Pearls of Wisdom

By Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong

Training For Life May 1991

I believe the head instructor of any martial arts school that has contact training, such as sparring, push hands, or two-person sequence drills, should have at least simple first-aid knowledge. Many do get this kind of training from the local Red Cross.

A number of Chinese martial arts schools follow China’s traditional medical ways. Among those schools and instructors, most learn tit da techniques, involving the use of tit da jow and tit da powders to relieve the discomfort of bruises, strains and sprains. Chinese traditional sports medicine includes the art of setting bones, replacing dislocated joints and reviving unconscious fighters. Most of today’s teachers don’t have access to these skills.

Chinese herbs, such as tit da jow, when rubbed or massaged into the skin, help remove bruises from contact injuries. Tit da jow liniment helps reduce pain and inflammation. Tit da powder can be made into a plaster, placed on the skin over an injured area of severe injuries like blood clots or joints that have been reset.

Knowledgeable teachers make herb teas to take internally, increasing circulation, removing blood clots that make up large bruises and helping injured body parts heal faster.

Tit da pills are internal herbs ranging from pellet size to the size of large marbles. These pills are convenient for travel and easy to store in your school when you cannot get fresh herbs for tit da tea.

Tit da jow liniment is a must for use after sparring or two-person contact workouts. There are a number of different tit da brands made in this country’s Chinatown at herb stores or by individual martial art teachers. If you can’t buy tit dat jow in person, you can get it through the mail.

Martial arts schools should also have available tit da pills, called Hsiung Tan Tieh Wan. This pill comes as a wax-covered, ping-pong sized pill. Don’t take the whole thing. The thick wax covering is for protection only. When opened the herb portion is the size of a marble. Hsiung Tan Tieh Wan is for severe injuries like strong blows to the solar plexus or abdomen. For such injuries, I suggest you take one the day of the injury and one the next morning. When people do a great deal of sparring, take one of these pills occasionally to help your blood circulation after hard training or contact.

Next in your school first-aid kit is an herb plaster that works as an analgesic for bruises. It comes in a thin tape sheet with plaster on one side. To use it, cut a piece to fit the size of the bruise or injury. Don’t put this plaster on an open cut. Remove the transparent plastic backing from the plaster. Then using a hair dryer, heat the cloth side of the plaster for 30 seconds, making it adhere better. Wear the plaster for approximately eight hours. The best time to wear the plaster is at night while you sleep. Remove it in the morning. If you wear it longer than eight hours, you might develop a rash under the patch because of a lack of air reaching the skin. The herb plaster is good for bruises, sprains, strains, swelling, and arthritis.

The herb plaster and Hsiung Tan Tieh Wan pills are produced by United Pharmaceutical Manufactory, Kwangchow, China.

I also recommend Yunnan Paiyao (blood stop powder), made by Yunnan Paiyao Factory, China. Sometimes students get cut sparring, or during two-person weapons form practice. Yunnan Paiyao is effective by placing a pinch of powder on top of a clean, washed cut. Put a piece of cotton over the powder, then tape the wound and cotton covering with medical tape to hold everything in place. Remove the tape and cotton after 24 hours. At that time the scab is then dry. Cut off any excess cotton, leaving any cotton that is attached to the scab, as this will fall off with the scab. The use of Yunnan Paiyao often saves a trip to an emergency center for a few stitches.

If you don’t eat food containing too much acid, you may not even have a scar over your wound, Foods, such as vinegar dressings, hot and sour soup, or sweet and sour pork, contain too much acid and should not be consumed within the first few days after the injury. Fish or cold food are also not advised. Yunnan Paiyao is not recommended for pregnant women.

Yunnan Paiyao comes with a small pill, in addition to the blood stop powder. The pill is to be taken with serious injuries and not necessary for minor wounds.

These traditional Chinese remedies can be purchased in Chinese herb stores and large Chinese food stores in areas with Chinese populations. If you cannot find them in your area, write to me at 925 Taraval St., San Francisco, CA 94116.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Kung Fu Kickboxing MMA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.