Sore bloody hands!

Nick,

I've also posted this one on the Physical Training & Diet thread. But would welcome your opinion also please:

We’ve all done it – hit the bags too many nights this week and too many times – and the hands are swollen and sore. Yeah, they were well wrapped, and yes the gloves were the correct weight, but there’s a limit, and when you exceed it….

(I guess this one’s the MA version of ‘what the best cure for the common cold’)

Has anyone found a better method (cure) than a few applications of ice and rubbing in some anti-inflammatory cream?

What the...mate, to be honest I've never had the problem, but I don't cut and bruise easily either.

I do know that the pro footballers here swear by ice...and they dunk the offending limb in a bucket full of it for as long as they can stand.

You might also give consideration to some Dit Da Jow...I've heard good things about it over the years. Martial arts shops sometimes sell it...so do herbal shops in Chinatown.

Nick

PS: Steve Morris used to make his own concoction which was along the lines of the Dit if I remember rightly...there was a big bottle of it fermenting in the corner of the training hall when I was down there.

Hi What the....

I couldn't agree more with Nick's recommendation of Dit Da Jow. There's a good variety of brands too. I would look for one which has been mixed using parafin oil or white oil. Some brands use turpintine oil, but this has been linked to skin cancer so actively rubbing it on yourself may not be such a good idea. Other ingredients should include clove, camphor, and methyl salicilate.

I'd shop around chinese supermarkets for it too mate, rather than herbalists, because more often than not the price will reflect the product knowledge of the vendor and could mean the difference between £4-£5 and £15-£20.

Take good care,

Scott

I've tried loads of these things in the past; tiger balm, jit da dow, thai oil (called that becuase no can read the label) etc etc

The smell of these products generally takes your mind off the injury for a while but no real benefits other than that IMHO

You can find Steve Morris's thoughts on dit jao here: https://selfprotection.forumotion.com/archives-f12/body-tempering-t4429.htm

I’d mix vinegar, salt and wine and soak my hands in this shit.

Later it got better. I used to exchange formulas of Chinese herbal medicine (dit dat jow) with people around the world, and in some of the recipes you had beetles in there and all kinds of weird shit. There was a huge glass jar in the corner of the dojo at Bourne Hill, had been there for years, I think it had about 32 ingredients, this black goop. I even got some wine from Fujian to put in it.

Oh, dear.

Well, you can’t overestimate the smell factor in a fight.