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Usually in Asian dramas mothers would often say this to their kids, “你欠打!” (You owe a beating!!!) and trust me it’s not a question. This threat often comes when kids do something obnoxiously wrong or bad. Ok, I admit, it’s doesn’t only happen in dramas :p

Why do you need to beat yourself up?

In Chinese medicine there’s a saying, “痛则不通, 通则不痛”. It means where there’s pain there’s blockage, where there’s no pain there’s no blockage. A sedentary lifestyle is the main cause of stagnant blood circulation in the body. Beating yourself, even though it sounds a bit psychotic, is a very simple way to stir up blood circulation to relieve muscle aches and pains.

If you have lots of body aches all over, look into your lifestyle, what bad behavior have you committed to deserve a beating? Or in this case it’s more like muscle pain management. I admit you are not alone. I sit in front of the computer all day and night with no exercise. I don’t sleep until late hours, I don’t drink enough water. Years of built up stagnancy led up to feeling sluggish and sick. Overworked and no rest for my body and organs to heal. I have treated myself badly. Behavior correction time!!!

How to make a (massage) beating stick

Roll 4-5 sheets of newspaper, thick magazine spreads or pages from a huge calendar into a roll about 1″ thick. I am 4’10”, 103lbs, if you are bigger than me and can’t feel the pounding much add a few more sheets of paper to make it thicker. If the wand causes a painful uncomfortable feeling than it’s too thick.  The key thing is to make sure you leave the core about half empty so the roll is not solid. If it’s solid you may really get bruised instead of a massage. Last, wrap clear tape all around the tube to prevent it from breaking and falling apart. If it rips after use just wrap more tape around to fix it.

You can also use a massage knock hammer if you prefer something more permanent. I have this one I bought from a Japanese store in Japantown.

How to use a beating stick to massage body aches

Although beating yourself is one simple way to stir up your blood circulation you don’t want to literally beat yourself to death. The beating process is a very gentle. You feel sore pain but not pain that is hurting. You feel relief after your sore pain goes away. You feel better and better as you beat yourself.

Beat where you feel sore. When your body is normal you will only feel soft hits like a massage but when you are sore you will feel  a slight to intense pain, but it feels good after you hit it. Sounds like self abuse, but trust me, the more you hit that spot the less pain you will feel. What you are doing is inducing circulation at the spot. As more blood flows to the spot and circulation increases the pains goes away. Remember the Chinese medical saying in Chinese, “痛则不通, 通则不痛” (If there’s is pain there is blockage, if there’s no blockage there’s no pain.) When you gently beat the blockage it breaks apart and allow your circulation to flow and the pain will dissipate. Beating yourself wherever there’s pain is a massage that you can do yourself anytime.

There’s a Chinese saying, “打者爱也” (Beat those you love) so you can do this with a partner. I’m not promoting physical abuse, don’t take it so literal in its meaning. In this case we want to beat the crap(toxins) away. This beating is to show yourself or loved ones some love, take turns to beat each other up gently. You’ll both feel a lot better after the pains beaten out of you.