NaamKyun.com Discussion Forum

my assumption is that one of the reasons for the alcohol is that it evaporates fast, leaving the healing agents in your skin.

It is best to use a liquor that is around 50-50 alcohol to water, such as 80-86 proof. The reason for this is that smoe of the herbs break down in water, others are soluble in alcohol. The jow is absorbed through capillary action, so it is not that the alcohol evaporates on the skin leaving the herbs on the surface. This is not the effect you would want. It would not absorb into the body and hence, it would not heal.
Alcohol is alcohol (meaning grain spirits, as opposed to wood spirits) and whether or not it comes in a store-bought liquor, or otherwise would not affect its use. If you are concerned with your religious beliefs, you need to realise that when your scriptures were written, they did not have liquor stores, or bottled alcohol. Using a store bought gin or vodka, or sam jing jow to make your dit da jow would not be against your religion. There is a difference between literal interpetation and real interpetation. You must take things in proper context.

Quasim,

All the ingredients in a jau formula serve a purpose. Even the alcohol. Alcohol has a function of warming yang and stimulating blood circulation. It is used to enhance the effect of your jau. But it can also be made with water or vinegar. The name would not be jau anymore though. Jau litterally means alcohol or wine.

Medically speaking we will sometimes use vinegar for formulas to treat acute injuries. For most martial arts training alcohol is quite important. There is not a substitute in this case. If you cannot buy it to make your own consider buying some that is pre-made. It cannot be consumed so it should be no different than buying aftershave or something like that.

I cannot speak to the interpretation of your religion as I am not a Muslim. I would recommend speaking with a local religious guide and ask they're advice about the interpretation of this particular religious law for something that is to be used only topically. If you can use aftershave, etc then just think of jau as the same.

Regards,
Justin

But don't forget that continued vinegar use will make your bones brittle. Defenitally not something you want to use to often for a too long period.

I think TT (T²?) has a story or two about that...

yeah, many years back, I had an iron palm jow that was vinegar based. Well, I used this stuff every day-heated it up, soaked my hands in it. My bones became brittle. In one year, I broke my fingers several times. My Sifu then told me that it is to be used sparingly, and only as a "tempering" method, and not on a daily basis.

no worries Asmo. Just for information, there are training formulas that use vinegar but these are very specific to certain aspects of iron palm and at least the ones I've seen still use both alcohol and vinegar. But as far as regular jau goes alcohol is the standard.