experience discomfort , some internal bleeding but there are hardly any historical recordings of anyone dying as a result!!! Then if this so called fight took place why were there no witness accounts to back this up?? bruce lee was well known by the time any such incident wouldve taken place the media would have been all over it!!! this man is doing the most shameful thing you could ever do PROFIT FROM THE DEAD!!!!! eternally rest brothers bruce and brandon.
Actually it’s not serious. It’s just a discussion around myths surrounding Bruce Lee and a story about the history of Dim-Mak. Thanks for stopping by and for your comments.
Wishing you endless happiness and longevity.
Dim mak or whatever ancient myth this is, we have no proof, so this is all a hearsay. If triads killed him then let me ask, why, where is the profit here? Did Bruce owe them a lot of money, because that’s what organized crime is, money. They wouldn’t kill BL just for a stupid revenge or for not attending a funeral:-))) Oh what a joke this article here is. Come on. Stop believing all this crap and this martial expert here (this guy just makes good marketing here), do what you got to do but don’t do “post mortum”, you don’t know anything about that. With a body fat as low as Bruce’s, overstressed and tired, no wonder he died. He’s kdineys were in really bad condition and look at the last pictures from a set, he looks frail and sick, no mysterie here and no poison either.
It’s not serious article. It’s just a discussion around myths surrounding Bruce Lee and a story about the history of Dim-Mak. Thanks for stopping by and for your comments.
Wishing you all the best. 🙂
The Chinese triad did it cause Bruce didn’t need protection
He could fight his own battles
I’ve heard this for years and still dont believe the death touch theory , I would rather think of how he lived not how he died , I do appreciate people keeping him alive by talking about him but lets leave the dim mak to frank duxs
I love frank duxs and also brandon and bruce .i just think it was there time to go.but i do believe in the death touch. They both were great in martial arts. Bruce was the best i ve ever seen . And brandon was well on his way .
Sure you did! I bet you can tell us where Elvis has been all these years too.
One of the great mysteries of the modern age, in line with the 1908 Siberian explosion that to this day there isn’t a final word on its cause …. whether meteorite (no crater, when such an explosion equal to dozens of the bomb that leveled Hiroshima would create a huge crater), black hole(?) or perhaps God’s warning. On the Dim Mak: first, specifically on the ‘expert’ in the video: if he had been involved in a fight with Bruce Lee, he would’ve not been able to touch him. Even a ‘dim mak’ a physical touch (see below). There are certainly several people who concentrate on what can be termed ‘soft styles’ with emphasis on ‘internal power’ along with ‘external power.’ One flaw in this reasoning is that if such training makes one a physical superman, it could be adapted so that one could be the Olympic decathlon champion, for instance. China’s big government would certainly find such a person to train their athletes so they would be unbeatable. Of course, in true ‘fighting’ or in war, what may be the obvious physical superior person may actually lose in a real situation, either because things not physical, such as courage, timing, etc. Look at Audie Murphy, 115 pounds soaking wet, and WW II’s most decorated U.S. soldier. If he entered a fighting tournament t he would likely lose because of the rules. In a real situation, I wouldn’t put any money on any sport fighting champion against a Murphy. In short, while ‘soft style’ exhibition may be fine for doing ‘super feats’ they are not applicable for combat. This is why I agree with James DeMile in assessing that Lee would be the victor in a real fight against virtually anyone in the world; that was the focus of his training, not sport or exhibition. As we can see he stood up to the triads. For play, he would put his hand on chopping boards and dare the cooks on the movie set. These things show his utter confidence and/or his utter ‘badness.’ To repeat, the guy in the video, nor anyone else would be able to defeat Lee. He would be KO’d (if Lee was being nice) before he could move. Even if one had ‘dim mak’ and could apply with inanimate objects it’s a different thing against a moving opponent such as Lee. In that era perhaps there may have been a few guys who thought they had dim mak, but in their hearts they knew they wouldn’t be able to use it in a real situation. On the causes of death of Lee, there was a highly place person in the Hong Kong police force who probably knew something of the score: at the time a detective said that they were proceeding as if it were a murder case. This story was quickly killed in the media. It’s possible that this detective or his colleague was the same one who arranged a private match in Hong Kong … this was attested by a former Golden Harvest executive. A martial artist was challenging Lee in the media for quite awhile. Lee ignored him for a time, but finally agreed. There were around 20 witnesses, and Lee broke the guy’s ribs with one kick within a few seconds of the start of the fight. The story is that he also paid for the guy’s surgery in Japan. The challenger disappeared from the media, so it’s obvious he lost. But to return to the possible cause of Lee’s death. It could’ve been murder, or it could have been his deadly hashish, or the combination of his poor health. It’s true that the triad have had several HK stars in their pockets and that Lee may not have been on the best of terms with some. On the other hand, there is evidence that a lot of the triads respected Lee for not only his abilities but for the ‘good face’ he was putting on the world stage. It’s like the Italian mafia who enjoy the Godfather movies. It makes them look good, even though they aren’t like that in real life. The triads likewise would (and will) playact the tough guys because on some level the image of Bruce Lee is seared in their collective minds. That would have been true in the 1970s especially. But even today, the shadow of Lee looms large in Hong Kong and the rest of China. Plenty of the triad knew that Lee gave (and gives) them a tough image; they don’t have to train as hard as Lee, they just have to identify with him. Also, after all this time, if Lee had been murdered, some one would have talked, in my opinion.
