Hanbang (한방 in Hangul)liniments are used to prevent and heal training injuries, and to promote
Ki development, thickening the skin and strengthening tendons, ligaments, and
bones, safier and in a shorter time.
Hanbang formulae ingredients.
Most formulae are prepared as wine tinctures that should be rubbed
for about 10 to 5-10 minutes(a generous amount of it, as a soup spoon or more), before
and after conditioning training, and until blood flow is so intense
that you feel heat and a twinkling sensation in the area.
Other formulae are prepared by boiling
ingredients (mostly for treatment of chronic damage)
or as vinegar tinctures (rarely used as it is said
that vinegar may make bones fragile).
Vinegar tinctures
are procedures used to pre-process specific herbs to
facilitate active chemicals extraction, as in Pyritum ( to facilitate freeing Coper for latter mixture into
the Cheolsusul liniment). Sometimes, ingredients are fried
after vinegar treatment, as is the case of Olibanum
Gummi.
When Hanbang liniments are used,
an increase in blood circulation and Ki buildup occur,
inflammation is quickly reduced, risk of infection in bleeding
injuries is almost eliminated, skin resistance
is constructed very rapidly, and cartilages, bones
and ligaments become harder and more resilient to
impact.
With the use of Hanbang liniments
training can be more frequent and safer, with visible
effects in a shorter period, with less effort. Nonetheless, if you do not have proper technique and fighting abilities, to have hard body weapons may be just useless.
Hanbang liniments are externally applied by massaging
it into the skin to:
Reduce pain (anesthetic, analgesic);
Control infections (antiseptic antibiotic);
Increase blood flow (rubefascent);
Eliminate swelling (antiinflammatory);
Stop bleeding (haemostatic, astringent);
Increase tissue healing and immune system response
(vulnerary);
Strengthen tissue, muscle, and bone (tonic)
Traumathology formulae (content and amounts) vary
from teacher to teacher in traditional Hanbang and
Martial Arts schools.
The
oldest conditioning liniment I have (from May, 1979).
In the detail you see its present condition.The bottle was
always stored in a wooden box, in a place with low and stable
temperature.
The solvent is Italian
Grappa. It grew up from acrid-bitter to a
very delicate bitter-sweet fragance along its 27 years of age.
In general terms, there are arround
100-130 herbs, mineral
and animal byproductswith proven use.
Ingredients are combined into formulae to enhance
their specific medicinal effects.
On top of that, there may be some 30-50 exotic
ingredients, rare, highly expensive, or
obtained from endangered species, as is
the case of Deer Musk and pangolin scales.
Usually, those ingredients are used in advanced formulae,
(allegedly) to enhance Ki flow and other subtle abilities
(most of them of dubious real existence, usually related to an obsessive seach of Ki projection abilities or poisoning the enemy by scrathching).
The theoretical basis of formulae construction is hundreds of
years old, and many ingredients are of scientific relative value, or can
be replaced by cheaper, easier to find components. See our comments and remarks page to understand this better.
Formulae are flexible in composition (ingrerdients can be interchanged if they have similar use) and wine can go
form rice or sorghum wine (Oriental), to Vodka or Cognac. Main reason
to use wine is the alcohol graduation (never more than 60o GL)
and pleasant favour.
After more than 25 years of experimentation,
we asses that, from those 150 or so ingredients from the Orient, about 80 are enough, and can be combined into very powerful formulae
to comply even with the most advanced conditioning training. There exist about 70 herbs form South America and Europe with provem effect. Also, until now, we identified at least 30 herbs from Central and South Africa regions.
Hanbang ingredients used in Martial Arts conditioning training can be toxic. Toxic
ingredients are usually very potent components in Hanbang
formulae for external usage. When the body
is wounded and bleeding, do not use formulae with toxic ingredients.
Specific formulae for bleeding wounds should be used.
Two liniments
made in 1992. The left one is a treatment formulae, and
the right one is for conditioning. As solvent I used BrazilianCachaça.
After several years, flavour became softer,
preserving the acrid scent of the ingredients.
Hanbang liniments always include
amounts of each type of ingredients. Depending on ingredient
balance, they can be divided into
the following practical categories:
Analgesics: based on menthol,
camphor and other aromathics, used only by beginners, to reduce
pain sensation and swelling after conditioning training. Menthol
is cooling and camphor warms up and increases blood flow. Used
separately, these ingredients are not really useful for Cheolsusul
training.
Conditioning: to promote
Ki and blood flow, thiken the
skin, heal bones, cartilages and ligaments, alleviate pain,
dissolve clots and disperse swelling. Used before and after
conditioning training.This category may correspond to the Chinese
hot type liniment.
Treatment: to open Ki
channels, relax muscles and resolve bruises. It is used several times
a day and before and after Ki Gong training, rubbing gently
as a massage. This category may correspond to the Chinese
cool type liniment.
Use of Hanbang liniments
before and after training is the most important part of Cheolsusul
conditioning training. Use of Hanbang liniment reduces
deformities, scars and calluses, hardening the bones and supporting
tissue. However, depending the forging
tools used,
deformities and thickening of the skin will always ocure.
The famous "silk skin, steel bones" hand of the Chinese soft Arts (without calluses and deformities), is developed using gentle forging tools and slapping techniques, of dubious use in hard-hitting Fighting Arts like ITF Taekwon-Do. Nevertheless, there are oral records referring to this kind of soft hand training in Taekyon.
