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Acupuncture Learning Online
What about Energetic Acupuncture?
Forty years ago, in tainan, Taiwan, I learned Taijiquan with Zhang Shirong, an old illiterate master who knew every movement by heart. Last year I had the opportunity of performing, for my own pleasure, a few movements at the same place where Zhang taught them to me a life time ago.Last month I received a call from a woman who told me this: “I have just been to see my GP, and she told me that for what I was suffering I should consult an acupuncturist, but not any kind of acupuncturist. It must be somebody dealing with energetic Chinese acupuncture, which is a kind of higher level of practice. Do you practice energetic acupuncture?”
I do get this kind of question from time to time. Depending on my state of mind or my mood the answers I give can be quite different. I can be quite curt because actually the question could be interested as having some rude implications (if I don’t do energetic acupuncture I am not good enough). But usually I just say that the acupuncture I apply is efficient, modern, adapted to our world, and based (partly) on a scientific understanding of what is happening in the body when I treat patients with acupuncture. Depending on my disposition of the moment I could eventually explain that I have been practicing for forty years, that I teach, write, promote and defend quality acupuncture, that actually my life IS acupuncture.
The people who ask me this kind of question about acupuncture can be quite persistent. “Yes, but what about the energies? Do you control them enough to treat this or that disorder?”
What can I say? The term “energies” (yes, plural) has got so many meanings, people understand it in so many different ways that it is a little bit discouraging to try to explain anything. From the Chinese Qi, a beautiful concept to express what is happening in the body, a very dynamic and adaptable notion, to the theories of Einstein on the relation between mass and energy, landing nowadays in an understanding that everything in the body is moved by energies. Every culture has its own perception of this term: Tibetan, ayurvedic, maya or Aztec, Egyptian or shaman, related to a specific religion or not. But each time it weaves around life a more or less complex network of beliefs.
I know of course that the persons asking me candidly this question are talking about the Chinese idea of energy and not the Australians aborigines or the First inhabitants in Canada or in the US. But even then, to translate the idea of Qi by energy is in itself an anachronism and a kind of betrayal. So whatever the answer I give to the question I feel uncomfortable, even though I have to defend my position and what I believe in. So to the last person who asked me the question this is what I said:
“Madam, whether we want it or not, as soon as we put a needle in the body, we interfere with the stability of energies in the body, whatever significance you give to the term. When I treat patients I know that I trigger some kind of electrical or chemical movement within the neurological web which can result in harmonizing the general state of the body or some specific and localized disorder. In other words the body itself will change its balance because its natural tendency is to strive for the best possible existential equilibrium, physical, mental, emotional. Practicing acupuncture always implies that one deals with the energies of the body, whatever the meaning we give to that term. But it is true that, while I am thinking as a western trained doctor in treating patients, simultaneously I reason in terms of Qi, meridians, points, needles of course.”
Obviously this person appreciated what I said because I have already treated her twice for recent headaches, and her condition has already improved.
Next time I see my students in my “how to do acupuncture” courses, I will tell them that story. It is an interesting topic with never ending discussions and exchanges, but I find it personally very stimulating. And in a near future I will write more on the subject. Or maybe I will insert it in one of the chapters of my next acupuncture book.
The problem of sources in acupuncture
What about the « sources » in acupuncture? What do we rely on? Where do we get our information from? What value do they have? How to find you way in the abundance of references, and how to verify their authenticity? Amongst the hundreds of works (maybe more) that have been published during the last decades and of which we eventually possess a copy, which one can we believe in and which one must we distrust? According to what criteria?There are many questions, one leading to the other. It is not my intention to give a course on the topic but just to make you aware of the problem.
That is why I stress repeartedly in my courses, my books and my ebooks the importance of reliability, so that we don't make improper claims or statements
The obstacles for a correct use of information are therefore many. Needless to say that everything comes to us from very far, in space and in time.
At the beginning, like in every civilization, and every culture, oral tradition prevailed. We still find these methods of memorizing in some texts dominated by versification, rime, rhythm and repetition on one side, and on the other side the transmission of « secrets » from master to disciple which happens logically by word of mouth.
Then, when came written tradition the transmission of information became more systematic, but most of the time without the help of objective and rational criticism, or without the method of historical criticism which was developed not so long ago. This is quite normal due to the level of knowledge in those days.
