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FEBRUARY 17, 2019

WHAT IS DIT DA?: AN IN-DEPTH

EXPLANATION OF THREE FORMULAS
AND THE ACTION OF THE CHINESE
HERBAL COMPONENTS

Why do you need to see a doctor? The answer, inevitably, is injury or illness.

Yes, of course, there is preventative medicine, the concept of tonifying, or

supplementation. And, if you live in Beverly Hills, there is also plastic surgery. But
let's not get caught up in complexities.

Injury and illness are what the need for doctors and healthcare professionals
arose from. And we have illness covered grandly from East to West; general
practitioners and pediatrics, to massage therapists and brain surgeons; then, of
course, there are oriental acupuncturists and herbalists who treat many illnesses,
other alternative healers, specialists, and so on and so forth.

And then there is dit da...

Dit da is the field of Chinese herbalism that deals with the healing and

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management of injury, a field that is relatively lacking in Western medicine. It is

the concentration on addressing physical trauma. Dit da is very important to
herbalists concerned with sports and martial arts injuries, and especially to the
athletes and martial artists that receive those injuries.

Herbs used in dit da are processed and extracted in a number of ways. While
many clinical herbs are cooked and consumed internally, dit da is often applied
topically. And, often, these externally applied herbs have somewhat differing uses
than when taken internally. Dit da jow, meaning "fall-hit wine," is generally an
alcohol-based liniment produced by aging herbs in an ethanol solution. This is by
far the most common use of herbs in dit da and, so, in this article, we will cover
two dit da jow recipes that can be made easily and used with a great deal of
effectiveness.

QI LI SAN
Qi Li San, meaning 7 taels powder, is an old classical dit da jow recipe. The
original formula, as published in Bensky & Gamble, is illustrated below, with
slight modifications:
Xue Jie 30 g
Er Cha 9 g
Hong Hua 6 g
Ru Xiang 6 g
Mo Yao 6 g
Zhu Sha 3 g
Bing Pian 1 g
She Xiang 1g
As we can see, most of this formula is composed of Blood invigorators used to
dispel Blood stasis, relieve pain, engender new flesh, and reduce inflammation.
However, Zhu Sha is no longer available, and She Xiang is incredibly expensive
and of low quality. Xue Jie is also becoming expensive so we will make some
changes to the formula:
Xue Jie 30 g
Xu Duan 30 g
Er Cha 9 g

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Mu Xiang 9 g
Hong Hua 6 g
Ru Xiang 6 g
Mo Yao 6 g
Zhi Zi 6 g
Bing Pian 3 g

In this modified version, we have added Xu Duan, which is a good Blood

invigorator and as a Yang tonic, also heals and strengthens bone and sinew. Mu
Xiang will help regulate the flow and is also a warm pain killer. Bing Pian has
been increased to make up for the missing She Xiang, and Zhu Sha has been
dropped. Zhi Zi was added to help clear heat and address inflammation. In
stronger formulas, Tao Ren is added to compliment Hong Hua for which it works
synergistically with. We will see this in the next formula.

Xue Jie, Xu Duan, Er Cha, Hong Hua, Ru Xiang, and Mo Yao all have varying
capacity to invigorate Blood circulation while covering other important functions,
such as generating new flesh, relaxing sinew, or reducing inflammation and pain.
The rest of the herbs in the formula tend to back up these functions.

As is, this is a very basic formula. There are no profoundly strong herbs but the
formula works quite well when applied topically for the treatment of bruising and
other basic traumatic injuries.

To make this dit da jow, the herbs can be coarsely ground and aged in ½ gallon
of alcohol for a minimum of 60 days before use. Alternatively, the herbs can be
finely ground and mixed with small amounts of alcohol until a paste is made. The
paste can then be applied directly to injuries.

This formula is actually safe to take internally (certainly safer than it was with Zhu
Sha!) but is meant for external application and should be used in that way.

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A Stronger Dit Da Jow Formula for More Serious Injuries

The next formula we will discuss is useful for more serious injuries and will use a
stronger battery of herbs.

Many martial arts schools hold their dit da jow formulas very closely, keep them
secret, and provide the written prescription only to advanced students who have
shown their loyalty over the years. While each formula has its unique structure
and ingredients list, most of these formulas are very similar and contain a majority
of the same herbs throughout, with some variation due to origin, time period, etc.
The below formula was used in a small handful of southern Chinese Kung Fu
schools and is quite useful for muscular and bone bruises, sprains and strains, and
more serious injuries:

Zi Ran Tong 24 g
Su Mu 24 g
Jiang Huang 24 g
Hong Hua 24 g
Tao Ren 24 g
Dang Gui Wei 24 g
Fu Zi 15 g
San Qi 15 g
Chen Xiang 15 g
Ru Xiang 15 g
Mo Yao 15 g
Qiang Huo 15 g
Xu Duan 15 g
Gu Sui Bu 15 g
Da Huang 15 g
Zhi Zi 12 g
Sheng Di 12 g
Hou Po 12 g

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This formula was chosen for several reasons:

First, it uses some stronger herbs that the previous formula, marking its utility for
more severe situations.

