Customer Reviews

A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth: How to Treat Your Injuries with Powerful Healing Secrets of the Great Chinese Warrior (Fireside Books (Fireside))

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First a disclaimer: I've been a student of Tom's for over 10 years, both as martial artist and a practitioner of Chinese medicine. (In fact, I became an acupuncturist partly as a result of having had my martial arts injuries sucessfully treated with Chinese medicine.) So, I am most definitely a biassed reviewer!

I'll focus on a small portion of the book, one which is of primary interest to martial artists: the use of herbal training formulas (Die Da formulas) to heal and prevent injuries:

A Tooth From the Tiger's Mouth includes in-depth discussion of the following external formulas:

A basic Die Da Jiu (trauma liniment) for acute injuries
A formula for Tendon Lotion for chronic injuries bothered by damp and cold
U-I Oil - a patent remedy
Chinese Massage Oil - a patent remedy
Black Ghost Oil - a patent remedy
San Huang San - a herbal poultice for acute injuries
Sinew-Bone Poultice - a herbal poultice for healing middle or late stage injuries
Wu Yang Pain Relieving Plaster - a patent remedy
Yunnan Paiyao Plaster - a patent remedy
701 Plaster - a patent remedy
Hua Tuo Anticontusion Rheumatism Plaster - a patent remedy
Gou Pi Plaster - a patent remedy
Tendon Relaxing Soak - an herbal soak
Warming Soak - an herbal soak

The following internal formulas are also discussed in detail:

Trauma pills - an herbal pill made with ground herbs and honey
Resinall K - a patent remedy made from an alchohol extract; similar to Qi Li San
Rib Fracture Formula
Bone Knitting Formula
Tonic formulas such as Ge Jie Da Bu Wan, etc.
Individual herbs for healing sinew and bone injuries
Nutritional and dietary supplements

Certainly there are many Die Da formulas available and several excellent books about Die Da formulae are available to the martial artist. However, Tom's book excells insofar as he provides very concise and accurate information about WHY and WHEN to use different Die Da formulas (based on Chinese medicine theory). Having taken many of Tom's "Kung Fu Traumatology" courses over the past ten years, I can definitively state that A Tooth From the Tiger's Mouth provides the very best, fundamental, and practical information available to the athlete and martial artist about treating sports and martial arts injuries with Chinese medicine. I remember hearing Tom talk about these formulas for the first time, making or buying them, and then trying them out on myself or on friends and training partners as we got injured during our training. The bottom line is - they work.

However, Tom's book is much more than a discussion of Die Da formulas. There are detailed chapters that describe the principles of Chinese sports medicine, injury prevention with respect to excercise, diet and health preservation, the various therapies of Chinese sports medicine, (including the management of cuts and lacerations, cupping and bleeding, acupressure, massage, and moxibustion), and the treatment of common sports injuries (over 30 are described). Moreover, the book is well-written, logical, and easy to follow. This is a gem of a book and would be welcome addition to any martial artist's book shelf. The fact that all of the therapies described in the book can be sucessfully applied to the treatment of sports-related injuries, makes it that more especially valuable.

I had been looking everywhere for a book which is practical and yet espouses the wonderful "goodies" of Chinese medicine, and this is it! I was surfing through Amazon and found this book, bought it, read the entire thing in a single weekend, and I am awestruck by how practical and easy to follow it is. I've already used it as a reference twice for some minor ailments/injuries I had. And now I plan on using it to learn the "internal energy" exercises that are recommended.

Absolutely GET THIS BOOK! It's as necessary for the home as is a first-aid kit and/or a fire extinguisher. Amazing, and that's coming from someone who didn't know squat about Chinese medicine before reading this.

I repeat, GET THIS BOOK!!!!

I can tell by the name that "Tom Bisio" is not some Chinese guy writing from Hong Kong somewhere, but even if I didn't see the name, I would know it's someone domestic who wrote this book. I say this because the book is simple to follow.

Most of the books on Chinese medicine are filled with either English I don't understand or flowery language that I do understand but just roll my eyes at. And too many times the books have pencil drawings of acupuncture points which I *know* are NOT in the right place.

