Back when I used to do martial arts bruises were a fact of life -- I wasn't very good at martial arts...

Anyway, we used to go to a drugstore outside of New Orleans East in a Vietnamese community known locally as "Little Saigon." We would by an herbal tincture called something like "dit di jao". It is poisonous so cannot be used where the skin is actually broken. We'd rub that stuff onto the bruise and it would very quickly dissolve the clot. Go from blackish to yellowish in a day. Soreness would be gone, too.

Damned if I know what was in it, but it sure worked for me. I was an expert in its application!