I must say that the analysis and the evaluation of this information on theories and treatment techniques requires that we confront several barriers :
1. The writing.
2. The books.
3. The formulation and the characteristics of chinese thought.
In other words, in order to appreciate the fair value of the existing sources, one should be a sinologist, and even more, a sinologist specialized in the field of chinese medicine. Now it happens that there are very few of them. You could even count them on your fingers. So what to do? Turn towards the original authority, the Chinese specialists? Certainly up to a point, but they often lack critical rigor and accept sometimes too easily or blindly what comes from their own past. Moreover the process of adaptation to our western world is often not well achieved, if not at all, with the following argument: this how it is done in our country, why not in yours?
There are also a few dozens of western doctors (therefore trained in modern and scientific methods) who have made the effort to learn written and spoken chinese, and who have the possibility of consulting books in chinese, who have acquired a certain knowledge of chinese culture and of the ways of thinking of chinese minds, who can cautiously express more authorized opinions, judgments, and appreciations. I call this category the sinophiles, and I am part of them. Caution in thinking and statements is essential, but our knowledge can be very useful to clear the field, select texts, verify statements or quotations. But our capacities are limited.
There is another category; those who have learned acupuncture and/or chinese medicine but who have no scientific training. Everything depends then on their individual characteristics, the radius of their knowledge, the analytical possibilities of their mind.
Ah ! I nearly forgot those who, with no training whatsoever, but who have a dictionnary and have followed a few courses, embark with enthusiasm on commenting texts or even ideogrammes.
But danger lurks ! The temptation to become a sinofanatic is sometimes irresistible, which leads to the loss of a critical mind. One becomes then intransigent with tradition, at the expenses of lucidity and objectivity.
These categories blend often into each other, creating a network of knowledge with different levels of reliability and authority. It is not easy to navigate between them. Therefore everything that is said or written on acupuncture or on chinese medicine must be considered with caution.
Luckily there is a basic nucleus on which nearly everybody agrees (even the tenants of contemporary acupuncture). We will write on it another time…
Successes and failures in acupuncture
An old restaurant in the center of Tainan
I am hesitating today in front of the monitor. What topic to write about? Suddenly I feel like tackling the subject of failures in acupuncture. I admit that it is not very constructive; still it is realistic and necessary to curb enthusiasms which could get out of hand. To only mention the successes would be to show an exaggerated amount of satisfaction. However the two groups (including the intermediary nuances) give rise to astonishment because of their unexpectedness. Where the practitioner though he was confronted by a patient presenting a pathological profile which was a good indication for acupuncture and after several treatments there are no results, even with patients open minded and trusting. On the other hand the practitioner is consulted by people suffering from a disease which is far from being in the list of indications for acupuncture. He still tries a “limited in time and number of treatments », nearly sure of a failure. Yet the treatment is a success, the practitioner is pleased, and so is of course the patient !
In my course I will stress this attitude of "Middle of the Road", so difficult to keep. That is why it is never good to make too many promises to the patient, nor guarantee a cure. On the other hand it is not good to be always pessimistic and discourage those who consult. It is necessary to show a balance of interest, determination, eagerness to try and possibility of success (a positive aspect) and at the same time a cautious wisdom so as not to disappoint those who come for answers to their health problems. This navigation in the expression of the prognosis is delicate and needs many subtleties in the way it is presented. The patient will be grateful for the honesty showed by the practitioner.
But there is the risk that the patient will get discouraged too soon, demoralized in spite of the precautions used by the practitioner which he took by mistake for the prediction of a failure। It is therefore important to keep up the morale at each treatment, to be attentive to manifestations of doubt, insists again that there is a chance to obtain positive results, underline that improvement don’t always follow a linear progression but sometimes with ups and downs. Explain, tell, clarify and be specific, reassure. There is no ideal formula because it depends on the pathology, the psychological profile, the history of the disease, the drugs already taken, the constitution, as well as on the capacities of the practitioner.As a result the failures can take many shapes. The giving up after the first treatment or a too quick despondency, a strong sensitivity to the needles, the lack of understanding of what the practitioner is trying to obtain or the high demands of the patient, the lack of perseverance or the transfer towards other forms of treatment under the advices of the family circle. Sometimes the practitioner doesn’t show enough concern (in the eyes of the patient, and perhaps for a reason)and this is felt in a negative way. Not enough communication, whether in quantity or in quality, which makes the relation rigid and cold instead of supple and warm. One must also think of incompatibilities, of opposing personalities, of mutual impatiences.
