Body Mechanics for Bodyworkers (Video)

As Manual Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Massage Therapists, we use our hands and bodies to work on our clients.  This can be very physically demanding work, and if we are going to do it over a long period of time (as a career), we need to know how to use our bodies to exert the necessary force, repeatedly, without hurting ourselves.

Martial artists have the same concern, and because Martial Arts (on a practical level) is largely about exerting force with one’s body, martial artists have become quite sophisticated in their approach to body mechanics.  I have developed a series of classes based on Principles of Body Mechanics drawn from a number of different martial arts. These classes are designed to train Bodyworkers in how to use their bodies to exert force in their work in ways that will keep them from being injured and insure that they can have a long, productive career doing the work that they love.  I have used these strategies throughout my 25-year career as a Manual Therapist and Acupuncturist.

This is a video montage of a class I taught in Seattle, WA, a few years ago.  This is a sample of the kinds of things I like to talk about in this context, and is excerpted from a 4-hour class that includes principles of pushing, pulling, using your hands to exert force, using balance, leverage, and other strategies to prevent injuries.  It is a fun class with lots of simple exercises to demonstrate the principles and help to build them into your muscle memory and nervous system, so that they become automatic habits.  The principles taught in this class also apply to martial arts, yoga, dance, and other athletic or work situations that might put someone at risk for injuries.

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of subjects.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Introduction to Teate Manual Therapy (Video)

When I first started as a student at the Kototama Institute in Santa Fe in 1982, I began a journey of training in a very unique school of Traditional Japanese Medicine.  I was fortunate to have begun my education not only in Acupuncture, but in a comprehensive medical system from a foreign culture.  I was also fortunate that the training program was not just about how to practice the therapies taught there, but how to learn about treating people for their medical and health concerns on a lot of different levels, with a variety of therapeutic modalities.

Manual Therapy, as taught at the Kototama Institute by Nakazono-Sensei and other teachers at the school, was one of the foundations of the practice.  Nakazono-Sensei called manual therapy Teate, or simply “Handwork”.  For the first year of my training, I studied Asian Medical Theory along with regular practical classes (three nights a week) where my fellow students and I treated each other exclusively with Teate treatment, under close supervision by our teachers - starting and ending with pulse and other diagnostic methods, to find out the condition before and after the treatment.  This was the foundation of the treatment therapies taught at the school - eventually we learned Moxabustion and Acupuncture, as well as other treatment modalities.

I have studied and practiced what I learned at the Kototama Institute for over 25 years now, and furthered my training with some other significant teachers along the way.

Here is a video introducing some aspects of Teate treatment and evaluation methods:

I will be posting more videos soon, about many subjects that I have explored since my time at the Kototama Institute.  I will be teaching classes in a wide variety of subjects.

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of therapies.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Martial Arts and Medicine - the Sinew Channels (Video)

Usually, in the US, when you hear about the relationship between Martial arts and Asian Medicine, you hear about Taiqichuan or Qigong.  That is because most Acupuncture practitioners in the US come from Chinese traditions.  There is a rich history of martial arts medicine from other cultures, too.  My first teacher of Japanese Medicine, Masahilo Nakazono, was an Aikido teacher - you can watch some video of him here:

I also spent many years training in a Korean martial art, and it helped me to expand my understanding of what I had learned from Nakazono-Sensei.

Nakazono-Sensei always said that “Martial arts and medicine are the same.” I have been curious about that ever since, and my study of that has taken me to a lot of different places.  Here is a video that addresses one of the things that I learned from my explorations…

I will be creating several educational products and teaching classes about the sinew channels, and how that relates to the treatment of injury with Oriental Medicine.  Acupuncturists, massage therapists and other bodyworkers, and people from other fields of therapy could benefit from a deeper understanding of this aspect of Asian medical theory, I think.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Special Needling Techniques

Acupuncture Needles are very versatile tools. Different traditions use them in different ways.

