10 Pervasive Myths

Over the years, we’ve answered a lot of questions. Sometimes, the same questions keep coming up, year after year. These questions usually revolve around some embedded myth, either newly making the rounds or one that has just been around forever. Here are ten questions we seem to keep answering....

Can a palm punch drive a nose bone into the brain?
Are there secret points that allow someone to kill a person, say, three days later?
Do ninjas exist?
Doesn’t breaking a board indicate how hard you can strike?
Did Kung Fu originate in the Shaolin Temple?
Is the 9mm an ineffective weapon?
Isn’t a .45 the best handgun?
Can a person disarm a knife attacker?
What’s the 21-foot rule about knives?
Does Chi/Qi/Ki mastery make one a better fighter?

Can a palm punch drive a nose bone into the brain? Back up

No. While any sufficiently powerful strike to the head could potentially cause a fatal injury, a diffused palm strike to the nose is unlikely to kill—especially by driving bones into the brain. The nasal bone actually consists of two, flat, fragile bones. At the base of the nose (between the eyes) is a soft, sponge-like bone called the ethmoid. The ethmoid is spongy because it forms part of the sinuses, and holds blood vessels for the nose and face. It also serves as a powerful shock absorber for the front of the face. Locking the nasal bones together is also the frontal bone, which forms the armor-like plate of the forehead. Behind the ethmoid and frontal bone is yet another bone, the sphenoid. The sphenoid is also a softer bone that helps protect the skull. This myth would therefore have you believe that a palm punch could drive two small, fragile bones through three other, significantly thicker bones without disintegrating the nasal bones. Indeed, a palm punch to the nose will shatter the nasal bones (as well as the nearby lachrymal bones), and cause signficant blood loss through the nose: a good fight ender. An instantly fatal strike however is virtually impossible.

Are there secret points that allow someone to kill a person, say, three days later? Back up

No. This is usually a reference to something called dim mak, an esoteric study of how acupuncture points can be used as weapons. The typical statement is that a well-timed strike of a certain intensity can, either by disrupting or putting an air bubble in the blood stream, kill the victim a preset period of time later...often with no trace. On a scientific level, this entire premise is incorrect. There is no physiological mechanism to control such an effect, and the ability of acupuncture points to do anything besides register a small amount of pain to a local area is without evidence. On a practical level, at least one person trained in such a system would use it for personal gain; having the ability to kill opponents with a slight touch but no evidence, such a person could easily enslave nearly everyone around him. A few people so-trained would have conquered the world centuries ago. It is important to note that a military would be quick to employ a person so trained; no such person has ever materialized; the few who promoted the ability were rapidly exposed as frauds.

Do ninjas exist? Back up

Define ninja. If a modern practioner of Ninpo is a ninja, then yes. If we are discussing historical warriors garbed in black and masters at stealth and swordsmanship, then no. Ninja are a modern construction, mostly of television and film. Historically, there were people skilled in various components of what could be called ninjitsu, but these people were spread over centuries and in nearly every case bore no relation to each other. Modern ninjitsu is a 20th-Century synthesis of these historical studies and practices, coupled with a variety of non-ninja studies. It is important not to confuse the two. Additionally, the historical existence of certain people trained in certain unorthodox warfare studies is not limited to Japan, but were found throughout history in any culture that practiced organized warfare. Virtually all components of the classic ninja (black garb, sword, assassination, etc.), were devised within the last 50 years.

