The following interview was conducted between Paladin Press and A. Flane Walker and Richard C. Bauer, the authors of the new Paladin release, The Book of Dim Mak, a revised and expanded edition of The Ancient Art of Life and Death (originally released by Paladin in 2002).
PP: Why did you want to do a revision to your original book, The Ancient Art of Life and Death?
Walker & Bauer: When we originally wrote the The Ancient Art of Life and Death in 2001, we intended it to be the first of a two-book set. The first book would cover the main meridians; the second would cover the midline vessels. As such, we did not include an in-depth discussion of the conception vessel (CV) and governing vessel (GV) points in the original edition. The plans to write the follow-up book were put on hold following the tragic events of 9/11. In 2010, we were finally able to revisit the book. In doing so, we took a look at the midline strikes to the centerline. The cause and effects of the midline channels are so unforgiving and the effects are enduring. People needed to understand what would happen with strikes to the vessels, so the thought of a revision came up. In doing so, we decided to approach the subject with the same level of discipline and professionalism as we had in the original.
PP: How does the expanded edition differ from the original one? What new material has been added?
Walker & Bauer: We added information on the CV and GV vessels, along with explanations of the effects of striking these sensitive regions of the body. We added information on the history and development of dim mak. We greatly expanded the material on general anatomy and included some new material concerning its importance to a martial artist. We also included a number of new illustrations, as well as some historical images of material we have within the system. Our system is quite old and has been known by many names. The historical documents include examples of dim mak material from the 1800s. We did not re-engineer this knowledge; it has never left. It is taught from day one in our schools. The first day with the first punch, we tell where the strike is going, and what it will do, and what can be done to increase the effect and how to recover from it. We tried to communicate these things in the new edition.
PP: Who is your intended audience for The Book of Dim Mak: Revised and Expanded?
Walker & Bauer: Predominately we are targeting instructors and serious martial arts students. It was written by black belts for black belts.
PP: What can readers expect to get from the book? What can they not expect to get?
Walker & Bauer: Readers will get an in-depth understanding of what each point on the meridians can do, and they will get an understanding of what certain striking patterns and combinations can do, as well as the healing aspects. They will get a general introduction to herbal techniques. They will get a bit of the rich history of how dim mak was traditionally taught and used throughout the millennia. This knowledge had not been lost; it has always been here, it has just been taught to advanced practitioners who were going to become doctors and healers. Within this book is both yin and yang: healing and damaging. A martial artist needs to know both aspects in order to understand this subject. Dim mak takes years to properly understand and longer to master, and in every instance the goal must be healing and building the student. It is completely wrong to strike a person without understanding what the long-term effect will be. Doing such is the epitome of ignorance and incompetence.
PP: Is The Book of Dim Mak the most comprehensive work on both the martial and medical aspects of dim mak available today? Are there other works that you would recommend for people interested in learning more about dim mak, or about different aspects of the art?
Walker & Bauer: The works of Erle Montague are incomparable. His understanding was from a slightly different format than ours, but the material is the same. It is akin to looking at a tree from two different angles and directions. When we wrote the original edition, Erle welcomed us and offered his full support. We never tried to make the ultimate dim mak book; we just tried to complete what we started. The encyclopedia set by Montaigue and Simpson will be the standard on this subject for many generations to come.
PP: How did you get involved in the art of dim mak?
Walker: My teacher would not teach me the martial side of the art unless I learned the medical aspect. At the time I though the medical was cool, but the striking was incredible. Now I realize the striking was simply the small aspect of the medical. A martial artist should be known first as a healer. My teacher always said, “When you are older, you will make big realizations.” Wow was he right! When you become a father and a grandfather, you begin to understand how great a responsibility it is to be able to take care of those who are close to you. Now I tell people a quote from my teacher: “The master is not the man who defeated 10,000 in combat; it is the man who healed 10,000 and taught 100,000 how to live.”
PP: The Book of Dim Mak has a section from the late Erle Montaigue that wasn’t included in any of his previous Paladin works on dim mak. How did you get this new material? What contribution to the study of dim mak did Erle make?
Walker: During the 15 years before his death in 2011, we had frequent contact with Erle. We compared ideas and technique more than most people ever knew. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Rick wrote several articles for Erle’s tai chi magazine, Combat & Healing. Both of us went over the articles so it has always been a mutual contribution from both Rick and me. Erle, Rick, and I talked about healing and the use of strikes a lot over the years. Erle was the first to really show the complete aspect of dim mak. He was the pioneer and the groundbreaker.
Bauer: Back in 2002, Erle shared with us some text that inadvertently had been left out of his Dim Mak Encyclopedias. It was on one of the GV points. Since we were adding material on the CV and GV points in the revised edition, we thought it would be appropriate to include the “lost” material as a tribute to him. It belonged in his work. We are greatly honored to share it.
PP: Who studies dim mak today? Is it still primarily an Asian art, or does it have adherents all over the world?
Walker & Bauer: The proper study of dim mak takes years to understand and years of hard study to properly control. There are no shortcuts. It takes years of training and practice to properly understand the full scope of dim mak (both healing and martial). For a person to properly claim to be a master instructor, he had to be classically trained on this subject. He also had to have applied it in actual combat, not just theoretically or in knockout seminars. This system cannot be re-engineered. It must be taught from instructor to student, and it must be communicated effectively with competent technique transfer.
PP: I know that you have an extensive collection of material related to dim mak’s rich history. Can you discuss your collection a bit and tell readers what pieces are included in The Book of Dim Mak?
Walker: For the revised edition, we included a lot of historical material from our private collections. These include pictures of some of the original dim mak books, printed in China in the 1800s. We also included artifacts and images from the time of the Boxer Rebellion and World War II. We wanted to share them with the Paladin readers as examples of the rich traditional history dim mak has. We did not come to understand dim mak by re-engineering forms. We received it the traditional way, passed down from instructor to student, just as it was done for the last century. Rick and I are continually looking for new items to add to our collections.