dim mak is real, if bruce lee killed by dim mak, that should be the wu bai qian(five hundred money) dim mak.
check this videos, you will see the dim mak can delay the death, can control your enemy when you combat
please search “five hundreds money ” or “xie qiping” , you can find some videos about five hundreds money dim mak, it is in Jiang Xi province, it is a very famous Dim Mak kung fu in china. it can delay the death, and can control the death time. it said, the practicer let you 3 o’clock to die, you will 3 o’clock to die, let you 5 o’clock to die, you will 5 o’clock to die.
There is a famous ‘classic’ martial arts book, I think, called Secrets of the Martial Arts or something… written seriously, it was actually a half-spoof. However, it does actually contain good stuff mixed with the silliness. Bruce Lee’s Tao of JKD (actually, these were just his personal notes, and not intended to be a book… at least the one we see today) contains his renditions of several drawings in that ‘secrets’ book, such as a savate master’s sideways kick — which definitely can be seen in some of Bruce’s sidekicks. The book also contains a treatise on the death touch… if you hit a certain time of the day a certain organ will be affected as the ‘chi’ circles its body orbits. This is a physical blow. But is it real? We can see in present science that the universe is very strange, that the presence of experimenter affects the experiments at the quantum level… and that morphs into the holographic universe… in brief, strong thoughts/willpower/belief affect our ‘reality’ …. note Gregg Braden’s account where he visits a Tibetan cave of a ‘master’ who stayed there for years. IN the cave wall there is an imprint of his hand going through the rock… as if the rock melted. But to the death touch: anyone who could reach such a level would realize that the ‘evil energy’ would return to him. He would know it is not a ‘good’ energy. If a man is stupid and evil, of course he won’t consider the consequences of shooting himself in the foot. Another example is the Filipino Ilustrimo … before witnesses he could hold a piece of paper and bullets would not hit it. Even if the gun was held an inch away. Also, it was noted (again his abilities witnessed by many over the years) that he could ‘pray’ and a force field would prevent guys from attacking him from behind. Btw, we know the famous story of Bruce when he was in Seattle and a ‘ghost’ or something held him down. These are not the death touch per se, but the world is very strange. It would be difficult to believe the hate for someone who had such an ability to actually use it on someone. So while I believe the possibility exists, I doubt that Lee was killed by the touch or anything ‘occult.’
dim mak is real, you can search the video on the youtube : ” the real Dim Mak (Dian Xue, touch of death, Death-point striking) master– xie qi ping ” . this is one kind of kung fu in jiang xi province, it had existed more than 1000 years . people call it 500 money dim mak, or dog feet trace dim mak. and you can see this video’s poster channel, he uploaded lots of dim mak videos.
So, I just watched a video by Robert Laurence. Supposedly an ex Marine who claims he went to China to meet “Master Li” a man who said he killed Bruce Lee? So how many guys killed Bruce Lee? The guy Robert Laurence claims he met died years ago? Billy Joel’s song says it best “Honesty” such a lonely word and Hardly ever heard. Just so many scams out there and if these Death Moves were real, we would be hearing about them everyday in the news. All Hog Wash!
just because you don`t believe or you can`t find any proof doesn`t make it not ture.
