Styles of acupuncture

First I think it is important to distinguish between the sort of rote post-communist TCM that is taught in schools and Chinese Medicine which is the lifeblood for all of the systems. Japanese acupuncture, for example, is the growth of Chinese Medicine as it was offered to them in the early 1000 ad&#39s and then brought up through their own culture with their special skills and talents and further honed by multicultural exchanges with professionals around the world. The same with French, Korean, various microsystems, even our own Tam Healing System.

While we call what we do "TCM" out of convention, we use nearly all palpatory diagnosis (abdomen, points, areas, etc.) and rarely use the tongue, pulse, etc. And from my sense of it, this is still Chinese Medicine.

With regards to treating the root first, etc. - I believe that this is part of all systems it&#39s just better articulated and preserved in Japanese systems - particularly at the level everything is taught in schools. That said proper "TCM" is pattern oriented not symptom oriented which depending on how deep you look for the patterns it should be the same as treating the root. Don&#39t forget that Japanese systems also have local, "i.e. symptomatic" treatments as well which are generally performed after the root deficiency treatment. In TCM you are often mixing root and local "ashi" points at the same time - one of many reasons for more needles. It is important to note, however, that many "TCM" practitioners use very limited numbers of needles - so that&#39s not a fixed difference between the two systems.

All that said, I agree with you that there is an incredible amount of finesse and beauty in the Japanese system. And learning from all of these systems and using techniques from each is a good goal. In the beginning, however, it is often best to simply stick to an entire system so you can learn it deeply before you start pulling in techniques from anywhere.

With regards to needling, as evidenced by other posts I&#39ve made, I&#39m a huge fan of simple, painless needling. While I was trained extensively in Japanese acupuncture, I now use the Tam Healing System in nearly every case. From the Japanese system I brought the skills it offered in palpatory diagnosis and light needling technique primarily. I do use 36 gauge Chinese needles for the most part but with Japanese insertion techniques, depth, and palpatory feedback.

Hi. Regarding this sentence, why do you make reference that you "rarely use the tongue, pulse?"

Just curious. I know you use all other methods...

Thanks

Jerry

While we call what we do "TCM" out of convention, we use nearly all palpatory diagnosis (abdomen, points, areas, etc.) and rarely use the tongue, pulse, etc. And from my sense of it, this is still Chinese Medicine.

For the most part, yes, I use nearly no manipulation (although it&#39s important to note that we rely heavily on medical qigong and tuina to accomplish some of what people may rely entirely on the needles to do so we can use more "basic" needling techniques and still get very consistent results). In some pain cases I may use some minor manipulation but that is rare.

Yes the whole "grabbing" and "de qi" concepts are largely misunderstood and (again in my opinion) hardly uncovered by practitioners who always use strong techniques. It&#39s just like tai chi, 4 ounces to deflect a 1000 pounds.... You don&#39t obtain qi by making your patient uncomfortable, or by forcing it, period. There is the sensation of qi, there is at times a pulling/grabbing sensation but spinning the needle to wrap the tissue around the needle is not what I believe is the grabbing sensation the ancients talk about and what we can go for today. But to each there own I suppose. I do what I do simply because after school and private training with any number of accomplished people this is what I saw to be the most effective, most consistently, on the broadest range of cases (and the most complex I might add). And certainly patient comfort and ease was always a priority - tied in first place with results.