Materia Medica For Martial Artists Author Josh Walker Editor Dr Robert Asbridge Foreword Dr Robert Asbridge COPYRIGHT© 2012R Josh Walker All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced in any fo rm or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages fo r review. ISBN: 14781 9393X ISBN-13: 978-1478193937 11 Table of Contents Acknowledgements vi Foreword vii Disclaimer ix PART I OVERVIEW 1 Section 1 Antagonisms and Counteractions 3 Section 2 Understanding the Templates 6 PART II HERB TEMPLATES 13 Chapter 1 Herbs That Release Exterior Heat 14 Chapter2 Herbs that Release Exterior Cold 28 Chapter3 Heat-Clearing Herbs 49 Chapter4 Herbs that Act as Purgatives 88 Chapter 5 Herbs that Dispel Wind-Dampness 96 1ll Chapter 6 Aromatic Herbs that Dissolve Dampness 132 Chapter 7 Herbs that Regulate Water and Dissolve 142 Dampness Chapter 8 Herbs that Warm the Interior 155 Chapter 9 Herbs thatRegulate Qi 175 Chapter 10 Herbs that Stop Bleeding 195 Chapter 11 Herbs that Invigorate the Blood and 214 Remove Stasis Chapter 12 Herbs that Resolve Phlegm 272 Chapter 13 Herbs that Calm the Shen 296 Chapter 14 Herbs that Calm the Liver and 311 Extinguish Wind Chapter 15 Herbs that Open the Orifices 323 Chapter 16 Herbs that Tonify 331 Section 1 Qi Tonifying Herbs 334 Section 2 Yang Tonifying Herbs 352 lV Section 3 Blood Tonifying Herbs 378 Section 4 Yin Tonifying Herbs 391 Chapter 17 Herbs that are Astringent 398 Chapter 18 Herbs for Topical Application 408 Bibliography 423 Glossary of Terms 424 Resources/Businesses of Interest 431 Index of Chinese Herb Names 432 v Acknowledgements The author would particularly like to thank the fo llowing people fo r their contributions to the completion of this book: • Bob Asbridge for on-going efforts over several years, supporting a variety of aspects of PlumDragon Herbs, contributing to the private forum, and performing rushed last minute editing of this book. This was relatively important given Bob's background. Thanks Bob! • Wilson Lau and the rest of the nuHerbs staff for helping work out details on organizing and carrying this book in their inventory of texts fo r the Chinese medical field. nuHerbs is a wonderful group that has offered me great flexibility in producing articles fo r their newsletter fo r years now. If you are in the Chinese medical field, I highly recommend purchasing fr om nuHerbs. • My wife, Denise, who has always fo und a way to be supportive of me, despite the intense reality of my obsessive personality; especially as I finishthis book and enter my next business endeavour, which will certainly test her patience again in putting up with me. • Authors of past Materia Medicas (Especially Chen & Chen, who I have yet to meet or talk with) fo r providing a fantastic springboard fo r the creation of this book. This book benefits, either directly or indirectly, from the ideas, help, knowledge, and support of these people, and others, who help make the effort of producing a text like this bearable. July 12, 2012 Josh Walker Owner, PlumDragon Herbs VI Foreword In traditional medicine as practiced in China, about 80% of all traditional Chinese medical patients are treated with herbs, while the remaining 20% are treated with acupuncture, Tui-na or Qi Gong. Herbal medicine is very potent in treating a wide variety of medical disorders and this modality offers tremendous advantages to those who employ it. Materia Medica for Martial Artists is a practical guide fo r the application of herbs in dit da, the field of Chinese herbalism that deals with the healing and management of injury. Its intent is to demystify Chinese herbal medicine and to provide martial artists with a sound working knowledge of herbs. The internal andexternal therapies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), are equally important and essential. The external therapies discussed in the Materia Medica for Martial Artists are particularly useful in dit da. The Materia Medica for Martial Artists is an important addition to the literature on Chinese medicine and is of material value to anyone needing to treat injuries arising from the practice of the martial arts, or other physical stressful conditions, including bruises, back injuries, and bleeding, as well as more serious injuries. It also excels in the area of preventing cumulative injuries due to conditioning in striking arts. It is highly practical in nature, written by someone with extensive experience in the martial arts and particularly in Iron Palm. The herbs discussed here are exactly those needed fo r dit da. Herbs common in more general clinical practice are not included ifthey don't serve some function in the context of the martial Vll arts, while herbs uncommon in other contexts play a larger role here. For example, herbs such as Kuan Jin Teng are rarely seen in most materia medicas, and Li Lu, usually included