Doesn’t breaking a board indicate how hard you can strike? Back up

No. Board breaking has long been a staple of many martial art traditions. Some styles make board breaking a requirement for advancement. However, the ability to snap a one-inch pine board (often, actually less than one inch) with a strike is unrelated to fighting ability in virtually every meaningful way. Snapping a board requires a well-defined physics principle known as impulse (simply stated, force divided by time). Against a less-elastic target (such as pine wood), this impulse can cause a target to crack into two...especially against a “stress riser” like grainy wood. Against a highly elastic target, such as a human body, impulse tends to push the target backward and not snap anything. Rather, power is required to transfer damaging kinetic energy into the human body. There are some ways to test this and see if our claim is true: (1) Use a non-pine board. Oak, hickory, or cherry would be ideal, but would very likely cause a boxer’s fracture in most people. (2) Use a rip-cut pine board. Rather than striking into the grain (which causes a stress riser to break), strike parallel to the grain. Suddenly, the pine board will be extremely difficult to break. (3) Drive the strike into the board, rather than snapping the hand back. Instructors remind students to strike through their opponents, but require students to “snap” their strikes into boards. Clearly, if the goal is to demonstrate striking power, then use one and only one method of striking. However, driving a combat-style strike into a pine board will prove noticeably painful. And the board will likely not break but absorb the energy of the strike. Why? Because breaking boards is a skill unrelated to delivering a powerful strike. Many of our students have broken boards to verify the principle of impulse; few traditional board breakers have even considered our three suggestions.

Did Kung Fu originate in the Shaolin Temple? Back up

No. Another popular legend is that Kung Fu originated in the Shaolin Temple. This, too, is a relatively recent construct which the Chinese government has been quick to capitalize on for tourism purposes. Although the Shaolin region has a rich and varied history, none of its various temples can legitimately claim origination of any particular style of Kung Fu, given than the basic fighting methods found therein pre-date Buddhism itself, let alone Buddhism’s arrival in China.

Is the 9mm an ineffective weapon? Back up

No. Although flawed studies in the 1980s and anecdotal claims suggest that the 9mm has inadequate “stopping power,” the 9mm is completely effective. Analysis of successful shootings by law enforcement, military, and the public in legal self-defense situations shows that the 9mm’s kill rate is within range of other commonly accepted ammunition. The 9mm is often a high-velocity round, and can pass through a target; however, careful training with shot placement and correcting “lazy shooting” techniques allows the 9mm user to use his or her weapon with confidence.

Isn’t a .45 the best handgun? Back up

Sometimes. It depends on the situation. The original .45 M19111 design is a slower functioning weapon. These can be disadvantages in the hands of an untrained shooter. A person familiar with a .45 can easily deliver a powerful response to a life-threatening encounter. As with the 9mm, shot placement and knowing how to control the weapon is all it takes to make this weapon a great choice.

Can a person disarm a knife attacker? Back up

Maybe. At close ranges, knives are very difficult to disarm. Experimenting with a standard washable marker will reveal that disarming the marker from a training partner usually results in you being heavily marked up. However, the ability to disarm a live blade is based on familiarity with knife attacks with a live blade. It is possible; but it’s up to the individual and his attacker, not the technique.

What’s the 21-foot rule about knives? Back up

There is none. This question is based on the myth that within a 21-foot radius, a person armed with a knife will always attack a person faster than the latter can draw, aim, and fire a handgun. What this actually stems from is a drill used in some law enforcement circles. In this drill, the officer must respond to a knife attack with a 7 yard circle. Most people encountering the drill for the first time discover that a knife attacker can close a two meter (standard conversational distance) faster than a police officer can draw. Over the course of the exercise, of course, the officer learns to reassess the attack more successfully. Curiously, the only element in the myth that is correct is that a knife and gun are used. There is nothing special about the 21-foot distance (a seven-yard distance from gun to target is frequently used in some handgun shooting drills), it is not a rule of any kind, nor is the knife attacker always successful...indeed, if the drill is effective, he becomes unsuccessful!

Does Chi/Qi/Ki mastery make one a better fighter? Back up

Not yet. Chi, Qi, or Ki (the mysterious energy upon which many martial artists rely) is alleged to perform miraculous powers: fighters can feel no pain, split solid objects, detect opponents, provide enormous speed, reflexes, strength, or endurance. While many trained individuals can demonstrate uncommon feats of strength or skill, not a single one has ever demonstrated that such an energy exists. Indeed, to date, all skills have been easier to explain using conventional explanations, common sense, and basic math. In other words, not only does the energy seem to dodge scrutiny, the effects are seen to be the result of other, mundane things. Despite thousands of claims of true mastery, and assurances by practitioners of validity, not a single one has been able to provide even any partial evidence of this energy force. There’s good incentive to do so: the James Randi Educational Foundation prize will offer one million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate a legitimate, even simple example of this energy.