Setup date: June 18, 2009 (after the "resolution" to accept foreigners for observation was adopted by the general assembly) @
+30 years of "clinical experience" as an acupuncturist here. Since 1995 I do run my own VERY LITTLE acupuncture clinic. "Thomas' Acupuncture CLinic" (in Hayama, ca. 50 km from Tokyo) @ Email: thomas-pe@s7.dion.ne.jp @ @ @ @ *** MY Choice *** As a therapist I am VERY reluctant
to say this, but as a father of 4 children feel obliged to do so: I am not willing (and under no
obligation) to help people who support someone, @ @ 1. Recent developments in Japan 2. English text pertaining to studies in Japan 3. German text " (article only in English) 4. List of requests received so far (wonderous variety!) 5. Stories about and impressions from people who visited Japan: 6. Do's and Don'ts (working on it) 7. List of helpful Japanese phrases (working on it) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
*** I did set up a page (in Japanese) calling for help from (Japanese) practitioners willing to let foreigners observe in their clinic: -> "Wanted" (unfortunately so far not many people did respond .....) @ I tried a lot of things, to "get things going", but with very limited success so far. Maybe my repeated calling upon academic societies and acupuncturist associations has contributed to the adoption of an "official policy" of accepting foreign observers at Japanese clinics, which has been accepted by the general assembly of the JSAM in 2009. After that it took another 3 years to FINALLY set up of "list" of Japanese practitioners willing to let foreigners observe, which included until very recently NINE people.
Several years ago I also wrote to the government (in Japanese), suggesting that support and promotion of traditional heritage = like acupuncture is important to prevent its assimilation = disappearance as a result of Chinese efforts at "standardization": http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/thoacu/61799185.html Naturally, I did not get any answer. The other day I wrote about this 99.8% of Japanese practitioners NOT wanting to accept foreigners, which may in part be due to a lack of recognition = meaning many Japanese practitioners do not know about this effort, to a number of national newspapers and TV stations:
webmaster@tv-asahi.co.jp Channel 10 and some others. When I tried to make an inquiry at the Japanese national TV = NHK, I was forced to identify myself in a (Japanese?) way, which is not me as described under above link "foreigners are not welcome" and in Japanese: http://transcurio.blogspot.jp/2012/03/nhk.html It IS very difficult to find something here. But I have succeeded in arranging a few things for a few people in the past ... Nevertheless, anyone interested in studying in Japan could also contact for example the following societies (maybe mentioning that you have seen my site; that could provide an extra stimulus for them to help ...)
@ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 1. Recent developments in Japan Japanese acupuncture seems to be little known around the world (see below section about the international symposium). Recently people have agreed, after my surely annoying pestering those in charge, that an "official" call for help (volunteers allowing foreigners observe their clinical practice) shall be put on the JSAM website and published in the society's journal. Thus, the chances of foreigners to find places/opportunities to study in Japan will in the future probably better than they used to be. I will try to keep visitors of my site informed about the state of affairs. (* Actually, it seems that by just asking for help in this matter I also do make a lot of enemies and colleagues actually discouraged me from doing so ...) The person currently in charge will probably know many more people than I do. Mr. Hirokazu Inami (of the above mentioned society) Good luck. PS: If you feel, I could be of (more) help too, please donft hesitate to contact me. @@ International symposium On June 12 the 2nd 2009 an international symposium on acpuncture ("evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for low back pain") was held. * Almost all the foreign speakers VERY frequently used the pair of terms: "real acupuncture" vs. "sham acupuncture". It turns out, that the definition of "real acupuncture" conceived by the speakers (the international community??) would be deep, 'painful' = de qi sensation eliciting needling, whereas most shallow needling without the de qi feeling would be considered "sham" (that sounds like "fake"). If that is true, most of the Japanese acupuncturists have performed fake acupuncture over the past 1,500 years treating millions of people! I DO NOT like that notion at all. The presentations made by the speakers as well as answers to questions from the floor also clearly indicated, that most invited speakers were NOT familiar with Japanese acupuncture at all or only very little. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX @ 2. English A frequently asked question: Can I learn about acupuncture in Japan? I have been asked this question not really "many times", but a considerable number of times from all kind of different people with different backgrounds and intentions- and this number seems to be increasing. The answers I might be able to provide are, however, not very encouraging. Intellectually Japan still seems to be stuck in the "period of national seclusion". That means, while China offers programs, classes, places in hospitals etc. where foreigners may have the chance to either observe or actively learn about Chinese acupuncture, Japan does not offer any such classes, or has schools, hospitals etc. providing anything remotely systematic for any possible candidate with an interest in learning (Japanese) acupuncture in Japan. Private acupuncturists too, seem to be (very) reluctant to give foreigners the opportunity to observe their treatment for a variety of reasons. These include the fear (I have been repeatedly told by colleagues, that foreigners = non-Japanese people are a frightening presence), that they will not be able to communicate with the foreigners, the assumption that they don't have anything to "show", the argument that patients would be very uncomfortable (afraid!!) when being watched by a foreigner (in Japan officially still called "alien"), or the possibility that the observers might start something that either embarrases or compromises the therapists, for example by urging him or her to sell particular products or introduce certain services. These things have happened! So, at the moment the best thing I can do, is privately ask people who might be willing to allow people to observe their treatments (I have already been told, that I "should not care for those (troublesome) foreigners, because it might be detrimental to my personal reputation"). Yet, recent developments in the "policies" of academic societies etc. seem to indicate a change in the situation (maybe I have even contributed to this change??), so that the hope to find people willing to cooperate with requests to be permitted to observe might (will?) improve in the near future. Among other things I have put up a page on my website asking (in Japanese) colleagues for their cooperation and a few already did so ... Based on my personal experiences, I would like to help foreigners expressing their earnest desire to learn things here as best as I can. Although I cannot promise anything, please do not hesitate to ask me. Who knows, maybe we can arrange something ..... Recently, some of my efforts and the voice I publicly raised in the form of an article published in a Japanese journal - a rather liberal translation of that article follows below - also seem to start bearing fruit. @ in(English translation of an article written in Japanese published in the September (2008) edition of "Ido no Nihon" -> 「見学」個人的な意見 ....... <- this is the published Japanese version)
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needle Acupuncture needles on the other hand should have a slightly rounded shape, here in Japan called "pine needle shape", because it should resemble the tip of pine leaves. Although it is difficult to see on this picture (need a microscope), the Chinese needle appears to be simply "pointed", whereas the Japanese needle gives the impression of being very slightly rounded. In
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students are supposed to learn by gw http://jsam.jp/jsam_domain/english/intro_index.htm @ Interface Before a practitioner can start treating people, s/he must first find out what is wrong. As far as that is possible at all. As a matter of common sense there are many ways to do that and I am not going into the details of examination techniques. However, I am under the impression, that the Chinese with their intellectual world domination in this area have inspired many westerners in believing, practicing something that is usually "handled (please observe the expression; there will be a few more instances of this kind of illuminating terms below)" a little differently in Japan. Since I have not had the opportunity to observe things directly in mainland China, reading through (Chinese influenced) reports, research material etc., or also material from China, I also am under the impression, that the authors gather information by taking the pulse, inspect the tongue and a little something of that and from there draw their conclusions based on the classifications the Chinese love so much and/or select the points for their treatment based on the theoretical instructions of textbooks or the classics. It is of course laudable to know the textbooks and classics, but personally I seriously doubt, they can tell you anything about the patient you are currently treating. Just like the description of "pneumonia" in a textbook of medicine gives you an averaged, generalized model, but not the particular situation you encounter in patient "xxx". Although not all Japanese practitioners adhere to the practice I attempt to put into rather unusual words below and which a patient of mine once has called "poking around", I prefer it and believe a substantial number of other (Japanese) practitioners could offer the world here something, that may not really make the EBM enthusiasts happy, but provides a sometimes very enlightening "close encounter of the Japanese kind". ************* Interface is a term usually used in relation to computer and machine technology. But I would like to express a few ideas pertaining to (physical) treatment, in particular acupuncture treatment, and borrow this expression for the purpose. In the medical world it is common sense, that individual life forms, including single-celled microorganisms, plants, animals and man, have a body surface that forms the interface of this particular individual with the environment. Yet, in contrast to man-made devices, which are usually one out of a more or less large number of identical devices manufactured at a specific site with identical specifications, these life forms are always **UNIQUE**. Not one of these many "devices (let's call them units below)" exactly matches any other device, even if they are of the same species, like for example "man". Each individual unit is slightly different, although may be not fundamentally. For that reason the