but little discussed, is examined here in great depth. A particularly useful feature of this reference is that a list of dit da formulas is given fo r each herb. As well as being helpful for understanding the use of particular herbs, this provides immediate applied knowledge for martial artists. Afterreading the Materia Medica for Martial Artists, I was inspired to expand the use of external therapies with the management of injuries in my own clinical practice, and I have been very pleased with the results. This book is an example of the kind of book needed to ensure a faithful and creative transmission of Chinese herbal medicine, both to martial artists and to practitioners of Chinese medicine wishing to extend their abilities and clinical effectiveness. Dr. Robert Asbridge Vlll Disclaimer It is important to note, as the author of this book, that I am not a doctor of any type, nor am I a physical therapist, acupuncturist, or any other type of licensed medical or healthcare professional, Chinese or Western. Nothing in this book is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or mitigate any disease, illness, or ailment. I cannot and do not provide any form of medical advice here or anywhere else and provide this book to the martial arts and sports communities fo r strictly informational purposes only. Please consult your local medical practitioner with any questions or concerns you have and before engaging in the use of any of the herbs or herbal formulas, or physical training omethds. Josh Walker and any other individuals and references mentioned herein cannot be held responsible fo r the use or misuse of any of the herbal information or references that are discussed within. lX Materia Medica For Martial Artists 1 PART I Overview 2 AN TAGONIS MS AN D CO UNTERACTION S Within Chinese herbalism, there exists a set of interactions between various herbs that has been empirically created through the history of working with these herbs. Although most herbs are safe to combine, we are fo rtunate to have a fai rly distinct set of guidelines in terms of herbs that should not be combined. The Shi Ba Fan (Eighteen Incompatibilities) and Shi Jiu Wei (Nineteen Counteractions) represent these guidelines. Combining herbs from these categories can either cause potentially harmful side effects or cancel out the actions of the herbs. The Eighteen Incompatibilities represents a set of herb interaction whereby the herbs listed are incompatible with one another. The Shi Ba Fan is as fo llows: Cao Wu (Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii), Chuan Wu (Radix Aconiti Preparata), and Fu Zi (Radix Aconitii) is incompatible with: • Bai Ji • Bai Lian • Ban Xia • Chuan Bei Mu • Gua Lou Pi • Gua Lou Ren • Gua Lou Shi • Tian Hua Fen • Zhe Bei Mu Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) is incompatible with: • Da Ji • Gan Sui • Hai Zao • Yuan Hua Li Lu (Radix et Rhizoma Veratri) is incompatible with: • Bai Shao • Bei Sha Shen 3 • Chi Shao • Dan Shen • Dang Shen • Ku Shen Gen • Nan Sha Shen • Ren Shen • Xi Xin • Xuan Shen When we look at this list, some obvious generalities come to mind. Namely, the Aconite roots are largely incompatible with herbs that have a phlegm-resolving, drying and warming nature. Therefore, it would be germane to consider not using other similar combinations unless absolutely necessary. Gan Cao is incompatible almost entirely with herbs that strongly purge water, often referred to as harsh expellants. These herbs are always very toxic and serve very low clinical utility. And Li Lu is incompatible with a more eclectic mixture of herbs; however, many of these herbs are either moving in nature or tend to pacify the Shen. The Nineteen Counteractions represents a set of herbal interactions whereby these herb combinations antagonize each other and may often cancel out effects or produce antagonistic responses within the body . The Shi Jiu Wei is as fo llows: Ba Dou antagonizes Qian Niu Zi Cao Wu antagonizes Xi Jiao Chuan Wu antagonizes Xi Jiao Ding Xiang antagonizes Yu Jin Lang Du antagonizes Mi Tuo Seng Liu Huang antagonizes Mang Xiao Ren Shen antagonizes Wu Ling Zhi Rou Gui antagonizesChi Shi Zhi San Leng antagonizes Ya Xiao Shui Yin antagonizes Pi Shuang 4 To this list, some sources also add that Jiang Huang (Curcuma Longa) is also antagonistic with Ding Xiang. With the above list of antagonisms, it is sometimes not difficult to discernvarious patterns. For example, Ding Xiang has a very Yang energy to heat the body where Yu Jin has a very cooling energy that clears heat and disperses. In other cases, the interaction may be more subtle and complex. It should be noted that while these lists cover the important and high-percentage herb-herb interactions, it is not necessarily a complete list and new herb combinations should always be chosen with care and analytical thought.