Just an aside: does anyone know anything of the stories that Bruce Lee was approached by the James Bond producers to appear in the 1974 Bond film ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’? I’ve read that over the years, but now can’t find anything online. Thanks.
What a bunch of nonsense.
Bruce lee was the greatest. Everybody has a time to be here and a time to go. Haters then haters now but nobody can take away the gift he had one!
There are several techniques in Chinese MA that can cause a delayed death, but take a very high level of training to really do on command. Many strikes or presses to the points in the spine such as the ming men or presses to the carotid artery can cause problems with the heart/circulation later, as well as the left armpit. Strikes to lung points can tighten muscles around the rib cage causing oxygen deprivation, but rarely are lethal in any way to a healthy person, but could increase pneumonia risk for awhile if not corrected. The deepest level of attack is to attack at the qi level, which work best if the point is pressed at the most vulnerable time of the day (circadian rythm) in the right direction with the right power, which takes lots of skill and are not safe to practice without a highly competent master of these techniques. This is just delving into this subject. It is actual physiology and biology and physics, there is nothing “magical” about these techniques. I myself cannot do these and do not train them specifically, but understand how they work and know hand forms that could work best on given points at a physical level. Considerable jing (vibrating power) must be produced from qi. This itself takes years to master before beginning to learn to use them in concentrated ways such as performing a “death touch”! I do not doubt there are those with these skills even today however, esp. in China.
I personally think, Bruce Lee death is just normal thing that happen to everybody, because when your time has come to an end, u can’t runaway from it, so i hope all his fan can accept it’s nature in live.
I have a grandfather who lived in China and traveled all over the whole country to experience the culture. He was in one of the villages in some province that I cannot remember, but he was in what we call a bar or what ever they call it over there and was approached by some local thinking he was there trying to americanize all the natives and was about to do some serious damage to him. An older gentleman walked up to both of them and told the other local guy and requested that he sit down and have a drink on him. The other local started threatening the older man and before he could do anything the old man reached out with his right hand and what my grandfather would call a slap to just a bit in the middle and below the rib cage. The younger guy immediately fell to the floor in excruciating pain and had to be taken to the village doctor. They said that the guy almost had his spleen ruptured. There were no marks on his abdomen that could cause such damage. My grandfather said that he had never seen anything like this in all his life. He sat down with the older gentleman who explained to him what he had done and how it was done. He stated that the technique he used was passed down through generations of his family who were once personal body gaurds of the emperor of China. He said that these techniques were and still protected by those that have been taught and if revealed to outsiders they would be put to death for breaking the pact. He did say that the technique or art that it is called is the Dim Mak. He said that it does not take alot of muscle to perform the moves, that they could be learned by anyone who would respect the ancient art and not abuse it and use it as only a defensive technique. My grandfather was not able to take the time to speak with the gentlemen longer but he said that it was the best time he had spent talking to the old man about what he had witnessed. There were other stories my grandfather told me but this one stood out in my mind because of my interest in the martial arts.
I have been searching in the net about any videos of irving soto’s real fight but all i find are scripted demonstration! You cannot claim anything in the world of martial arts without evidence. And he claimed also that he is the who killed bruce lee! Ow, what a distorted hunger for fame! If there is any video tapes about his claimed 8 times world championship in kumite, was it 12th century with no camera yet?
Before, I was really interested of Irving Soto: a dim mak master, a Bruce Lee killer. Who would not be impressed. Then I watched his demo videos and he is really good in performing scripted acts. But later I became interested to any of his real fight. I tried to search for his kumite videos but nothing and all nothing but demos. I started to doubt him. Bruce Lee was maybe just a dramatic martial arts star and not a real tournament fighter but, although he had no formal credentials and no world tournament record, still his skills, speed and power were world class–and could not be killed by any dim mak master. It’s all about nonsense talks and waste of time researching about irving soto.
don’t dare tell you why & how I know, but yes Bruce was murdered by an assassin trained in whatever you choose to call it, Dim Mak, Death Touch, etc. Yes, there is a system based on a combo of forbidden points in acupuncture (anyone who really knows acupuncture knows they exist), & Tai Chi Chuan. The killer was Chinese who died years later a painfully slow death by the revenge of another practitioner. Bruce was a good fellow, a cool sense of humor when just chatting between friends, a great sparring partner (yes you read that right), great teacher. But he violated oaths to his elder teachers. The circle warned him he refused to comply. The Triad was hired. end of ….