By Shino Wilberg, 5 Dan. Acudo Ryu

First of, I want to make it clear that I am by no means a great expert or exponent of Dimmak techniques. Nor do I intend to teach any technique in this article.
Secondly; to the observant reader you will notice that I have previously written another article a while ago on the subject of Qi in the martial arts, which covers some of the same things. However, this article has a few other focus points that make it worth publishing.

My goal is simple: To try and give an explanation to how the flow of qi through the meridians of our body works, and how we can manipulate this flow to get either a positive result (the healing arts) or a negative effect (the combat arts).
I will explain how the meridians work, what qi is and methods and tools used to manipulate it.
1: Meridians:
The meridians flow through our bodies in two layers, one somewhat superficial, that is just under our skin. The other layer runs a bit deeper, and connects the upper layer with
underlying structures and tissues. Both combat artists and healers mostly work with the upper of these two layers, as it is by its nature the easiest to access, and also the most known one. The simplest way to explain how the meridians work, is to compare them to a stream of water. The function of the meridians, like the streams and creeks are to transport and guide the qi to the different parts of the body. When the pathways of the meridians are kept clear and unblocked, the qi flows freely in the direction it is supposed to, and all is well with the world; we are healthy, strong, alert, and feel good.
If however there are some blockages, either partial or complete, then the flow of qi is either disrupted or blocked completely. This is what happens when we get ill. The bigger the blockade of qi, the more severe the problem will become, until the blockage is removed and normal flow restored.
This is what Dimmak and Acudo Ryu does; disrupts and blocks the flow of qi.
However, for Dimmak and Acudo Ryu (and to be fair, any combat art that manipulates qi) to work, we must target those locations where we can access the qi, those are what we know as acupoints.
The meridians form a network of these pathways, or channels all over our bodies, as I stated earlier, and there are 14 main meridians, 12 “organ meridians” and the two centerline meridians, DuMai and RenMai. These 12 are the main, classical meridians most people associate with the word meridian in the context of tcm and martial arts, but there are others as well, that I will not get in to. The 12 organ meridians are Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Liver, Heart, Kidney, San Jiao, Pericardium, Small Intestine, Gallbladder and Bladder

2: Qi
I stated at the beginning of this article that I would explain what qi is; well that is an
ambitious task in and of itself, but what I will do is give you an oversimplified understanding of it.
Qi is energy. Energy in all its forms take on a whole lot of manifestations, from chemical to electrical, from solid energy to liquid, to gas and plasma. Energy is life, and as thus, qi is life. The qi in our bodies, as understood by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) like acupuncturists divide qi roughly into the following categories:
• Protective Qi
• Nurturing Qi
• Inherent Qi (passed on from parents)
• Acquired Qi (gained form food, drink and the air we breathe)
I am not going to go into the explanations any deeper in this article, but for those with extra interest in the subject I will give you some links at the end of the article,

3: How to manipulate qi.
The art of manipulating qi spans a number of martial arts. This group of martial arts are
generally known as the internal martial arts These martial arts include T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, to some extent Acudo Ryu, Dimmak and several kung fu styles. External Martial arts also have some form of qi-manipulation. The manipulation of qi is also how much of the healing arts of old works, arts like Acupuncture, healing herbal medicine and similar healing arts. In the martial arts, we manipulate both our own and our opponent’s qi by applying different pressures and strikes to the acupoints. I am not going to go into how to manipulate your own qi, as my previous article covers that pretty good. (you can find said article here) To manipulate your opponent’s qi, you apply either pressure or a strike of some kind in order to create an obstacle for the qi in the meridians. This can range from either a small disturbance in the flow, a full block of the qi and even a forced reversal of qi. Depending on the angle and force applied, and what acupoint has been targeted, your opponent will feel the effects of your technique either by nausea, illness, KO, or in the worst case, death. For this reason, I do not recommend teaching the art of qi-manipulation for offensive purposes to kids under the age of 16, thou the healing aspects should be encouraged.

4: Transferring qi to your opponent.
This is perhaps the most difficult, and yet effective way to achieve the most spectacular
results, and many Dimmak techniques (at least from what I have gathered in my studies)
relies on this ability. To be able to transfer qi from yourself to your opponent, you first of need to recognize your qi, and be able to direct it to where you need it to be.
For an attacking technique, this is either in your hands, elbows, knees or feet, depending on how you plan to execute the attack. Feeling the living qi in your weapon of choice, deliver your strike with speed and power, not like a jackhammer, but like a whip. The impact should be like an explosion of power and violence.

DISCLAIMER:
I do not take any responsibility for any action you do with this article. If you do something stupid, and hurt yourself or others, that is entirely on you.
Never attempt to learn any martial art by yourself, always study under a qualified master.

 

Doshu Nils Volden presented a seminar about the same topic some years ago at a World congress in Dux ryu. Click here for the presentation:  DIMMAK EXPLAINED.

 

Links:

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/qi.html

Qi