If you’ve spent any time around traditional Chinese martial arts, you’ve probably heard someone mention Dit Da Jow. Perhaps you’ve caught the distinctive herbal smell in a training hall or seen a dark bottle in a senior student’s kit bag. But what exactly is it, and where does the name come from? This article explains the meaning, the history and the traditional role of Dit Da Jow, without the hype.
The meaning of the name
Dit Da Jow is Cantonese, and it’s usually translated as “fall hit wine”. Each part of the name tells you something:
- Dit means to fall.
- Da means to hit or strike.
- Jow means wine or alcohol.
Put together, the name reflects the hard-training world of martial arts that it came from. The “wine” part refers to the way it’s made: herbs are steeped in alcohol over a long period, which infuses the liquid and preserves it.
You’ll sometimes see it spelled Dit Dat Jow, Die Da Jiu or Tieh Ta Jiu, depending on the dialect and romanisation. They all refer to the same tradition.
Where the tradition comes from
Dit Da Jow comes from the long history of Chinese martial arts and Chinese herbal tradition. For centuries, martial artists trained hard: conditioning their hands and forearms, practising with partners and working on equipment such as wooden dummies and bags. Schools developed their own traditions, and their own recipes.
Many kung fu masters were also knowledgeable about herbal traditions. Dit Da Jow was one of the most common preparations. Traditionally it was rubbed into the skin after hard training.
Die da: the wider tradition
In Chinese, die da (the Mandarin reading of “dit da”) is the name of a whole branch of traditional Chinese martial arts culture. Historically, practitioners of this craft were often connected with martial arts schools. The jow carries that name because it grew out of that world.
A school’s signature
Because formulas were handed from teacher to student, a school’s jow was a little like its signature. Senior students might help prepare a batch, and being trusted with the method was a sign of standing within the school. Today that sense of continuity is part of the appeal for many martial artists: a bottle connects them to their own teacher and, through them, to the generations before.
Our connection to the tradition
Our own Dit Da Jow follows a recipe handed down through the Ip Man lineage to my Sifu, Shaun Rawcliffe, and on to me. I’ve written about how we prepare it in how our Dit Da Jow is made, and there’s more background on our traditional herbal massage liquids page. The bottle itself is on our Dit Da Jow product page.
How it’s used today
Many martial artists today still keep a bottle in their kit bag as part of the training tradition, and many of our students rub it into the skin after class. It’s also traditionally used alongside conditioning practices.
It’s worth being clear about what Dit Da Jow is and isn’t. It’s a traditional herbal massage liquid with a long history of use in martial arts. It’s for external use only and it is not a medicine. If you have an injury, ongoing pain or a medical condition, please see your GP or pharmacist.
A practical note
It’s for external use only and doesn’t go on broken skin. If you’re pregnant, have a medical condition or take medication, check with your GP or pharmacist first. The practical side is covered in how to apply Dit Da Jow.
More than a bottle
For many martial artists, Dit Da Jow is about more than a bottle in the kit bag. It’s a link to the history of their art: the old schools, the masters who cared for their students, and the training tradition. Opening a bottle and catching that herbal smell is, for many of us, part of the ritual of training.
It also carries a lesson that applies to every student. Good training isn’t just about how hard you push. It’s about how well you look after yourself so that you can keep training for years.
Learn more
If you’d like to understand how the tradition is used in practice, our other articles on Dit Da Jow cover application, choosing between our herbal massage liquids and looking after your hands. Or pop into the centre and ask me about it after class.
Sifu Alan Bagley, Wing Chun Halesowen