It depresses me to write this, so I shall finish with a story:
“A Taoist priest who was walking through the cemetery of a prince was attacked by an army of malicious demons, and he could not get rid of them. He finally got the help of a passerby who then escorted him to the priest’s home. Our victim said then to his savior: “I am very grateful to you for having saved my life, but unfortunately I don’t have the means to reward you. However please take this amulet which will guard you very efficiently against malicious demons.”
Science and Tradition in an acupuncture course
When one approaches the world of acupuncture an excess of enthusiasm or on the contrary an overcrowding of suspicion can alter the relation we are trying to establish with this technique and with the medical system of which it is a part. During an acupuncture course it is important to keep a solid balance between these two extremes.
There are two mistakes to avoid:
1. To replace a historical phenomenon in our 21st century and want to judge its value only on the base of our actual scientific concepts.
It is essential that acupuncture be analyzed and evaluated through our modern criteria, in order to find its rightful place in the therapeutical range. There is no reason why it should not be submitted to controlled clinical trials, to the comparison with placebo effect or with another treating method, for similar pathological conditions. It should also be subjected to the scrutinizing look of evidence based medicine. But it is not as simple and each effort conflicts with unexpected difficulties.
For that matter how to proceed for a placebo treatment in acupuncture? Many ingenious solutions have been proposed (false needle, false insertion, bad location, etc.). Each of them has strong points and drawbacks, and it is easy to criticize. But researchers and testers are progressing, weakening in their wake the concept of evidence based medicine which becomes sometimes experience based medicine !
2. However we must not fall into the opposite tendency which would be to accept everything that comes from Chinese sources with our eyes shut. The gift of observation, of analysis and synthesis of Chinese practitioners during centuries is to be admired, but has often lead to downswings concerning the interpretation, the theories or the treatments. It is necessary to make selections in all this information.
It is an error to want to confront:
- Our technical and scientific language, very definite and precise।
There are two mistakes to avoid:
1. To replace a historical phenomenon in our 21st century and want to judge its value only on the base of our actual scientific concepts.
It is essential that acupuncture be analyzed and evaluated through our modern criteria, in order to find its rightful place in the therapeutical range. There is no reason why it should not be submitted to controlled clinical trials, to the comparison with placebo effect or with another treating method, for similar pathological conditions. It should also be subjected to the scrutinizing look of evidence based medicine. But it is not as simple and each effort conflicts with unexpected difficulties.
For that matter how to proceed for a placebo treatment in acupuncture? Many ingenious solutions have been proposed (false needle, false insertion, bad location, etc.). Each of them has strong points and drawbacks, and it is easy to criticize. But researchers and testers are progressing, weakening in their wake the concept of evidence based medicine which becomes sometimes experience based medicine !
2. However we must not fall into the opposite tendency which would be to accept everything that comes from Chinese sources with our eyes shut. The gift of observation, of analysis and synthesis of Chinese practitioners during centuries is to be admired, but has often lead to downswings concerning the interpretation, the theories or the treatments. It is necessary to make selections in all this information.
It is an error to want to confront:
- Our technical and scientific language, very definite and precise।
- A terminology and a formulation which is certainly archaic, but has to be understood within the context। And this context has many facets: - A level of scientific or even protoscientific knowledge rather limited, which is normal because the concepts of acupuncture emerged more than 2000 years ago.
- A cultural approach strongly tainted by the profile of its civilization as well as by the characteristics of Chinese thoughts which project in multiform ways in all kinds of activities, from art to agriculture, from diet to astronomy, from techniques to rituals, from existential concepts to pragmatic approaches, from inventions to medicine, etc।
- The respect towards the words or the writings of those who existed before, family ancestors, masters or leaders, thinkers or theoreticians. This resulted in a certain opposition to change in Chinese civilization which had, amongst other results, to be the only ancient one to still exist nowadays.
- Where we ask for proof, Chinese tradition offers results.
- Where we want a measure, Chinese tradition brings estimations.
- Where we ask for a cause, Chinese tradition looks for relations between the phenomena that have been observed.
Not knowing yet the rigors and demands of science, it was approximation, intuition and a certain pragmatic logic which prevailed in the Chinese minds, but seen in a positive and constructive light.