Acupuncture has been passed down by Word-of-Mouth from teacher to student for a long time, and by many venerated Classics of Medical Theory - there are many ways of practicing.

Here is a discussion of one kind of needling technique… I learned this from a friend - Matt Callison.

This kind of Acupuncture technique is not that widely practiced yet, but is a very effective treatment strategy to incorporate into a plan for injury treatment.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Shoulder Injury - Before and After Video

This is example of an intake interview with MJ, a Yoga teacher suffering from shoulder pain from an injury.  Questioning, listening, and touching evaluation are part of the intake process.  If you have been injured, it matters how it happened, what the consequences have been, and the details of what you are experiencing.  It is helpful if your provider lets you tell your story and explain your situation.  A physical injury usually has consequences in a lot of areas of your life.  Your goals in treatment should be a priority in your treatment.

Here is a follow-up interview after five treatments over a period of about 1 month: this is an interview with MJ after about 5 treatments, with her talking about her recovery process.

These videos are representative of what treatment for many kinds of joint and muscle injuries might be like - MJ’s injury was to her shoulder, but similar intake and results could be expected with injuries to other parts of your body.

These videos will give you some flavor of what an Acupuncture intake and evaluation looks like, and the results of a short series of treatments.

Longer and  more detailed videos of this series of treatments will be coming soon to the Professional Education section of this site - check back for more…

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Acupuncture, Injury Treatment, and Martial Arts

Martial Traditions of Asian Medicine

Asian Medicine, historically, has many branches that have been passed down through many different lineages.  Many of the martial arts systems throughout Asia encompass medical traditions that cover all or most of the branches of modern sports medicine.  I believe that these traditions have much to offer us as Oriental medical practitioners, and through us to our clients.

Sports medicine is a multi-disciplinary branch of medicine. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), it includes the “physiological, biomechanical, psychological, and pathological phenomena associated with exercise and sports”.

Sports medicine covers many different areas of exercise and sports science that relate both to performance and care of injury.  Sports medicine specialties include clinical medicine, orthopedics, exercise physiology, biomechanics, physical therapy, athletic training, massage therapy, sports nutrition, and sports psychology.

Many martial arts systems in Asia address most of these fields within their teachings.  Certain schools of Taiqichuan, Bagua, Xingyichuan, Jujutsu, Judo, etc., include partial or complete systems of medicine, which while well within the mainstream of Oriental Medicine (OM), are seldom taught in our American schools of OM.  As exercise systems, they include a large body of knowledge relevant to athletic training.  As medical systems, they offer a unique application of traditional medical principles to medical aspects of athletic training, general medicine, and traumatology.

Generally, one thing that these traditions have in common is that there is a lot of overlap between the martial and healing aspects of the systems.  The theories, philosophies, and practices taught within these schools derive from many years of study of the human body, and offer unique insight into OM theory.  Usually they are solidly based on a philosophical system derived from the Classics, and both the martial and healing aspects are applications of the same fundamental understandings.

These traditions largely center around the branches of OM dealing with traumatology. The practitioners from these traditions are specialists of palpatory diagnosis, manual therapy, and the use of external compresses and poultices as well as acupuncture, moxabustion and herbs to treat traumatic injury.  As martial arts traditions, they also include sophisticated insight into anatomy, body mechanics, training methods, and performance enhancement.

These traditions really encompass a wide range of knowledge and technique that is particularly valuable to modern acupuncturists wishing to specialize in sports medicine.

One thing that these traditions have in common is the centrality of touch as a method of both diagnosis and treatment.  Having evolved long before the modern diagnostic methods of x-rays, MRIs, and CAT scans, these practitioners needed to have the palpatory skills to diagnose soft tissue injuries through touch alone, and affect these conditions manually based on their palpatory diagnosis.  In order to do this, they had to be thoroughly skilled in the subtlety of diagnosing through touch, and working with all of the body tissues.  The skills needed to acquire this subtlety are the same skills that are trained through martial arts practices such as push hands, chin na, aikido, etc.  This is why, across cultures, martial arts and medical traditions are so frequently intertwined.