interface between the unit and the environment at any given moment in time is subject to a unique, highly specific set of parameters influencing both the unit and its environment. And because the specifications for each unit are unique, the interaction between the particular unit and the environment occurring at their common interface - in man the skin - also is subject to unique changes. That means, that no other unit would react in exactly the same way to a given, reproducible parameter/influence, like temperature or pressure. In computer technology the status of the various devices and their respective hard- and software can be checked and a "digital output" of the relevant data prepared. In medicine, here I refer in particular to acupuncture, "running diagnostics" is also largely a "digital" process, because the practitioner uses his/her fingers = digits to literally READ information from the body surface of people/patients. But in contrast to this process in computer technology the diagnostic process in acupuncture exceeds the unidimensional digital level and becomes a "sensual" holistic process, in that it includes visual (inspection), audio (hearing, listening) and chemical (smell, but only RARELY taste) parameters. In relation to the "EBM frenzy" currently almost everybody is looking for "reproducible, digital readouts" of this information: like temperature, pressure, electrical resistance etc. However, to the best of my knowledge, even if there are devices under development that may be able to test and measure some of these parameters like pressure, which would be essential for examining the pulse, these devices are still very far from reliably and meaningfully measuring the parameters they are designed for. The human touch still exceeds their capabilities. Even if there were devices that would satisfactorily measure ONE particular parameter, a human (erratic as that may be!) practitioner would still integrate all the different modalities of into one whole ("holistic") picture quite different from what any machine would produce. In addition, the practitioner him/herself too is a unique unit, which naturally produces a unique and not completely reproducible output. THAT is for all scientifically/technically inclined researchers believing in the holiness of EBM a horrible concept. Now, the interface used for data collection, namely the two layers of the skin of both patient and practitioner approaching and in most instances also coming into contact with each other, are not unlike a telephone. (This is a metaphor I like to use when I try to explain the situation to my patients and refer here only to palpation.) On the one "hand" (please note THIS expression) the practitioner moves with his/her hand(s) over the body of the patient to collect = read the data written on the patient's body surface. Although most patients are not really aware of them, for a practitioner with a little clinical experience there is a lot of information to read there, that will tell him/her about the past, present and future state/development(s) of the person under examination. This is like listening to that person talking on the other end of a telephone. During the treatment on the other hand, for which the hands do not even have to be lifted off the body = cut the connection, the same hand(s) of the practitioner provides some input for the system "patient". That is then like talking to the person on the other end of the telephone line. Modern telecommunication technology uses wired networks, where cables are used to connect different devices, and wireless networks using electromagnetic waves and fields. In medicine nothing substantially has changed in the technological setup of the wired and wireless networks (only our understanding of their functioning is growing) since their inception = billions of years ago. Practitioners use the hardware components for the wired networks, like nerves, muscles, bones etc. in order to receive/transmit physical stimuli/information = like nerve impulses traveling along nerves, or moxibustion induced chemical changes/substances propagated via the chemical transport system "blood". For the wireless networks practitioners tap into energies and information in and also propagated along LAN channels that work without having their own hardware, in the field of acupuncture these are often referred to as meridians or also channels (note the similarity). Actually, I have been called for help in my capacity as an acupuncturist via mail. However, both patient and practitioner are unique individual units with their own unique specifications and therefore without exactly predictable reactions (to interventions). Thus, helping people over long distances is usually not working very well, because I as a practitioner have to do almost completely without data readouts from the malfunctioning unit (person). Therefore the attempts are in most cases bound to be unsuccessful. The advice would be: get a piece of real first-hand "human touch" experience up close ...... again those expressions ... /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// @ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX @ 4. Actually received inquiries / Tatsächlich erhaltene Anfragen:I put the list of actually received mails on an extra page, because I cannot get the formatting right here (heaven knows why) Received mails XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX @ 5. Stories about and impressions from people who visited Japan: From a beautiful lady from Australia, who lived at that time in China: ******************************************************************************************** After the earthquake (and NUCLEAR!) disaster in 2011 I the number of people interested in visiting Japan dropped sharply. people interested in visiting Japan ... Foreign Studies: Incredible return ... In 2011 2 Australian colleagues, who at that time just had made their licenses, visited Japan and I helped them find a few places, where they could observe in Japanese acupuncture clinics. These two were unfortunately enough to be here when the big earthquake struck on March 11. I am told, that the Australian embassy then called them and basically "ordered" them out of the country. "Naturally", since the big quake nobody has asked me about the possibility of studying acupuncture in Japan. Maybe hardly surprising. But look out! One of the above mentioned Australians intends to return to Japan this fall for further studies. Incredible. In spite of all the talk about radiation etc. Maybe other people -- those who have forsaken their respective intention to visit Japan -- should learn from Ben. @ The handsome young man here is Ben, who wrote the above comment AND will return to Japan this year. The picture shows him and Marianne at a "Soba" restaurant, where I took them after visiting the department of oriental medicine at Nanasawa Hospital. @ @ *** Benjamin Chant was also so kind as to describe his impression of their Japan visit and and permitted me to put them up here: Acupuncture in Japan 03/2011 All of the therapists whose clinics we observed in were friendly, hospitable and open about the way they practiced acupuncture/moxibustion. They genuinely shared their knowledge in a way which I have only rarely been exposed to outside of Japan which made the trip a very gratifying one despite only spending 1 month in the country. Altogether we observed at 10 clinics/hospitals and there was such a variety in treatment techniques, philosophical principals and diagnostic methods which came as a surprise and great awakening. The richness and depth of knowledge which we glimpsed was daunting, but at the same time a beautiful insight into what we have been missing in "the west". Although the differences we observed in approach to treatment are too great to expound upon in detail, there was a general flavour which permeated the practice of acupuncture/moxibustion, something perhaps distinctly Japanese: The great importance of palpation, minimal stimulation for maximum effect, immediate response to treatment, intricate use of moxibustion and no prescription of herbal medicine:- all therapists relied solely on their acupuncture/moxibustion techniques. Japan is an emerging treasure trove of technique and philosophy for those of us who have trained in classical Chinese medicine and anyone with the courage to have their fortress of TCM broken down will find that in Japan, there is a length and breadth to acupuncture with a horizon far beyond the realms of what we thought we knew... by Benjamin Chant @ Research Ben Chant, the charming young man from Australia, who wrote the above lines, will return to Japan (see also: https://nyuwa.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/foreign-studies-incredible-return/ )@article copied below this year to Japan to conduct a certain study of his. In that study he will try to find out more about the characteristics of "Japanese acupuncture practice", not only needling techniques etc., but also characteristics that distinguish JAPANESE acupuncture clinics from their counterparts in the West. ******************************************************************************************** Impressions from a Swedish practitioner who in 2016 completed a 150-hour clinical observation course: As a TCM student in Sweden we are required to do 150 hours of clinical observation. Most people @ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I am definitely NOT the right person to tell people how to behave in this country or reveal the "most treasured secrets of this culture". Nevertheless, a few words / hints / advises might prove to be helpful. This will be an ongoing process and take a little while, during which the list of instructions will (hopefully) grow in length .....
@ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(Back to top)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 7. List of helpful Japanese phrases ----- "Breaking the ice" Japanese people may often be afraid of and reluctant to meet / communicate with foreigners. I will not discuss this situation and possible background factors (that is for people who are smarter than I am), but upon initial contact, you may sense the presence of some major obstacle between you and the Japanese people - like an invisible glass wall. This could be conveniently visualized as "ice" instead of glass. Being able to address the Japanese people even with a single word or phrase - you do not have to be able to make conversation - will greatly help to what the English idiom "breaking the ice" to eloquently describes. Trust me: being able to say one or two of the following phrases will be immensely helpful. @ *** I also decided to endeavor setting up a Japanese-English glossary of oriental medicine. This will take quite some time, since I seemingly have to learn an entire new language to set up one of those "Wikis", but I hope with the help of my colleagues to come up with something worth referring to in the not too distant future. The list is NOT in any particular order. Just as the terms/phrases came to my mind.
** Please let me know, if you as potential visitor would like to know how to express something in particular, that is not included in the above list. (I am still working on it anyway) @
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