Dim-Mak: Death Point Striking [Paperback]

I use the prefix "Mr." as a means of showing respect. I do not use "sifu" or "master" as I am neither Mr. Montaigue's student nor disciple and have never met him.

Mr. Montaigue refers to two distinct forms of taijiquan: the Yang Cheng-fu form and the Yang Lu-chan form. The former refers to what is generally called the "108" or the "85", or confusingly as "the long form". It is called the latter by many to distinguish it from the Cheng Man-ching form that is often called "the short form". What he refers to as the Yang Lu-chan form is a different form that is also taught as the "the long form" or "long boxing". For brevity, I will refer to the Yang Cheng-fu form as simply "the form", the Yang Lu-chan form as "long boxing", and the Cheng Man-ching form as "the short form". Long boxing clearly contains the principle of advancing while neutralizing and can look strange to someone not accustomed to it. Advancing is implicit in all the forms, but it is visually explicit in long boxing. This background is important because Mr. Montaigue is a strong proponent of this principle and it must be borne in mind when reviewing the photos and descriptions of applications. Also, certain postures from long boxing are not explicit in either the form or short form, and one might simply glance at the book and mistakenly say "that's not taiji", dismissing it as not authentic.

The classics say "[t]here are life and death acupoints, but to learn them requires oral transmissions" (Douglas Wile. _Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty_. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. p. 85.) The classics go on to say that it is inappropriate to transmit this knowledge in any way but orally and only to well-chosen students to prevent this knowledge from falling into the hands of criminals. Mr. Montaigue makes a case at the beginning of the book as to why he has decided to publish this information against the advice of his seniors. You can read his defense there. The reason I have chosen this quotation is because the prospective purchaser of this book should know that this book, despite its title, is NOT only concerned with death. In addition to this, Mr. Montaigue provides chapters that deal with life, using these points to heal and treat afflictions--not simply treating someone who has been struck, but also someone afflicted with corresponding illnesses (sunstroke, for instance). Information is also provided on qi gong and applying specific taiji postures and sequences for treating specific ailments. These chapters are sadly very short but are loaded with useful information. Also included is a brief transcript of a Q&A between Mr. Montaigue and Chang Yiu-chun which is extremely worthwhile. Such chapters contain many pearls to be plucked by attentive readers.

The book can also help one understand reasons behind certain movements that one might never have thought about, or simply performed by rote, the importance of which may have been overlooked. An example of this occurs in Mr. Montaigue's application of "Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain". This example helped me understand the turning over of the palm in a new light. This is not an isolated example. Even if one were to disagree with an application as presented, getting up and testing the posture will be good for your development.

A minor complaint I will register at this point is that although many of the applications shown are drawn directly from taiji postures, Mr. Montaigue generally does not relate the descriptions and photos to those postures by name. This is a drawback to me as a taiji practitioner, but perhaps would be a plus to martial artists of different schools.

This brings us to the flaws of the book. The book suffers from a somewhat lax job of copyediting. Although not overly burdened with typos, there are enough to annoy me. This is a minor complaint for a book of this genre; I do have more serious complaints as to some points of editing and production. For example: "When your opponent kicks, simply move in and strike St32..." (p. 130.) There is no point St32 discussed in the book. I think this may be a mistake for Gb32, but perhaps the St32 point was edited out of the manuscript. This seems clearly to be the case just below that in a discussion of striking Sp8 and Sp9. These points are not in the book in its published form and do not appear to be mistakes. A prospective buyer should be aware of these problems as they do occur, but also rest assured that they are not widespread. Also, clarity was sacrificed for page count. In a book of this nature, clarity should be paramount. Diagrams and photos often do not appear on the same pages as their corresponding text. This is especially annoying if you are standing up and working through the applications. In some instances the photos are two full pages away.

Given these problems, why not downgrade the rating? I do not consider these problems with the instruction, or with Mr. Montaigue's techniques. I am not rating the book on aesthetic principles, but rather on the efficacy of its martial application and related teachings, especially to taijiquan. Mr. Montaigue shares his knowledge without holding back. His style is casual and friendly, yet authoritative. An example of this is the following: "Contrary to what many people say, it IS possible to KO yourself--I have knocked myself out a couple of times and, apart from the obvious embarrassment, it is not good for you." (p. 33.) How many teachers would share this information with their students, let alone the general public? What is most important is that Mr. Montaigue teaches and shares his knowledge with an "open heart".