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When one approaches the world of acupuncture an excess of enthusiasm or on the contrary an overcrowding of suspicion can alter the relation we are trying to establish with this technique and with the medical system of which it is a part। During an acupuncture course it is important to keep a solid balance between these two extremes।There are two mistakes to avoid:1। To replace a historical phenomenon in our 21st century and want to judge its value only on the base of our actual scientific concepts।It is essential that acupuncture be analyzed and evaluated through our modern criteria, in order to find its rightful place in the therapeutical range। There is no reason why it should not be submitted to controlled clinical trials, to the comparison with placebo effect or with another treating method, for similar pathological conditions. It should also be subjected to the scrutinizing look of evidence based medicine. But it is not as simple and each effort conflicts with unexpected difficulties.For that matter how to proceed for a placebo treatment in acupuncture? Many ingenious solutions have been proposed (false needle, false insertion, bad location, etc.). Each of them has strong points and drawbacks, and it is easy to criticize. But researchers and testers are progressing, weakening in their wake the concept of evidence based medicine which becomes sometimes experience based medicine ! 2. However we must not fall into the opposite tendency which would be to accept everything that comes from Chinese sources with our eyes shut. The gift of observation, of analysis and synthesis of Chinese practitioners during centuries is to be admired, but has often lead to downswings concerning the interpretation, the theories or the treatments. It is necessary to make selections in all this information.
It is an error to want to confront:
- Our technical and scientific language, very definite and precise.- A terminology and a formulation which is certainly archaic, but has to be understood within the context. And this context has many facets:
- A level of scientific or even protoscientific knowledge rather limited, which is normal because the concepts of acupuncture emerged more than 2000 years ago.
- A cultural approach strongly tainted by the profile of its civilization as well as by the characteristics of Chinese thoughts which project in multiform ways in all kinds of activities, from art to agriculture, from diet to astronomy, from techniques to rituals, from existential concepts to pragmatic approaches, from inventions to medicine, etc.
- The respect towards the words or the writings of those who existed before, family ancestors, masters or leaders, thinkers or theoreticians. This resulted in a certain opposition to change in Chinese civilization which had, amongst other results, to be the only ancient one to still exist nowadays.
- Where we ask for proof, Chinese tradition offers results.- Where we want a measure, Chinese tradition brings estimations.- Where we ask for a cause, Chinese tradition looks for relations between the phenomena that have been observed.
Not knowing yet the rigors and demands of science, it was approximation, intuition and a certain pragmatic logic which prevailed in the Chinese minds, but seen in a positive and constructive light.
The existence of meridians?
In these melancholic and morose summer days I am assailed by questions surging from my own inner depths. One of them, which still inhabits me strongly, and for which I haven’t found a satisfying answer, concerns the existence and reality of the acupuncture meridians.
In the beginning, and although I had been trained as a western doctor, I accepted readily the very elegant and original idea coming out of the Chinese mind to explain the movements and activities inside the body. The logic of the circulation of action potentials along predominant pathways could only please the medical thinkers of more than 2000 years ago, and is still appealing nowadays. Without our scientific knowledge how could we explain otherwise the subtlety and flexibility of the human organism and the daily and existential variations?
Ah! I would have loved to keep this certainty of the first hours that I adopted then without even thinking. But I did not expect the confrontation with science, with the patient, with the evolution of my thinking which slowly took place within the frame of analysis rigor and modern criticism. All the same I have fought for and defended this so attractive concept because I always try to keep as much as possible of these old theories, setting them first in their historical context, then shedding light on them and explaining them with the help of what we know currently of the human body.
It is true that no surgeon has ever found an acupuncture channel under his scalpel, not even something remotely alike. This phrase has for that matter become a cliché. But this statement, as much real as it is, misses a certain reality of the body. And if it was born from the combined brains of a mass of Chinese medical thinkers, it is because they had obviously observed something. The theory did not just descend from heaven by the merest of coincidences, but after repeated recordings of organic happenings. Some of these were in the shape of elongated forms, mostly in the sensitive field. In this way the pain of angina pectoris which often starts in the heart region and follows the inner side of the arm, ending in the last finger. Or the pain of sciatic neuralgia which can start in the lumbar area and end in the toes. The patient himself draws sometimes on his own body a path of lengthy and narrow sensations. Finally some dermatological diseases manifest themselves along stretched bands of skin.
