Today, the workshop was on the practice of shiatsu exchange with the each one’s partners. It was done with whichever the body part I want to practice by my way and with whichever the body part I want to receive from the partner by the partner’s way.

My partners were, it was an honour for me, Kiyoshi sensei, Kazumi sensei and Ikuko sensei. Of course, there were the other 12 ISI fellows were working hard with sweating next to me.

Through the time that I exchanged shiatsu with the fellow workers who have same concern and have various experienced, I became so much impressed with their passion and constant training about Shiatsu.

OK, I enjoyed it!

* Shaolin fist martial art(少林拳法)and Shiatsu……(???)

Folks, have you ever heard the Shaolin kung fu? What about Shaolin fist martial art(少林拳法) among others?
You would have had it on Hongkong movie once. What about Kung Fu Panda!

At the Shaolin temple(少 林寺)in China, there is a many hundred years of tradition of fist martial art training among the monks. Someone does Mantis fist martial art(螳蜋拳), someone does Dragon-Tiger fist martial art(龍虎拳), Snake fist martial art(巳拳)and so on, the practitioners borrowed the each wild animal’s behaviour about attack and defensive instincts, and they have developed their own fist martial art as their specialized skills.

However, Mantis fist martial art(螳蜋拳), Dragon-Tiger fist martial art(龍虎拳), whatever the someone’s specialized martial art is, every one has its own both of advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the practitioners try to do constant practice to further develop its advantages and to supplement its disadvantages despite those are their special skills.

The way how to do their practice is pretty simple, nothing special. This is such a form that they try to learn each one’s skill, and they try to inherit many of their ideas from others. Sometimes they have a match their skills. They have a match in between Mantis and Mantis as same type, and they also have a match in between Mantis and Dragon-Tiger as different typed fighter.

The practitioners do actual experiments and become an object of the experiments. Because, before the actual doing, they don’t know themselves with only the theories.

So, somebody can begin sharing the common ground for the practitioners.

 
Ok, now what? Let me talk about Shiatsu. Shiatsu practitioners may seem similar to this.

Someone is seasoned practitioner about head, neck, shoulder body part, someone is well-acquainted about back, spine, and someone has big confidence to treat on lower back and pelvic areas, someone has a lot of experience on the limbs. Each shiatsu practitioner has so many different cases of patients, and has various points of view, specialized skills, special experiences about the cases. Indeed, there are too many case of disease to list at here. Pains, aches, injuries, syndromes, stages, parts, body systems…. That’s what the patients appeal to shiatsu therapists.

All these patient treatment cases are only depending on the individual therapists’ talent, knowledge, skill, and experience. However, the other one component to be competent therapist is I think it is constant practice and experimental mind to figure it out.

I like to find the meaning of Shiatsu Jikiden-kai(Shiatsu workshop) at this point.

We try to reflect the blending of individuals, try to ask someone how they feel with other’s therapy and ask advice and then we recognize what the lack of the therapy. Altogether we devote ourselves to study and practice of shiatsu, and we have the opportunity to develop new ideas and to improve new skills and make progress day after day unwittingly.

I think these things maybe the value of Shiatsu Jikiden-kai(work shop). Someday, we would call someone among us as Shiatsu Master or Shiatsu Expert!

Any way, in my case, once more eventually, Shiatsu Jikiden-kai make me to realize about what my needs are all the fundamentals rather than techniques such as Patients’ condition, Sense of touch, and Pressure, pressure, pressure…..

It is as if it happened at the Shaolin temple(少林寺), until a practitioner make positioning their name and fame into the top level list of certain martial art, the good teachers(sensei) always organize followers about basic skills, and remind them what they lack mostly, furthermore, teachers, followers, students, fellows, those practitioners(monks) all together mixed up at one place, and they constantly, regularly have discussion, practice and sparring.

Through this kind of performing, I’m sure we also can provide better Shiatsu skill, better practitioner’s condition, furthermore the best Shiatsu therapy and healing service with best soul to the suffering patients at the real clinics. As if Shaolin martial art masters launch into the outside world and save the suffering public!

I’ve heard that the biggest value what the Shaolin martial art masters look for is not actually the beautiful and ideal skills and is also not the higher fame and name. Eventually, the view point of their value is where they use for.

What the shiatsu practitioner’s value is, the goal is to save the suffering patients, isn’t it?

-p/s I had a great opportunity once again to think about those all things which I mentioned above, I like to thank  ISI, Kiyoshi sensei, and all the ISI members.