What makes Hit! Balm so effective? Dit Da Jow

Dit Da Jow, Lineage, and the Roots of Hit! Balm

Because my acupuncture practice has always focused heavily on supporting people through injuries and physical pain, I’ve spent a lot of time working with the tools Chinese medicine has relied on for centuries. Needles, cupping, moxa, electrostim, gua sha, Graston technique, I’ve used them all, and I still do.

Another tool that’s been part of my clinical toolbox for years is a topical herbal liniment called Dit Da Jow.

It’s a pungent, brown liquid that lives in a spray bottle in both of my treatment rooms. I’ve applied it to hundreds - probably thousands - of sprains, strains, and contusions over the years. And in my experience, it works.

Dit Da Jow loosely translates to “Hit Medicine,” or sometimes “Hit Wine Medicine.” The original Mandarin term is Die Da Jiu (跌打酒), meaning “fall and strike wine,” though for reasons lost to history, the Cantonese name Dit Da Jow is the one that stuck in the West.

At its core, Dit Da Jow is a blend of anywhere from a few to several dozen herbs, steeped in alcohol for weeks, months, or even years. Research has shown that the longer a Jow is allowed to soak, the more of its beneficial compounds are extracted. The history of Dit Da Jow is long, fascinating, and occasionally a little esoteric. There are thousands of different recipes, many of them closely guarded “family” formulas passed down through Chinese medicine and martial arts lineages.

Traditionally, Dit Da Jow has been used by martial artists to support the body after the bumps, falls, and impacts that come with training. Chinese medicine practitioners have long used it in the clinic as well.

From the perspective of Chinese medicine, Dit Da Jow’s primary function is to address Qi stagnation and blood stasis. When the body takes a hit, circulation becomes restricted, swelling develops, and discomfort follows. These formulas are designed to help move things along again, encouraging the body’s natural recovery process.

My First Experience With Dit Da Jow

The first time I ever used Dit Da Jow was during a martial arts–inspired “monkey style” yoga class taught by the legendary Paulie Zink. A couple of friends from Chinese medical school dragged me along, and I’m glad they did.

One of the exercises involved standing across from a partner and repeatedly swinging the inside of our forearms into each other, colliding them like baseball bats. It was brutal. The idea was to strengthen the bones and tissues for hand-to-hand combat, but since I wasn’t exactly conditioned for that kind of thing, my radius bones quickly turned into bruised, angry messes.

Paulie stopped the class, handed out large spouted bottles of dark, acrid-smelling liquid, and told us to pour it liberally onto the sore areas and rub it in. I was curious, but honestly skeptical.

What surprised me was how quickly the discomfort seemed to calm down. We’d bash our arms together, pause to apply the liniment, then go right back at it. That was my introduction to Dit Da Jow - and it stuck with me.

The Formula Behind Hit! Balm

The Dit Da Jow I’ve used in my acupuncture practice for years came to me through my friend, mentor, and extraordinarily gifted herbalist Frederick Obey, founder of the legendary Santa Monica shop Herb King. Herb King wasn’t just a store, it was a gathering place for herbalists, students, and practitioners to study, debate, and spend time with Chinese herbs. We later expanded into medical-grade essential oils and Western herbs as well.

Much of my foundation as an herbalist was laid there. When Frederick passed away and the shop eventually closed, I inherited his Dit Da Jow formula, passed down to him by his kung fu teacher. The batch I use in my practice has been soaking since 2006.

That formula is the inspiration behind Hit! Balm.

Old Wisdom, Modern Formulation

Long before CBD balms, lotions, and salves became widely available, Chinese medicine practitioners were already using Dit Da Jow with great success. CBD on its own is a powerful plant compound, but what makes Hit! Balm unique is the combination of hemp extract with a traditional Dit Da Jow–style herbal formula.

Honestly, even without CBD, the herbs alone would make this a potent topical. The CBD simply amplifies what’s already there.

Every time you use Hit! Balm, you’re drawing on more than two thousand years of herbal tradition, combined with modern formulation and high-quality base oils and plant essences. It’s one of the things that sets Hit! Balm apart.

Hit! Balm has Qi.