The questioning of how to do acupuncture

I know quite a few associations who haven’t changed their teaching in more than thirty years. The reason is that they usually are just transmitting what their teachers learned from the Chinese. Actually all over China, in every Institute, College, University, the material is the same. This is the result of a government decision. The contents of the manuals seem to convey the essence of what is called sometimes pompously the “Tradition”, as something that cannot be questioned. The overall impression is that since remote times all practitioners and authors agreed on every topic, that there was only one big school of thoughts and one way of practicing the technique. This is of course far from the truth, but it pertains to sinologists to dig and expose the historical reality.There is nothing bad about the traditional thoughts, and that is valid in every civilization. But nowadays, with our thinking methods, with our scientific engineering, with our medical knowledge, theories and practices from the past must be analyzed and evaluated, not just accepted. If the procedures are correct the results can only lead to improvement, more understanding and a better efficacy.I was trained in medicine according to the new way, and in acupuncture according to the old way, following the custom of master and disciple where you listen, you read, you ask information, but you do not object or argue.Acupuncture is most certainly an extraordinary invention, and I admire the Chinese of more than 2000 years ago for having put together such an organized theory which could be applied in practice. But this does not mean that they are right in all their assumptions, which is quite normal when you take in account the level of knowledge in those days.The fairly recent assimilation of acupuncture within the Chinese medical system, as if the technique followed completely the rules governing herbal prescription, is also to be examined under the light of history, science and logic. I have tackled this problem in Revisiting Acupuncture Volume III http://www.acupuncture-plus.eu/en/order.html . From the very beginning of teaching every element presented to the students should the “traditional” aspect and eventually the adaptation to 21^st century acupuncture. In order to be integrated in our modern medicine as an additional technique it must undergo some trimming, and that is what I have been doing during my many years of teaching and intend to continue in the eBooks of my acupuncture online teaching. A lot of material found in the manuals can be discarded, leaving what is efficient and useful in our modern practice.