Lesson plan
touchless knockout
Touchless knockout or no-touch knockout is a fraudulent practice by con artists who claim knowledge of techniques by which an enemy combatant can be rendered unconscious solely by application of qi, kiai or similar methods, without making physical contact. This differs from pressure point techniques which involve light or slight contact to specific areas of the body causing unconsciousness. Skeptics believe apparent demonstrations of touchless knockout techniques to be hypnotism of, or acting (collusion) on the part of, the apparent victims of the technique. One notable practitioner of the fictitious touchless knockout is George Dillman; he attempted to demonstrate the technique for a National Geographic Channel program about him and was unable to knock out volunteers previously unknown to him. Another martial artist who claimed but was unable to prove an ability to knock out without contact is Harry Thomas "Tom" Cameron, who was featured in episode eight of season one of Stan Lee's Superhumans and, unusually for that program, judged not to have any superhuman ability whatsoever. Cameron was also debunked in a Fox news investigation.…
Article summary
Touchless knockout or no-touch knockout is a fraudulent practice by con artists who claim knowledge of techniques by which an enemy combatant can be rendered unconscious solely by application of qi, kiai or similar methods, without making physical contact. This differs from pressure point techniques which involve light or slight contact to specific areas of the body causing unconsciousness. Skeptics believe apparent demonstrations of touchless knockout techniques to be hypnotism of, or acting (collusion) on the part of, the apparent victims of the technique. One notable practitioner of the fictitious touchless knockout is George Dillman; he attempted to demonstrate the technique for a National Geographic Channel program about him and was unable to knock out volunteers previously unknown to him. Another martial artist who claimed but was unable to prove an ability to knock out without contact is Harry Thomas "Tom" Cameron, who was featured in episode eight of season one of Stan Lee's Superhumans and, unusually for that program, judged not to have any superhuman ability whatsoever. Cameron was also debunked in a Fox news investigation.…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.