Customer Reviews

The Warrior As Healer:A Martial Arts Herbal for Power, Fitness, and Focus

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading the review by James Ramholz, I'd like to make a few comments.

He is correct in stating that all of the herbal formulas used in this book were taken from other sources that are readily available on Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, all of the sources for formulas used were written by professional Chinese medical practitioners for Chinese medical practitioners. Meaning, they were highly confusing to the layman. The purpose of writing the book the Warrior as Healer was to introduce herbal formulas to martial artists in a comprehensive informative and user-friendly fashion, it was not written for other medical professionals.

All of the formulas in the book were offered in their original traditional forms. Mr. Ramholz's comments about a particular ingredient (Zhu Sha) or cinnabar while true, have only come to light subsequent to the writing of this book. I might add that I share his concerns and agree that Zhu Sha can be left out of the formulas without compromising the efficacy of the formula.

In the last 2 years it has been my experience that once the toxicity of Zhu Sha was confirmed, the great majority of Chinese herb shops no longer sell this particular ingredient.

As for the comment regarding Hu Gu/tiger bone I devoted a chapter to the discussion of this ingredient, going into detail about the pros and cons of using tiger bone and other animal by-products.

The only divergence of opinion appears to occur with his recommending the substitution of raccoon and pig gallbladder for bear's gallbladder. My personal position and the general policy of my Chinese herb company (Treasures From the Sea of Chi) is that I reject the killing of any animal for harvesting organs and body parts without exception.

Many books on Chinese medicine and herbal healing are either scholarly works that are full of Latin terms, or basic texts that don't tell you very much. This book cuts right to the chase, giving you the complete formula for herbal preparations, the Chinese and English names, and complete info on what each herb does, how the formula works, and when it should not be used. There is zero filler, just page after page of herbal remedies for martial artists of any style.

I really enjoyed the book and the directness of it, that is to say, there was not a lot of useless info that I had to go through to get to the meat of the subject, no filler, just good information, I will be reading it again and again. Along the lines of this book I have also read a number of excellent Herbal and Martial Arts books at the following website - http://home.sprynet.com/~rmieir, I also found a number of no non sense, information packed books there as well just incase others are interested. Once again, a great book!

This book essentially collects herbal formulas that are already in the public domain from other sources. While it presents a nice survey, I feel there are some needed cautions the author should have included for the general public.

The most important caution is the prohibition of the use of cinnabar, a mercury compound, for internal formulas. It should never be used in any herbal formulas by amatuers because of its well-known toxicity. Even highly processed cinnabar will contain traces of mercury; extended use will increase the exposure. It can simply be left out of the formulas in the book without much loss of efficacy.

The use of real Tiger bone besides being unethical would also be prohibitively expensive. The Chinese always substitute other animal bones (horse, dog, ox, among others). Some modern herbal practitioners have even used a combination of Calicium citrate and magnesium citrate. While none of the substitutions are that close in energy to real Tiger bone, they can be functional substitutions.

The same problems extend to the unethical use of Bear gallbladder. Substitutions such as racoon gallbladder, pig gallbladder, or commericially available bile sales may be used. And, again, while not the same energy as Bear gallbladder, they are ethical and functional substitutions.

Outside of these cautions, the book presents a nice mixture of classical, unique, and patent herbal formulas that have been used for hundreds of years. It makes a good starting place for martial artists who are interested but unfamiliar with herbal medicines.

If you are looking for traditional Chinese herbal formulas for use specifically by martial artists, you will find them here. The book has formulas for liniments for hand conditioning, teas for healing injuries, and seasonal wines for maintaining energy and appropriate body temperature from season to season. It assumes that you have access to raw Chinese herbs and at least a basic knowledge of Chinese medical concepts. If you have those basics, it teaches you how to prepare decoctions, wines, and pills for use in martial training.

Susan Lynn Peterson
author Western Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes

We need people like him in the martial arts world. Most herbalist that are martial artists keep the kung fu aspect of herbs as a secret. This book is short, nice and simple, well I'd say one thing people would not like about his way of making herbs is that yes it is VERY TIME consuming and it requires a lot of shelf space during the process which is not a plus in the modern world.

This was a very intresting read. It is very well written and laid out. I have not had a chance to try the formulas yet but I look forward to doing so.

Very instructive book. Easy to follow instructions and a list of available stores which supply the herbs. I have my warrior tonic aging as I speak.