It is probably these phenomena, added to other observations (but I don’t want to be exhaustive) which allowed the first practitioners to set up this concept of meridians, to enrich and structure it, then to generalize the concept. It is obvious that the idea cannot be accepted as such, but it would be unfair to straightforwardly reject it as a pure invention which would not relate to anything.
It must be noted that in all the books or manuals of acupuncture published up to now in or out of China (well, there are a few exceptions…), the meridians are always explained in detail. And actually they are a good base for learning the technique!Let’s try to reconcile ourselves with these meridians (or channels). In their pathway one could consider four categories:
1. Part of the path overlaps the course of certain nerves.
2. Another part could be the projection on the outer area of the body of groups of neurons linked by preferential ties within the medulla.
3. A third group would be more like zones than linear paths or bands.
4. A last group wouldn’t correspond with anything and would probably be the result of a not always controlled imagination.
This attempt to explain does not quite satisfy me but at least it has the merit of not throwing the concept in the trash can of crazy ideas. I would call it recuperation of what can be defended.
In the beginning, and although I had been trained as a western doctor, I accepted readily the very elegant and original idea coming out of the Chinese mind to explain the movements and activities inside the body. The logic of the circulation of action potentials along predominant pathways could only please the medical thinkers of more than 2000 years ago, and is still appealing nowadays. Without our scientific knowledge how could we explain otherwise the subtlety and flexibility of the human organism and the daily and existential variations?
Ah! I would have loved to keep this certainty of the first hours that I adopted then without even thinking. But I did not expect the confrontation with science, with the patient, with the evolution of my thinking which slowly took place within the frame of analysis rigor and modern criticism. All the same I have fought for and defended this so attractive concept because I always try to keep as much as possible of these old theories, setting them first in their historical context, then shedding light on them and explaining them with the help of what we know currently of the human body.
It is true that no surgeon has ever found an acupuncture channel under his scalpel, not even something remotely alike. This phrase has for that matter become a cliché. But this statement, as much real as it is, misses a certain reality of the body. And if it was born from the combined brains of a mass of Chinese medical thinkers, it is because they had obviously observed something. The theory did not just descend from heaven by the merest of coincidences, but after repeated recordings of organic happenings. Some of these were in the shape of elongated forms, mostly in the sensitive field. In this way the pain of angina pectoris which often starts in the heart region and follows the inner side of the arm, ending in the last finger. Or the pain of sciatic neuralgia which can start in the lumbar area and end in the toes. The patient himself draws sometimes on his own body a path of lengthy and narrow sensations. Finally some dermatological diseases manifest themselves along stretched bands of skin.
It is probably these phenomena, added to other observations (but I don’t want to be exhaustive) which allowed the first practitioners to set up this concept of meridians, to enrich and structure it, then to generalize the concept. It is obvious that the idea cannot be accepted as such, but it would be unfair to straightforwardly reject it as a pure invention which would not relate to anything.
It must be noted that in all the books or manuals of acupuncture published up to now in or out of China (well, there are a few exceptions…), the meridians are always explained in detail. And actually they are a good base for learning the technique!Let’s try to reconcile ourselves with these meridians (or channels). In their pathway one could consider four categories:
1. Part of the path overlaps the course of certain nerves.
2. Another part could be the projection on the outer area of the body of groups of neurons linked by preferential ties within the medulla.
3. A third group would be more like zones than linear paths or bands.
4. A last group wouldn’t correspond with anything and would probably be the result of a not always controlled imagination.
This attempt to explain does not quite satisfy me but at least it has the merit of not throwing the concept in the trash can of crazy ideas. I would call it recuperation of what can be defended.
I will try to explain these views in detail in my course "acupuncture learning online"
Taoism and efficacy in acupuncture
Two ways of writing the ideogram for Dao, both elegant and balanced
This was written to me by one of my readers a while ago:
“To understand acupuncture is to set it within its context. Shouldn’t we let ourselves be impregnated by the Taoist philosophy which is part of Chinese thinking and which projects itself in the many forms of human activity as you say yourself?
At the moment of my decision to give lessons of acupuncture online here is a stimulating question which deserves that we linger on it for a while. The answer may seem simple depending on each individual’s beliefs, but it can also be at fault through a lack of objectivity.