A Zheng Gu Fa (Martial arts trauma medical specialist) practitioner in the Northwest, from Shanghai, told me that “Tuina (Chinese medical massage), Medical Qigong (direct energetic treatment), and Zheng Gu Fa are basically the same practice, but for Zheng Gu Fa, your Kung Fu has to be better.”   Masahiro Nakazono, a long-time teacher of Aikido and Japanese medicine, frequently commented that “Martial arts and medicine are the same”.  I once had a discussion with a massage practitioner from India, about Ayurvedic medicine.  In response to my question about traditional trauma therapy practitioners, he said “Oh yes – we have those in India.  They are mostly wrestlers.”

In my experience, practitioners of these systems have a lot in common, regardless of the culture they came from.  Japanese and Chinese acupuncturists who come from their respective martial traditions of medicine both have said that their acupuncture is an extension, or refinement, of the manual therapy they practice.  They tend to diagnose, locate points, and even use needling techniques similarly.  Manual therapy and acupuncture are applied in treatment as two methods arising out of one diagnosis and treatment plan.

I believe that these martial traditions of medicine contain very sophisticated knowledge that we can bring to our patients.  As practitioners of sports medicine acupuncture, we can all benefit from increasing our palpatory diagnostic skills and manual therapy skills.  Martial arts practice, especially the traditions which include partner practices such as those mentioned above, can be invaluable in this, while also increasing understanding of body mechanics, training philosophies, and other aspects of sports medicine.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Education - for Clients and Professionals

Watch this space - I will be offering classes for Clients, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, and other Professionals, and posting general informational articles here.  Check Back!

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

What does a Moxabustion treatment look like, and feel like?

Moxabustion treatment takes very  many forms -

Sometimes Moxa is used to warm up a part of your body that is suffering from diminished circulation, and is cold.  If a part of your body is chronically deprived of blood circulation, the tissues there will become malnourished and toxic.  This situation will prevent injured tissues from healing, and often will result in chronic pain.  Moxa therapy can help with this.

Sometimes, a person might have a systemic imbalance that results in a long-term illness, such as infertility, Fibromyalgia, Asthma, IBS, Diabetes, or other “Mystery diseases” that are not effectively treated by Western Medicine.  It is possible that regular Moxa/Acupuncture treatments could help with these kinds of conditions.

Moxa therapy is often useful for conditions that do not respond well to other forms of treatment - serious injuries such as cuts and post-surgical problems, injuries from car accidents, menstrual disorders, thyroid disorders, and many others…

How is Moxa used?

One way is by using Moxa to heat up an area of your body, with what is called a “Moxa Box”.  this is often used on the abdomen or low back.  It is a way to bring circulation to a large area of your body.  Most people find this type of moxa treatment to be very pleasant.

Indirect Moxa is done by using Moxa to heat either Acupuncture points or areas with Moxa to bring circulation to an area, or to disperse stagnation from an area.  This is often done with a “Moxa Stick” - moxa is rolled up into a paper, similar to a cigar, and one end of it is lighted and used to warm a point or area.  This is also usually experienced as a very nice form of treatment.  There are many other ways to do indirect moxa treatments, as well.

Direct moxabustion is a treatment that has been preserved especially through Japanese and Korean lineages.  Direct Moxabustion is so highly esteemed in Japan that it is a separately-licensed medical practice there.  My Teacher, Masahiro-Nakazono Sensei, was a specialist of this kind of medicine, and taught this form of treatment as a part of our curriculum at the Kototama Institute.

Some people love this kind of treatment - some do not like it for various reasons.  It is often so therapeutically valuable, though, that even if people do not like the sensation of it, the results are worth the minor discomfort that might be experienced.

Another form of moxa treatment is called “Moxa Needling”, and is done by placing a small amount of moxa on a needle inserted into an acupuncture point, and then burned to warm up the needle and the point.  I use this form of treatment a lot - I find it to be very effective for a wide variety of conditions.  Generally, I find that most people really enjoy the experience of this kind of moxabustion.