Bisio's book is simple to follow, and I really appreciate the anecdotes that are written thoughout the book, both how the author treated his own injuries and/or how he treated his patients.

What I really like is how the book combines remedies for herbs with remedies for diet, as well as explaining how to treat injuries as soon as they happen. All three are important, and this guide is quite excellent at detailing what needs to be done. (Finding places which sell these herbs might be sometimes tricky, but it can still be done.)

Well worth the expense and well worth the time to read it, I recommend this book with my highest enthusiasm.

This book discusses injury management and rehabilitation in direct simple language. It's content is profound and yet is without artifice. Simply put, it is practical, easy to access, and serves not only the needs of martial artists, but other athletes as well. It's the kind of book I always wanted to see offered, but never was able to find. Anyone interested in managing injuries (including their own)should read this book!
Addendum: Since my original review, I have been in practice in acupuncture and Chinese medicine for two years, and this book has not lost one bit of its value. For example, I have used the rib fracture formula on several patients who came back to me raving about how much better they felt. This book has useful and easy to follow instruction. Don't miss it!

Unlike most books in the area of chinese martial arts and medicine - both in English and Chinese - this tome provides a hands-on reference a westerner can refer to time and again to effectively treat oneself and others for the many musculo-skeletal problems afflicting modern man. The writing reflects the authority and simplicity of a real teacher and healer of great intelligence, empathy and experience. It truly fills a gap, unlike other books touching the subject that only "hint" at the "secrets" of past masters. This book will take its rightfull place next to Robert Smith's classic writings on the martial arts bookshelf.

"A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth" is not only a suprisingly complete book concerning the treatment of athletic injuries, it is also extremely accessable to professional or layman alike. Author Tom Bisio comes to his knowledge not just through hard work and training, but via real life experience as a martial arts competitor and teacher. Bisio breaks down treatment into its essential, practical components which allows for coaches, instructors and competitors to actually use the information that he has to share in real time. He explains in depth why the early, proper treatment of injuries can save an athlete or martial artist from a lifetime of pain and struggle. And he does it in a no-nonsense, practical way that removes the cloak of mystery from Chinese medicine and reveals it as the practical, age-old science that it truly is.

A great, in depth book that anyone who has even a remote chance of being injured should have readily at hand.

This book covers external injuries from a TCM perspective. This is a neglected area within TCM and there are very few TCM books devoted to bruises, tendon trauma and ligament damage. This book covers a very important, but under served area in TCM. The book includes an overall look at traumatology. It compares eastern and western concepts and finds extensive common ground. The book describes treatment methods that include Chi Gung, exercise and herbal treatments. The herbal treatments are both internal and external. The best part of the book in my opinion, are the herbal formulas. The author doesn't pull any "ancient secret" nonsense. The formulas for all of the herbal treatments are explicitly laid out with both Chinese and botanical names. Full preparation instructions are included. This is a great book and should serve to raise the bar for other authors.

Having trained in martial arts and treditional chinese medicine for the last thirty three years And having read about every book that has ever been published on the subject I would have to say without a shadow of doubt that this is about the best book I have ever read on the subject. Its A wonderful book for students who have just begun their kung fu training Its also A good book for older students . Dr Bisio is A wonderful martaial artist and his medicine is just great.His medical skill and martial art skill are equal He is superb in both. Tom has trained with the best martial art masters here and abroad. he is such a great martial artist I cant say enough about him. I wish him the very best with his wonderful book. Randy Sevier

Tom Bisio has put together a concise, but comprehensive overview of martial arts medicine from the traditional Chinese perspective - a veritable goldmine of information that can be applied to the needs of anyone who's engaged in any kind of sport or performance activity. It's also very readable - easy on the eyes! An excellent value for the price.

This book was recommended to me by one of my students. After reading it through, it is now a requirement for my class. While I'm not a marital arts instructor, many of the external application formulae in the book are not taught in any of their other coursework. I would STRONGLY caution the layperson to seek a qualified Chinese Herbalist or licensed TCM practitioner before using the formulae in this book. For the TCM practitioner, this is an invaluable addition to one's library.