Dit Dat Jow is hand liniment that you will use all throughout iron palm training. It is composed of various Chinese herbs, barks and roots that combine to help heal the hands, increase circulation, remove bruises and swelling, and repair damaged tissue.
You can either buy dit dat jow ready-made or you can make it yourself. I highly recommend learning how to make dit dat jow yourself.
There are various dit dat jow formulas and I will be posting some of those in the future. Each formula is different but the overall effect is always to help heal and condition the hands.
I recommend buying an herb pack from any one of these links. Please note, this is NOT an endorsement by me nor do I get any kind of money for putting up these links. I have used their services before and I have had a good experience, and therefore I can recommend them.
Making dit dat jow is relatively simple. First, obtain a dit dot jow herb pack. You can either take a written formula to a Chinese herb store and have them fill the order. Or you can order an herb pack from one of the stores listed below.
Once you have the herb pack, get a 1 gallon glass sealable jar. It has to be airtight and sealable. And it has to be glass. Don’t use plastic.
Next, you’ll need about 1 gallon of vodka. I recommend cheap no name brand vodka. You can use any kind of alcohol for the base, but in my experience vodka works the best. I have seen people use sake, gin and even rubbing alcohol. But in my experience, vodka is still the best. You can get 2 of the 1.75L bottles. That will work fine.
Carefully pour the herb package into the glass jar. Pour in the vodka. Fill it almost to the top, but leave about 1 or 2 inches of space from the top. Seal the glass jar. Shake vigorously. Put the date on your jar. Store your dit dat jow in a cool, dark place.
Please note, many of the herb packages you buy online will say it’s good for maybe 1/2 gallon. I recommend using a 1 gallon jar and then filling the jar 3/4 way. The herbs are going to soak up some of the liquid. My experience is that if you’re not going to use the jow for a year, you can easily fill a 1 gallon jar and the jow will be very strong after a year of soaking.
Two or three times a week for the next couple months shake your dit dot jow until everything is thoroughly mixed. After 2 months, you can shake it up maybe just once or twice a week. You can begin using your dit dat jow after about 2 – 3 months. However, the longer it sits the stronger it gets. You can add more vodka to the mix as you feel is necessary.
As an option, you could make 2 packages of dit dot jow. One for immediate use after 2-3 months, and one to be used in 1 or 2 years. Or you could save this current bottle of jow for a year (or longer) and let it get really, really strong and buy ready-made dit dot jow in the interim.
There are many places to get herb packs, but the one place I’ve used and recommend is “East Meets West Dit Dat Jow Store.” The link is listed below.