Jow

[Mr Punch]

I know this one has probably been done to death too, but if anyone has a good jow recipe they can recommend without it being too much like selling your family jewels, it would save me having to comb Yokohama Chinatown for some... I can just comb it for the ingredients instead...! :( :)

You can PM if it's a secret, or a if it's WMD recipe for an exploding fist style!!!

Thank you, you lovely helpful people!:)

[yuanfen]

Mat-
I wish I could share a recipe but I dont have one.

But FWIW- I do use jow before and after I do wall bag or
palm bag or both combined work.

I have used jow since 1976- without any harm and with satisfying results including no callouses, no swellings, no arthritis
or stiffness in the palms or knuckles.I also make sure that I land properly on the bags.

I used to get the ingredients from my sifu for making them- but I dont think he sells the herbs any longer though he makes his own jow.

My jow is via a very good martial artist whose martial bio is longer than mine.(I dont sell jow.) He in turn gets his when he meets up with
his Chinese herbalist in LA.used to be in Chinatown but has moved. It is not available in the open market.
I stocked up for my own use when I got the chance.(BTW Mine does not have mercury)

I dont use tiger balm etc. Among the commercially available jow
"Five Photos" brand is weak but ok-just have to use more.Brendan Lai's and Wing Lam's I believe have jows for bag work.

Many dont use jow- but I like the "insurance". I have several different jows- since jow is just a broad name. Some for bruises others for bag work.

There are other jow recipes on the net-Rene's site had some info.

Western boxers often have problems with their hands- Ali, Leonard and others have problem hands and some have had to take shots in their hands. Old timers used to use different solutions including brine for toughening their hands against injury.

[CFT]

Originally posted by yuanfen
There are other jow recipes on the net-Rene's site had some info. In fact here are the links:

http://www.wingchunkuen.com/why/columns/crescione/dragon01_ditdajow.html
http://www.wingchunkuen.com/why/columns/crescione/dragon02_americanjow.html

I haven't used the recipes, but he (John Crescione) describes a dit da balm made using Vaseline which sounds similar to a Chinese (HK) dit da balm that I use, called "Ping On gao" (Peace balm). It seems to get my bruises out in less than a week, although admittedly it's not heavy bruising. It is easy to apply and just smells of menthol, unlike traditional dit da jow (in both respects).

My mum swears by it!!

[Gangsterfist]

I don't use jow heavily either but my sihings and sifu do. I was considering using it along with my training. Does it really harden your bones? I have heard of the healing factor, and I know a balet dancer who uses it when she gets bruises on her feet. I have experienced the healing factor also. A few times when we have been learning chin na I have got hurt and used jow. Sometimes you have to feel the chin na to understand it, so I have had many painful arm bars, wrist locks, and choke holds against me.

Do you guys really get the results you want like yuanfen?

....Oh and I kind of like the "wood type" smell the jow has, what do your recipies smell like? This is kind of important since the smell will stay with you. At least the jow I used I noticed that I could still smell it for a few days, and yes I did shower; the smell just stays with you.

[ntc]

Mat:

Right around Christmas time last year, we had a pretty neat, comprehensive thread going that discussed the various herbs used in Dit Da Jow formulas.

Here is the link:

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=27504

[yuanfen]

ntc-
that was a good thread-we didnt get bogged down.

[ntc]

Yuanfen:

I totally agree with you... it was so nice to have so many people share their knowledge, and not having to deal with politics, etc. for a change. I wish more of our threads here were like that.

[aelward]

Mat,

You are probably going to have a hard time finding some of the herbs that are traditionally used in jow formulas in Japan. Japan has pretty strict import controls and so certain toxic herbs will be hard to come by.

You will also pay a lot more for them in Japan, because Chinese herbs are even more expensive than pharmaceuticals there. However, they are also generally much higher in quality-- Japanese companies bid on the best lots when herbs are harvested in China.

You might be better off taking a trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong, or China to pick up raw materials.