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism are schools of thought (at the limit of schools of philosophy) which have permeated – and which still permeate nowadays up tp a point – Chinese civilization. Each one in its specific way was a driving force for the organization of life in general, sometimes only in a theoretical way, but often also in practice.
It is true that everything coming from China is tinted by the environment in which its inhabitants have lived for at least 25 centuries. This milieu is made of very down to earth realities ( fight for survival as an example) as well as of reflections on the situation of man in the universe, in society, in family. The latter thinking has led the Chinese thinker to formulate, to live, to solve problems according to the knowledge context in which he was. The concept of Dao is a beautiful answer to the questions asked by human beings surrounded by a formidable and at the same time superb nature, living under the threats of natural catastrophes, of wild beasts and of neighbors which were not always less dangerous. The uncertainty expressed by the Dao in its epistemological quest has allowed for, not only a modeling, nearly a taming of the milieu in which lived the Chinese, but in any case a making of the absence of proper answers bearable.
So the practitioner of ancient times, and even sometimes of nowadays, could feel entitled to support the therapeutical gestures with certain aspects of Taoism. According to Joseph Needham (I will write at another moment about this extraordinary person) it is the only trend of thinking which had stimulated protoscientific research through alchemy, and which was often at the origin of many technological inventions.
Today’s practitioner, whatever his training, can let himself be surrounded, intellectually and/or culturally, by the aura generated from the Dao. It is an existential support which puts him in harmony with a certain vision of Man. However, in front of a patient, he must be efficient and obtain the best results as possible. The understanding of the internal mechanisms of the body, whether Chinese or Western, or a synthesis of both, will allow him to move from interrogation and examination to the therapeutical gesture after the formulation of a diagnosis. In acupuncture, a deep knowledge of the Chinese medical system is not really necessary. On the other hand knowing the good aspects of western and scientific medicine is often essential to know one’s limits. And this stage is not supported by the light of the Dao but rather by the acquisitions of experience and science, the knowledge of the technique and how it is used.
But the big challange remains: how to teach Chinese acupuncture on the Web? or is it really Chinese acupuncture or a modern and adapted version of the technique?
Just a few random thoughts…
Just a few random thoughts…
Long before acupuncture learning online II
Beautiful lanscapes have alway had a soothing and at the same timexhilarating effect on my mind. This photo was taken in China many years ago, never mind where, and I smile each time I look at it
Back to the end of the previous article. During the summer I prepared the lessons I would have to give. The medical milieu was informed. The “House of Homeopathy” lent us their premises. I wrote (by hand) an introductory text of 35 pages. A friend who was working in a bank typed it during her lunch breaks, for which I was very grateful. This text was then copied using the stencil method, and distributed as handouts to those who had registered for the course. On Tuesday October 16, 1973, the long room of the « House of Homeopathy » was full. My cofounders of the association were all there to support me. More than thirty doctors had registered. There were few chairs, so most staid standing, stuck together at the other end of the long wooden table which went even far into the front room. I was feeling nervous, I had a kind of stage fright, I doubted of my capacities. Dressed in a three piece suit, with tie and breast pocket handkerchief matching, neatly trimmed beard and large spectacles, I looked very serious. I also loved to dress specially (see http://www.mychineseshirt.com/Photogallery%20One.html) Exactly at 7pm I sat down at the table, cleaned my spectacles (which didn’t really need it), took the stack of 35 pages out of my attaché case and set it in front of me. There was a total silence. For all those who were present this moment represented a special time mark, very symbolical. I started to read the text, slowly and clearly, gifted luckily with a good pronounciation. From time to time I lifted my eyes and met each time those of the others which seemed glued to me. I stopped after one hour for a brief break, then I continued. It took me two hours and a half. Nobody had moved, not even those who were standing. Nobody had uttered one word. During all that time only my voice resonated in this impressive oak paneled and high ceilinged room. Nobody had moved. When I got to the end of the last page and read the last sentence, there was a long silence. Then strong applauses broke out and I lifted my head, slightly bewildered. Why were they applauding ? Because it was at last over and they could move around ? Because they had appreciated the text ? Or most likely to mark the first day of an acupuncture course organized for doctors in Belgium? Were they relieved, pleased, indifferent ?
