Dit Da Jow

[1slorunner]

Does anyone have any recommendations? I have Googled and found numberous products but I don't know one from the other. I would appreciate any suggestions and recommendations.

Joe

[sean_stonehart]

Does anyone have any recommendations? I have Googled and found numberous products but I don't know one from the other. I would appreciate any suggestions and recommendations.

Joe

Contact Dale Dugas at Boston Bagua Zhang (www.bostonbaguazhang.com). I'll be going to him for mine once my current supply runs out.

Otherwise you need to find somebody local like a Chinese apothecary to brew you one or convince a CMA practitioner to sell to you. Don't ask for the recipe. It's rude & you'd get nothing. Just ask if they have anything.

I tend to stay away from the pre-brewed stuff that sells for oodles per couple of ounces. A good non local place (like Dale) will send you the herbs & instructions for taking care of it yourself. They may not tell you what's in it & how much, but they will find out exactly what you're wanting & recommend the best jow to use.

[Neil Yamamoto]

As an alternative to buying from Dale Dugas, if you want to homebrew, below are three forumulas.

Both recipes are from Tom Bisio's “A Tooth from the Tiger’s Mouth.” Both work well. Get the book for details of how to DIY at home.

Mail order cost of herbs is about $12, just over $20 with shipping, for both from here: www.kamwo.com

Tendon Linament: For warming tendons and ligaments, helps keep them looser and helps prevent pain.
12 grams Cao wu
12 grams Chuan wu
12 grams Tao ren
12 grams Ma huang
12 grams Zi ran tong
12 grams Mo yao
12 grams Ru xiang
12 grams Da huang
12 grams Lu lu tong
12 grams Zhang mu

Trauma liniment: This is what most people think of as dit da jow.
12 grams Da huang
12 grams Zhi zi
12 grams Hong hua
12 grams Huang bai
12 grams Mo yao
12 grams Ru xiang
12 grams Xue jie
12 grams Lu lu tong
12 grams Dang gui wei

I've got a very old recipe from Ark Wong which is great, also about 4 times as expensive.

And a third simple recipe- San Huang San - for when you get whacked a good one. This will prevent bruising very well. I recall Dale has this available too.

San Huang San -Equal amounts of the below herbs, finely ground:
Da Huang (Rhizoma Rhei -Rhubarb)
Huang Qin (Radix Scutellaria Baicalensis - skullcap root)
Huang Bai (Cortex Phellodendri - phellodendron bark)
Pu Gong Ying (Herba Taraxaci Mongolici - dandelion)
Zhi Zi (Fructus Gardenia Jasmonoidis - gardenia)
Hong Hua (Flow Carthami Tinctorii - safflower)

Mix with any greasy ointment. Vaseline is OK if nothing else is convenient. Apply as a poultice and cover with a light dressing over night.

[Jeff Burger]

I think Dit Da Jow is over rated. IMO if you are going to use it keep it inexspensive.

[simplygungfu]

i know this thread is old as dirt, but i cant let the last comment be on the negative side of dit da sure you can get dit da thats made poorly. watered down, bad menstruum used, ratios that are off, etc. but not if you are paying attention. here is a link to a thing i wrote introducing my students to dit da jow. hope it helps.

or not, i guess i cant post a link...oh well. you can follow the link in my signiture and click on dit da jow and martial conditioning if so inclined. the main point is dit da jow should not be overlooked in traditional martial art.

[ngkungfu]

Ng family recipe:

3 grams Mo yao
3 grams Ru xiang
3 grams of angelica root (sorry don't know the name in chinese)
3 grams of dragons blood

Mix above ingredients with a fifth of cheap whiskey and put in dark cool place to age for at least 6 weeks before using. The longer it ages the better and more stronger it gets. But if its to old like 5 years old or older it does start to go bad. This is an all purpose dit da jow. It does good for bruises (breaking up stagnated blood) and for swelling & pain. It will take a bruise away in about half the time it normally takes, at least for me it does. But everyone is different so the results might be different for you.

[rainesr]

Mo Yao is Myrrh
Ru Xiang is Frankincense
Dang Gwei is Angelica Root
Shweh Jin is Dragon's Blood

This is a very tame Dit Ja Jao. Most recipies I have seen have several more herbs and some type of topical analgesic.

I don't use it often but I know I would get a thrashing for putting my teacher's recipe on th internet, he is very protective of it. I am still surprised he gave it to me.


~Rob

[rainesr]

Oh I waited to long to edit so a double post

I wouldn't recommend drinking your Dit Ja Jao but those are all edible herbs. Most recipes I have seen have several more herbs (half of which are poison) and some type of topical analgesic. Never used Whiskey, very cheap whiskey can have sugar in it and will sometimes have coloring added because it is not made properly. Might be better off buying the good stuff if you are concerned about the "perfect mix".

I know I would get a thrashing for putting my teacher's recipe on the Internet, he is very protective of it. I am still surprised he gave it to me, but he had to make me a special mix so I didn't get a rash. I may as well have rubbed poison ivy on myself. He probably was sick of making the "Rob" version just for me.

A past instructor used to mix his into petroleum jelly and make an ointment like tiger balm.

~Rob

[ngkungfu]

Well, it's not a very big secret. And like you said its a basic recipe that I posted. I said cheap whiskey becuase I don't think you want to go buy a bottle of Knob Creek or Woodford reserve that costs $50 or more only to use it for Dit Da Jow. I guess if you have the money then you can do that but it seems like a waste of good bourbon to me. Now if your talking about a Tennessee whiskey then go ahead, Tennessee whiskey sucks anyways. I live 15 minutes from where the good stuff is made. I can be at the Wild Turkey distillery or the Knob Creek distillery or the Woodford Reserve distillery in 15 to 20 minutes. Also, I don't think the difference in sugar amount in these is going to be enough to make a difference in the quality of Jow. I have a recipe for a jow that has about 3 more things in it besides those 4 things. I did not post that one. I could post it if I wanted and my teacher would not "thrash" me as you call it. I just choose not to post it becuase I am secretive about it. My teacher is not.

[ngkungfu]

Our grandmaster is a chinese herbalist and is a practicing pharmasist at a local Rite Aid Drug Store. He has several recipes for dit da jow. He is secretive about some and some not so secretive about. He is also a certified acupunturist. He has a degree in philosophy and a degree in accounting.