Okinawan Dit Da Jow
Okinawan Dit Da Jow is not talked about much, but Okinawan Dit Da Jow has been used by several of the famous Kempo Masters for toughening and healing the body from training dating back over two hundred years.
Dit Da Jow originated in Okinawa by way of China and then over time worked its way to the mainland, writings of Chinese Herbal Medicine for healing injuries was published in the Bubishi or the Karate Bible and the Shaolin Bronze Man book. These writings showed a variety of recipes for healing the body from injury using Chinese herbs.
The term Dit Da Jow or fall hit wine was not used in the Bubishi as it was a term not used at that time. But with a knowledge of Chinese Herbal Medicine and writings from other ancient works, the recipes listed are clearly for recovery from injury, using both internal and external medicines.
The history of how martial arts started in Okinawa is fascinating, there are many great books on the subject and worth reading, there are many different hypotheses on how it started. Many scholars believe traders traveled to China and a select few due to various circumstances were taught Kung fu and herbal medicine. White Crane and Tiger styles seems to be the the base of Okinawan Karate.
The book “Bubishi” was a manuscript written by a unknown author. It is a sort of compilation of articles on techniques, tactics, vital points, traditional Chinese medicine and ethical code in martial arts. It is unknown whether it is a copy of Chinese book or martial arts school manual.
In the Bubishi there are several different Dit Da Jow formulas, some are for internal use and some for external use. Some formulas consisted of only 4 herbs and they increased in size depending on ones training ability, experience, type of injury and rank.
One of the popular Internal Okinawan Dit Da Jow formulas consisted of 12 herbs that worked in a 24 hour cycle. This interesting concept based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses the 12 principle meridians, the Zang Fu Organs, the Five Element Theory and the 12 Animal Theory.
In a nutshell there are 12 main meridians in the body that connects to the major organs recognized by TCM and are related to the five elements.
This 24 hour cycle is broken down into 12 time periods each consisting of 2 hour intervals, with each interval related to one of the Zang Fu organs AND the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiak known as Sheng Xiao.
These 2 hour intervals are like a biorhythm for each organ when the maximum intensity and energy peaks for that specific organ and at minimum intensity for the other Zang Fu organs.
For example the Liver meridian is related to the Ox (animal)and metal(one of the five elements) and works between 1am to 3am then the next interval is the Lung which is related to the tiger and metal element. Each herb in the Okinawan Dit Da Jow works each of the twelve meridians and is related to the Zang Fu organ and the corresponding animal in the Sheng Xiao. So this formula works the entire cycle no matter what time it is applied.
Wan Jin Yao
The most popular Okinawan Dit Da Jow used for training in Goju Ryu, Shito Ryu and Shotokan is called Yi Yao Jia Zhi Wan Jin loosely translated means “medicine worth 10 thousand pieces of gold”. The name has been shortened and is referred to as “Wan Jin Yao”. In Japanese it is translated to “Kin yori yakuyō-chi”.
What makes Wan Jin Yao so special is its ability to toughen and harden the Hands, Forearms, and Shins. When training on the Makiwara or Kotekitae training (Forearm Training) this liniment is very important. Morio Higgaonna Sensei 10th Dan used Dit Da Jow prior to all Makiwara and Ishi Toreningu(Stone Training)training, he attributed his use of Dit Da Jow as the reason he suffers no ill effects from years of brutal hand conditioning.
Toreningu Training
Makiwara Training
Okinawan gojuryu master Seikichi Toguchi liked to point out, that Makiwara training is essential to develop a powerful, focused punch that can be delivered without creating unnecessary tension in the arm. Makiwara training is more for strengthening the wrists than creating calluses and big knuckles but that is what happens with continued intense training. To prevent future hand problems it essential to use Okinawan Dit Da Jow before and after contact training.
This is also very useful prior to and after Tan(Barbell) training, this is a very tough workout on the arms and forearms so using Wan Jin Yao really helps with the conditioning process.
Wan Jin Yao is available as an herbal kit enabling you to produce this unique conditioning Jow at home for pennies on the dollar compared to purchasing ready made Jow.
Each kit can produce up to 144 ounces of Liniment. All that is required besides the kit is a glass 5 liter jar with an airtight lid and inexpensive vodka.
Okinawan Dit Da Jow should not be confused with the liniments pictured below. These liniments are more like Tiger Balm in their actions as they do not necessarily heal a injured area as much as they warm up the area applied. Recently the term Japanese Dit Da Jow has been used to reference Okinawan Dit Da Jow used on the mainland.
Japanese Dit Da Jow and Wan Jin Yao are basically one of the same and is used on the mainland for primarily two functions, one is stopping pain associated with training and the second was to heal and condition the various parts of the body.These functions are discussed below. Wan Yin Yao is stronger than conventional Japanese Dit Da Jow and is the Jow of choice in many schools.
Japanese Dit Da Jow
Japanese Dit Da Jow is used in some schools for board breaking (Tameshiwari) or striking heavy bamboo with the edge of the hand(Tagatana). Although not considered important by a lot of instructors, ‘Tameshiwari’ is not practiced purely to show off. It provides the more serious student with additional indications of the progress he’s making. It helps us appreciate how powerful and effective a given attack is when it is not withdrawn short of impact, as it must be when the target is part of a fellow-student’s anatomy.
Since most sparring is not full contact, Tameshiwari allows you to apply full force and speed behind your strikes. By preventing pain, Japanese Dit Da Jow is very important allowing the student not to hesitate striking with less than 100% effort due to being afraid of contact. As with most martial arts instruction you are taught to punch thru your opponent.
Japanese Dit Da Jow is also important to condition various parts of the body that delivers and receives strikes. By toughening these areas, they can withstand powerful blows delivered or received without incurring any injury.
Currently, Kampo the Japanese way of healing with herbs has a variety of herbal formulas for pain that are quite effective one such formula called Daibofu To. This Japanese formula is based on the principles of Kampo but its roots lie in Chinese Herbal Medicine. For hard contact training Wan Jin Yao is recommended to be used prior to and after any type of contact training.
Some of the herbs used like, Toki, To Chu, Bofu are very popular in Iron Hand formulas and stop pain in its tracks. Other herbs in the formula are for blood stagnation (Yu Xue) and are found in many Dit Da Jow formulas.