Second, it uses three synergistic combinations of herbs that don't appear in the
above formula.

In this formula we have a large battery of herbs that invigorate the Blood, both
moderately and strongly. Dang Gui Wei, Zi Ran Tong, Su Mu, Jiang Huang,
Hong Hua, Tao Ren, San Qi, Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, Xu Duan, Gu Sui Bu, and Da
Huang all have varying degrees of strength for moving Blood to dispel stasis.

Additionally, Zi Ran Tong, Xu Duan, and Gu Sui Bu work to heal and strengthen
bone and sinew through their ability to tonify the Kidney meridian. Su Mu, Jiang
Huang, and Hong Hua all have additional ability on top of their Blood moving
properties to open the channels.

Both Tao Ren and Mo Yao are neutral and help reduce inflammation and relieve
pain due to injury. San Qi is chiefly a stop-bleeding herb, making it useful for
fresh injuries that are painful due to Blood stasis. However, it is also a strong
Blood invigorator and is an important herb in any injury formula. It is certainly
one of the most common herbs used in stronger injury formulas.

Da Huang, being a purgative when used internally, is actually a very strong Blood
invigorator when combined with other Blood invigorators and used externally.
Because it is also very cold and bitter, it is useful in reducing the heat from
swelling and inflammation. And lastly, we have Dang Gui Wei. This herb serves
little additional benefit except to moderately invigorate Blood circulation to reduce
stasis. For use on individuals with reduced constitution, the head or whole body of
Dang Gui can be used instead.

Fu Zi here is used for its pure Yang strength and ability to warm the channels and

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reduce pain, as well as an uncanny action to treat Bi Syndrome that cause joint
and muscle pain, and weakness. Additionally, Qiang Huo, helps address Bi
Syndrome as well, dealing with damaged joints that have soreness and aches.
Principally a Wind-Cold releasing herb, Qiang Huo is used externally most often
for its ability to address the joints through its interaction with the Kidney.

Zhi Zi and Sheng Di are heat-clearing herbs used for their strong anti-
inflammatory properties. While an herb like Zhi Zi is used internally for its strong
antibiotic properties (among other things), its external application is primarily to
reduce inflammation, reduce pain, and stop bleeding. It is a common herb in
many dit da jow formulas for its affinity in aiding in the healing process.

Sheng Di, also a blood cooling herb, contributes additional functionality to reduce
inflammation. It is also useful when applied topically for skin rashes and other
types of heat.

Lastly, we have Chen Xiang and Hou Po. Both of these herbs are very penetrating
aromatic woods that are drying and moving in nature. They both have action to
move and regulate Qi and dry dampness. In this case, dampness is in the form of
congealed fluids at the site of injury.

Having discussed the herbs, we should go back and look at the three synergistic
combinations:

• Hong Hua and Tao Ren work synergistically to invigorate Blood circulation.
These 2 herbs, when combined, form a rather strong pair and add
significantly to the strength of this formula over Qi Li San, where Tao Ren was
absent.

• Xu Duan and Gu Sui Bu synergistically tonify the Kidney and Liver to heal and
strengthen bone and sinew. Their Blood moving capability is also increased.

• Fu Zi and Qiang Huo are often combined for their synergistic action to dispel
Wind-Damp conditions in the joints and muscles.

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To make this liniment, the herbs can be coarsely ground (except the Zi Ran Tong),
broken up or added whole to a 1 gallon glass contained and filled with vodka.
The San Qi absolutely must be ground or crushed thoroughly to reap its benefits
and the Zi Ran Tong must be processed by calcining and crushing as large raw
chunks of Pyrite will not provide any benefit for your liniment. Additionally, Tao
Ren should be crushed up to expose its oils to the solvent. Age the liniment for a
minimum of 3 months prior use.

This formula should provide the necessary strength for nearly all situations you
might encounter. If not, it can be easily modified to a higher level of potency.
However, this is not necessary for most situations.

As we can see, dit da formulas are often composed in large part with Blood
invigorators that help heal and dispel stasis. These herbs are then backed up by
other herbs which serve secondary functions such as clearing heat, drying
dampness, or dispelling Bi Syndrome from the joints. As we also have noted,
some of these herbs are used for different reasons when they are applied
externally. In this way, dit da has grown into a rich subfield of herbalism all its
own, with a myriad of formulas and herbs that are common to all these formulas.
If you´ve enjoyed this trek into the world of addressing injury, perhaps it may be a
welcome addition to addressing illness!

Josh Walker is a martial artist and professional personal trainer, and founder
of PlumDragonHerbs, a growing business specializing in production of dit da jow
and tonics geared towards pain management in martial artists and athletes. Josh
has also completed advanced degree work in the field of engineering.
As a student and teacher of martial arts, and personal trainer, Josh has had a
vested interest in encouraging health and performance to other martial artists and
active individuals. He has trained in several types of Chinese and Filipino martial
arts spanning across many years; he teaches privately and visits the Philippines
annually to train with his teachers. Josh has worked with herbs to make dit da jow
and tonic wines since 2001 and continues ongoing education in martial arts,
herbalism, and health topics as a passion and lifestyle.

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WRITTEN BY HITESH VADSMIYA

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