These are only some of the ways in which moxa is used therapeutically, but this overview will give you an idea of the range of application of moxa treatment.

When a person comes to see me, I will do a very comprehensive evaluation of their condition, and then decide on a treatment strategy (selected from the variety of techniques of my training) to apply what seems to be the best treatment for that person at that time.  I will generally do some combination of manual therapy, acupuncture, and moxabustion in the course of any given treatment, often combined with some recommendations for treatments that can be done at home to supplement the treatment in my office.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

What is Moxabustion?

Moxabustion is a therapeutic treatment from Asia that is almost unheard of in America. It is one of the most powerful treatments practiced by Acupuncturists, however.  In fact, in the Chinese language, the term for Acupuncture is “Zhenjiu”, which could be translated as “Acupuncture/Moxabustion”.  In the traditions of Asian Medicine, Moxabustion treatment is considered as inseparable from acupuncture as a branch of medical treatment.

Moxabustion or Moxa treatment is widely practiced throughout Asia and the world, but for various reasons it is not known much in the US.

Some sources say that moxa treatment is actually older than acupuncture, being referenced in Chinese medical classics more than 300 years before Acupuncture is discussed.

Moxa treatment is done in very many ways in many different cultures, and this kind of treatment is very effective for a wide variety of illnesses and injuries.  Moxa is a very versatile treatment - it can be used to affect blood circulation, hormonal imbalances, pain of all kinds, immune disorders, and many other internal imbalances.

Ed Antkowiak of Hibiki Natural Therapeutics has studied and practiced Moxa treatment for over 25 years, and is a specialist of this kind of treatment.  I was originally trained by a Japanese teacher who was a specialist of Moxabustion treatment, among very many different fields that he excelled in.  I have used Moxa treatment over the years to treat many people for many different kinds of conditions, from breathing problems and allergies, to digestive problems, menstrual disorders and fertility issues, and musculoskeletal problems.

Look around my site to find more information about Moxabustion treatment…

How can Oriental Medicine help my athletic performance?

Oriental medicine has been used for centuries to increase performance and heal injuries.  Martial arts schools in China as early as the sixth century BC were centers of this medicinal knowledge.  The study of trauma medicine was used to treat injuries such as sprains, muscle pulls, bruises from impact trauma, even dislocations and bone fractures.  This type of medicine came to be known as “Hit Medicine”, due to the injuries sustained while practicing martial arts.  Practitioners were skilled at using acupuncture, moxabustion, special massage and bodywork techniques, and external applications such as compresses and herbal liniments.  This tradition has been passed down throughout Asia to the present day.  In Japan, there is a special class of professional licensed therapists known as Judo-orthopedists, who still practice this tradition.  In addition to acupuncture and other therapies, Ed Antkowiak’s teacher was trained as a practitioner of this Japanese trauma medicine.

In modern times, professional and Olympic athletes have used these techniques to speed healing and enhance performance.  These techniques can be used to speed up post-operative healing as well as for less severe injuries. Professional basketball and football players, triathletes, and dancers have credited acupuncture and Oriental medicine with improving their performance, endurance, and reducing recovery time from injuries.

Whitfield Reeves, co-founder and past president of the National Sports Acupuncture Association, says “Acupuncture, as a specialty of sports medicine, can offer therapeutic modalities of treatment that can be of great assistance in the prevention and treatment of athletic injury.  Traditional Chinese medical theory can offer tremendous insight into the nature of the athlete as a whole, not just reducing the patient to an injury or ailment.”

Women athletes, as a group, can especially benefit from Oriental medicine’s holistic approach to sports medicine.  Health issues particular to women or common among women, such as menstrual dysfunction, connective tissue disorders, anemia, eating disorders and the effects of past eating disorders, depression, etc., can affect women’s athletic performance or predispose them to certain injuries.  Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can help by treating or effectively managing these conditions, freeing up energy and other resources which can then be channeled into improving performance.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

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