Lacking experience in teaching (but certainly not in acupuncture learning) I had used the worst way of giving a lesson, the one which irritated me so much when it was used by my professors in university, the method which consists in just reading a text. Boring and sleep inducing. Still, to my knowledge nobody complained. I think I was even congratulated! It is true that none of my colleagues who were there would have liked to be in my shoes…
I will try to recover this first text, because I don’t remember what I had concocted. My ways of teaching have greatly changed, the contents also, the means much more sophisticated: computers, projectors, overhead projectors, pointers, Power Point, pointers, lately acupuncture learning online, eBooks, etc.
Only long time after that moment did I realize that it was a big day for me, in my long process of propagation, defense, teaching and information in the field of acupuncture.
That is why today I wanted to tell this story, small and insignificant for most, but so important for us...
Lacking experience in teaching (but certainly not in acupuncture learning) I had used the worst way of giving a lesson, the one which irritated me so much when it was used by my professors in university, the method which consists in just reading a text. Boring and sleep inducing. Still, to my knowledge nobody complained. I think I was even congratulated! It is true that none of my colleagues who were there would have liked to be in my shoes…
I will try to recover this first text, because I don’t remember what I had concocted. My ways of teaching have greatly changed, the contents also, the means much more sophisticated: computers, projectors, overhead projectors, pointers, Power Point, pointers, lately acupuncture learning online, eBooks, etc.
Only long time after that moment did I realize that it was a big day for me, in my long process of propagation, defense, teaching and information in the field of acupuncture.
That is why today I wanted to tell this story, small and insignificant for most, but so important for us...
Long before learning acupuncture online!
An old black and white photo showing our first attempts to present point location to our students...
The beginning of acupuncture in Belgium
We were in 1973. Within the Belgian Association of medical acupuncturists I had been given the responsibility named “course monitor”. As such I had to teach the two first hours of the course. I had no experience of training, but a lot about learning through the diversity of lessons I had followed in France, Hong Kong, Taiwan. For the inspiration I could rely on maybe a dozen of books in French and about 100 in Chinese, which were part of my library.
The year before Nixon had been to China. On that occasion the world discovered acupuncture (which was only known in the West by a small number in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and England). The atmosphere prevailing around that technique was made of a combination of excitement, curiosity, expectations, mixed with a zest of exotic attraction. Everybody was interested, from journalists to people from the academic world, from doctors to lay people. The 15 doctors who practiced acupuncture in Belgium realized it was time to get organized in an association in order to answer the demand of our colleagues who wanted to learn the technique. Following the example of France I set up a teaching structure of four week-ends a year during three years. About 15 years later I decided to give up the numerous responsibilities I had in the association and decided to organize lessons in my office with a different formula more suited to my way of teaching (inspired by the master-disciple system in China and Taiwan, and it is only much later that I decided to propose an acupuncture course online. (To be followed)
We were in 1973. Within the Belgian Association of medical acupuncturists I had been given the responsibility named “course monitor”. As such I had to teach the two first hours of the course. I had no experience of training, but a lot about learning through the diversity of lessons I had followed in France, Hong Kong, Taiwan. For the inspiration I could rely on maybe a dozen of books in French and about 100 in Chinese, which were part of my library.
The year before Nixon had been to China. On that occasion the world discovered acupuncture (which was only known in the West by a small number in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and England). The atmosphere prevailing around that technique was made of a combination of excitement, curiosity, expectations, mixed with a zest of exotic attraction. Everybody was interested, from journalists to people from the academic world, from doctors to lay people. The 15 doctors who practiced acupuncture in Belgium realized it was time to get organized in an association in order to answer the demand of our colleagues who wanted to learn the technique. Following the example of France I set up a teaching structure of four week-ends a year during three years. About 15 years later I decided to give up the numerous responsibilities I had in the association and decided to organize lessons in my office with a different formula more suited to my way of teaching (inspired by the master-disciple system in China and Taiwan, and it is only much later that I decided to propose an acupuncture course online. (To be followed)
Some thinking about online acupuncture learning
Perfect system? No. Best method? No. But very useful for many people who don't have the time they would like to use for going to a "physical" school.What is missing is the contact with the patient. The learning with other students for locating points. How to needle properly, etc.
So the method has to be refined, and I am working on it. An exciting task, needing adaptation to situation, inventiveness, more explanations through illustrations, photos, maybe videos or DVDs...
How to do acupuncture
Want to learn acupuncture online? How to do acupuncture? Visit my site!
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