06/15/2018
In martial arts the mysteries we are lead to believe. Some, namely Dim Mak and more specifically the "death touch", have an element of truth. There is a trauma situation that supports the claim of the possibility of causing death from a punch. It's called Commotio Cordis.
While this situtation does happen it is highly unlikely to happen from a punch, or at all. If you have ever given CPR you know that you do crack the ribs but it takes significant effort. A fit man doing CPR will be exhausted in 10 minutes. In order to pull off Commotio Cordis and give the idea of a death punch an attacker has to hit the chest wall with enough force to cause it to cave in and touch the heart at the right moment the heart has expanded. A lot has to go right. The link below reports such a case happening during a sporting match, which is where most of these issues occur. I am sure that one day centuries ago some kung fu practitioner did this and hence the legend of the death punch was born.
Croatian soccer player Bruno Boban collapses and dies on field moments after being struck in the chest by a ball at close range.
