Dit Ta: The Chinese Art Of
Healing Injuries
by Peter Lim Tian Tek
Foreword
Chinese Martial Arts are very capable in causing injury to an opponent. In fact,
causing injury is the major means employed by a majority of the Chinese Martial
Arts to gain victory. Quite often as well, injury occurs during training in
them. This is mainly due to the difficulty of the techniques, accidents during
two man training instances and hardening anatomical weapons.
Out of this need to heal these injuries and to prevent them from occurring again
by strengthening the body, traditional Chinese Medicine was incorporated in to
the Chinese Martial Arts. This branch of Chinese Medicine was much dedicated to
osteopathy and traumatology and employed the theories and herbs of Traditional
Chinese Medicine in these areas.
Many boxers earned their keep buy selling injury healing medication and treating such injuries. The poorer ones selling their wares in the street and demonstrating their effectiveness by causing injury to themselves and then applying the medication to show how fast it healed the injury.
They also demonstrated feats of great strength and skill to convince the crowds of their credibility. A common demonstration was to take an iron chain or bar and hit it against the arm or body to cause injury and then applying the medication to show the boxer's confidence in its healing powers. Out of this kinds of demonstrations came the common name of this branch of Chinese Medicine: 'Dit Ta' in Cantonese, 'Tieh Ta' in Mandarin and 'Iron Hitting' in English. Those who were physicians and did not ply their healing art in the streets by giving demonstrations adopted a similar sounding name for their art which has the meaning 'Fall and Hit' but they are actually one and the same healing art.
Dit Ta Medicine comprised of methods of healing injuries sustained and methods of using medication to prevent injuries during training in Chinese Martial Arts. One of the famous techniques that came out of this science is the Iron Palm.
The science of Dit Ta Medicine is usually kept quite secret by Chinese Martial Arts exponents and they do not reveal their recipes and techniques easily or willingly. Dit Ta Medicine also has in its repertoire knowledge of poisons and how to use them to heal and kill. In recent years, many such Dit Ta medications are now produced commercially and can be bought from the local Chinese Medicine Shop or from pharmacists. These medications should not be used on pregnant women and women during menstruation. For these two cases, please consult a professional Chinese Physician or Dit Ta doctor for specific prescriptions if you wish to use Chinese methods of healing.
These medications are taken
internally to strengthen the body, improve the circulation, break up blood
clots, stop internal bleeding and heal the musculature and bones of injury. They
usually come in the form of decoctions, powders, pills and wines.
This kind of medication is often taken as a complement to externally applied
medication on the site of the injury. Some of the herbs used in these two kinds
medications are often the same but the quantity used for external application is
often more. Some medicated wines can often be used both internally and
externally.
There are several types of internal Dit Ta medication available commercially. One of the most famous is the Yunnan Bai Yao or Yunnan White Medication. It is excellent for injuries and can be used both internally and externally. It is available both in powder and capsule form. Another is the Shaolin Tieh Da Huo Xue Dan or Shaolin Iron Hitting Blood Invigorating Pill, it is taken for injuries resulting from falls and contusions.
The use of internal medication often requires a clear understanding of the internal condition of the patient. Traditional formulas are often 'tailored' for the specific individual to suite their body make-up. So no traditional formulas are presented here because of this consideration.
External Medicine
This is where Dit Ta Medication is most well known. External Dit Ta Medication comes usually as powders, plasters, pastes, balms and liniments. The liniments being the most famous of the lot often being referred to as Dit Ta Jow (Iron Hitting Wine) or Dit Ta Yow (Iron Hitting Oil). External medication is often toxic and should not be consumed, they should be kept out of reach of children. Some of these medications also open up the pores and circulation and so for the duration of the effect of the medication, the wound should be kept away from water, cold air or wind or rheumatism might set in.
These are applied directly to the injury and acts through the skin (some medication is only suitable for injury that does not break the skin and cannot be used in open wound situations) to reach the damaged tissue and bone. They are also good for cases of rheumatism and arthritis. Liniments are rubbed onto the skin and often if the injury involves a joint or major muscle or is a sprain, the area is manipulated to straighten the tendons and bones and to increase the blood circulation to the area. Such manipulations are a science unto themselves and form an essential part of the science of Dit Ta Medicine.
By far the most noted medication from the repertoire of Dit Ta Medication are the liniments. These have long been used to heal and prevent injuries due to martial arts training. So much so that they are often an indispensable companion to the martial artist. The recipes for these liniments are always a closely kept secret and often are very old. There are basically four types of liniment in Dit Ta Medicine. Wine based liniment, oil based liniment, vinegar based liniment and water based liniment.
Of the four types of liniment, each having its own advantages, wine or alcohol based liniment is the most preferred. This is because alcohol based liniments penetrate quickly to deliver the herbal medication and evaporate quickly leaving the herbs to do their work. It also achieves a higher concentration of the herbal essences since alcohol is a good solvent. The herbs are soaked in the wine for a period of time until their essence becomes dissolved in the wine. In the old days, it was not uncommon for the medicated wine to be buried underground for months, burying keeps the mixture at quite a cool constant temperature. ing injuries and for training purposes. Some may still prefer to prepare them in the traditional fashion as this may result in a higher concentration.
Commercial preparations make it convenient to use these age old recipes for healing injuries and for training purposes. Some may still prefer to prepare them in the traditional fashion as this may result in a higher concentration.
There are thousands of such traditional recipes and many of them are kept secret by the different masters and schools of Chinese Martial Arts. Some of these recipes are highly effective. Perhaps in the future, such recipes will be commercially available or recorded down and made available for the benefit of all. The science of Dit Ta Medication still holds treasures and fascination for many martial artists. It has done so for many centuries and may very well go on doing so for many centuries to come.