I’m a British acupuncturist living and working in Malaysia. I graduated from a TCM college in the UK in 1987 but after about ten years I retrained in Japanese acupuncture methods, namely Manaka-Style Acupuncture and later, Toyohari. Dr Manaka’s work introduced me to ideas about meridian frequencies and studying with the blind acupuncture teachers of the Toyohari Association opened my eyes (and hands) to the information stream from channel palpation.
In 2009 I got introduced to a very simple moxibustion tool in Japan, a piece of bamboo stuffed with moxa, and this triggered a Eureka moment, integrating all my previous disparate learnings and setting me on the path to become that Ontake guy, balancing channels with meridian frequency moxibustion.
Japanese acupuncture is usually very light, meaning treatment is minimal and palpation is soft. I take this lightness literally. While it’s important to be present when people are in pain, it’s also important to be make sessions fun, where appropriate. This is also true of teaching. People should enjoy what they learn and enjoy what they teach. I’ve had thirty years of fun practising acupuncture. I’m looking forward to thirty more.