Ever got the "Chi Sau Pox" ?

[mook jong man]

Thats what we used to call it at our school . It was a strange malady that became prevalent in summer time , it seemed to thrive in the heat and humidity , when the sweat was flowing profusely.

It was characterized by little pimples on your forearms that that would erupt and fill with pus , they didn't really hurt or itch they were just very annoying . I have to admit I did get a great a deal of satisfaction out of poppin the little buggers.

They seemed to be confined to the areas of the forearm that were prone to friction in chi sau and that had contact with the partners arms .
My theory is that it was some sort of bacterial infection , that was transmitted from chi sau partner to chi sau partner by contact with their sweaty arms .

Together with all the sweat and through the process of friction in chi sau , the bacteria would then invade your hair follicles and the next morning you would wake up with the aformentioned evil pustules on your arms.

Every summer this plague would be visited upon us , and I was afflicted several times. Many pharmaceutical lotions were purchased and applied , in an effort to combat this scourge , but only to be in vain.

Through a long process of trial and error the most effective things were found to be tea tree oil or rubbing alcohol .

These preparations applied religiously and methodically to the arms before and during chi sau practice were found to prevent chi sau pox in nine out of ten cases.

The only drawback is the smell with 30 plus people in the school all with tea oil or rubbing alcohol on their arms . But it was ok , it helped to mask the aroma of some brethren who neglected to wear a freshly laundered uniform that day.

So what about you , did you ever get the chi sau pox ?

 

[geezer]

So what about you , did you ever get the chi sau pox ?

A little, but not really bad like you describe. Then I live in a very dry climate. A thought about your remedy. Alcohol is the base ingredient for most dit dar jow. I often wonder if that, along the regular resting and massaging of the affected area during frequent re-application, doesn't do as much good as all of the exotic herbs thrown in. Of course the herbs can smell nice (depending on your recipe).

If you were a greedy SOB, you'd just bottle your own mix of tea tree oil and rubbing alcohol and sell it for say five dollars an ounce. Or maybe only four, since you aren't Chinese. Authentic Chi-Sau Jow. Has a nice ring to it.

 

[yak sao]

Ahh, the dreaded chi sao pox.

I got it when I first started learning chi sao, but it wasn't too bad.
Then a couple of years later I was in LA at a big training seminar with WT people from all over the world and a lot of people got it pretty bad. I avoided it by scrubbing the heck out of my forearms in the shower and using that alcohol hand sanitizer stuff.
Thanks for reminding me of this....I have a lot of new students doing chi sao and I'm sure it will try to rear it's ugly head.

 

[almost a ghost]

I just get hives, and that's because everybody chi sao with has cats and I'm very allergic to cats. LOL

 

[mook jong man]

I just get hives, and that's because everybody chi sao with has cats and I'm very allergic to cats. LOL

Your just gonna have to tell em to stop doing chi sau with their cats. Anyway the difference in height can be quite problematic I find , not to mention the fish breath.

 

[Seeker]

I've never had this as you describe, though I do occasionally experience the dreaded 'hair burns' from rolling with some of the hairier guys in class.

 

[mook jong man]

I've never had this as you describe, though I do occasionally experience the dreaded 'hair burns' from rolling with some of the hairier guys in class.

Oh I've had that too , one of my instructors had very coarse hair on his arms .
It felt like you were rolling with a wire brush , almost like it was going to start taking skin off.

 

[Tensei85]

Yea, I generally just get a free waxing. Haven't experienced the chi sau pox as of yet.

 

[profesormental]

Greetings.

The best way to avoid any skin conditions is a good bath with hot water and scrub well.


Yet it is good to watch out for skin conditions as to prevent them. Heat rashes are common also because of the conditions of training.

Nothing serious though.

Hope this helps.

Juan M. Mercado

 

[Tensei85]

Greetings.

The best way to avoid any skin conditions is a good bath with hot water and scrub well.


Yet it is good to watch out for skin conditions as to prevent them. Heat rashes are common also because of the conditions of training.

Nothing serious though.

Hope this helps.

Juan M. Mercado

So that was the secret all along???

 

[profesormental]

You would be amazed at the number of people that are ... lacking in certain hygiene skills. I've had to... suggest it progressively so they eventually get it.

Many people really don't know, specially if they're from low income families.

Yet I've had the waxing effect too in the forearms, too.

 

[futsaowingchun]

Thats what we used to call it at our school . It was a strange malady that became prevalent in summer time , it seemed to thrive in the heat and humidity , when the sweat was flowing profusely.

It was characterized by little pimples on your forearms that that would erupt and fill with pus , they didn't really hurt or itch they were just very annoying . I have to admit I did get a great a deal of satisfaction out of poppin the little buggers.

They seemed to be confined to the areas of the forearm that were prone to friction in chi sau and that had contact with the partners arms .
My theory is that it was some sort of bacterial infection , that was transmitted from chi sau partner to chi sau partner by contact with their sweaty arms .

Together with all the sweat and through the process of friction in chi sau , the bacteria would then invade your hair follicles and the next morning you would wake up with the aformentioned evil pustules on your arms.

Every summer this plague would be visited upon us , and I was afflicted several times. Many pharmaceutical lotions were purchased and applied , in an effort to combat this scourge , but only to be in vain.

Through a long process of trial and error the most effective things were found to be tea tree oil or rubbing alcohol .

These preparations applied religiously and methodically to the arms before and during chi sau practice were found to prevent chi sau pox in nine out of ten cases.

The only drawback is the smell with 30 plus people in the school all with tea oil or rubbing alcohol on their arms . But it was ok , it helped to mask the aroma of some brethren who neglected to wear a freshly laundered uniform that day.

So what about you , did you ever get the chi sau pox ?

Why not trying chi saoing with long sleeves,that way there is no skin on skin contact.

 

[mook jong man]

Why not trying chi saoing with long sleeves,that way there is no skin on skin contact.

You don't want to be wearing long sleeves mate in a Sydney summer when its 42c outside. Even inside with the aircon or the fans on its still very hot and humid.

Nope, the best way is put the tea tree oil on or the rubbing alcohol on your arms before you start training . That stuff kills every bug known to man and probably even some that aren't.

 

[Krattyboy]

Yep, had the arm burns!

 

[wingchun100]

Talk about resurrecting an old thread...

 

[Krattyboy]

Sure, is that frowned upon??

 

[wingchun100]

No, but if you are seeking a reply from people who were originally on it, you will be sorely disappointed. LOL

 

[Krattyboy]

Ok, I'll create a new thread next time.

 

[geezer]

Ok, I'll create a new thread next time.

Nah, bringing up an old thread is fine if you want to contribute new info on an old topic. Just don't expect to hear back from the original posters (except me, obviously). Mook, Profesormental and a lot of others have been gone for years. Last I heard of ol' Mook was that he was off to Japan. Wish he'd get back to us!

Anyway, welcome to the forum. Say, by the looks of the scab on your bridge, you must press forward pretty hard when you roll in poon-sau. What lineage do you train?

 

[Krattyboy]

It's primarily IP Man lineage, but like any good Kung Fu it's influenced and evolved over time by other lineages that have contributed to the club over time.
Yeah, I haven't been practicing Chi-Sao for long, so the scab is partly the result of my inexperience but also the skin probably needs some time to 'toughen up'. Bloody annoying though!
You guys sound like a pretty tight knit little community, not a bad thing really.