Oriental Medicine - Introduction
 

Probably the biggest problem that Westerners have with Oriental medicine is that it’s, well….. Oriental. To illustrate, have you ever visited a Chinese Herbalist store ? The place smells funny, is full of jars and barrels with writing you can’t read, the stuff in them either looks like wood, smells evil, or doesn’t look like it can be good for you, and the li’l ole guy in the corner, well he doesn’t speak English, and chances are you don’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese. 

Then of course there is the issue of, what ails you. It’s not as simple as having a pain in your head. There could be an imbalance in your yin and yang, an adverse interaction or your five elements that needs to be corrected, or maybe, it’s simply a problem with your qi ( pronounced chi ) that can be
addressed with acupuncture or shiatsu massage.

Then again, modern medicine offers many very effective treatments for our various ailments, from headaches to muscular strains. So why the heck would we go to the trouble of mixing a bunch of evil smelling stuff together to make a concoction that would probably do the same job as some Ben
Gay and a couple of aspirin ?

Because like the ancient practitioners of the martial arts who were healers first and fighters second, we should be able to repair the physical damage that we are able to cause. In this way an appreciation for the judicious use of the martial art can be obtained.

Before going any further, it needs to be stated that in supplying the following information, no claims are being made.
This is for educational purposes only and you should consult your Medical Doctor, or knowledgeable health care practitioner for further use or treatment of injuries.

For the moment we will concentrate on that aspect of Oriental medicine that deals with the use of herbs to treat injuries commonly seen in the practice of the martial arts, things such as sprains, strains, bruises and generally any acute soft tissue injury such as new bruise, a new muscle ache, whiplash, or anything where ice or coolness would be indicated. Also, just as there are may different types of western remedies to treat the same ailment, so it is with oriental herbal medicine.

We will begin with jow. Jow is defined as a tonic or a liniment, with anti-inflammatory properties, a substance that has a cooling effect on the body and the ability to facilitate healing of bruises as well as muscular and connective tissue injuries.