"Dim Mak" is the ancient Chinese art of the death touch. Masters of Dim Mak are said to possess secret knowledge of how "ch'i" (literally, "breath") flows through the human body. Chi flow is said to vary, depending upon the the season, time of day, one's state of health and other esoteric factors. A master of Dim Mak uses his knowledge of these factors to pinpoint the vulnerable locations on his opponent's body. By accurately striking those locations, even with a mere finger thrust or touch, the master can disrupt the body's chi flow, causing the victim to suffer intense pain or even death.

Legends say that the greatest masters can "delay" Dim Mak damage, so that they touch a victim and he does not suffer any injury for minutes, hours, days or even months. Sometimes the master delays the damage based on how many steps the victim takes after being struck -- he does not suffer damage until he has taken ten, twenty, One thousand or however many steps.

Some Dim Mak strikes can be used to paralyze the limbs, afflict the victim with various diseases or, so the legends say, kill with a single soft blow.