RE: Anyone know a TCM Tattoist ? -=- Afterthought

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Afterthought:

 

acu-tattoo |o| Acu-tat |o| AQ-Tat |o| Tatta-Q |o| tattooQ |o| tattoo-acu

 

are Copyright G.A "Sammy" Bates

 

Anyone practicing this art is obliged to give me free sessions in perpetuity

 

;-)

 

ga.bates [ga.bates]10 August 2003 10:16Chinese Medicine Subject: RE: Anyone know a TCM Tattoist ?

TCM Group,

 

Thank you for answering my question albeit in a somewhat hyperbolic fashion. Now I see Anand has chipped in with some reasonable comments. I am beginning to understand why the resistance to such an approach 'TCM acupuncture', and why a straight answer to my question has not been forthcoming. By saying that acupoints have a somewhat indefinable and transitory quality; their position best determined by 'sensing' by a skilled practitioner you are asserting they do actually exist, and are affirming the place of TCM in the scheme of things. That is fine, but for someone looking for tangibles in the theory & practice of TCM it can be a big 'put-off'.

 

As you are probably aware, the notion of 'acupoints' per se is contrary to a modern school in China which believes there is no such thing as meridians or acupoints. I recently had a very good acupuncture session with an orthopedic surgeon from Beijing University who held just that position. He used a largish chisel shaped needle to a depth of up to about 1" on the anterior deltoid. He used the needle to search out 'pockets of pain' and after the session a lot of mobility was restored to my 'frozen shoulder'.

 

I can see how easy it might be to dismiss the whole idea of meridian theory if needling localised pain independent of acupoint position has a therapeutic outcome. But then this misses the point (sic) that large muscles change shape due to internal stresses even in the space of a few seconds (e.g. spasm), and any meridian will consequently change relative to anatomical fixed points. Absence of evidence is no proof of evidence of absence so they say.

 

Having read all the replies I conclude that it should not matter if the position of acupoints has a periodic variation and moves a fraction this way or that - the tattoo design is simply adjusted accordingly, so instead of having neat little points you could get circles or lines. The variation in acupuncture points mentioned is no doubt why the acu-tattoos on Oetzi sometimes make up lines rather than points. Oetzi had Yin deficiency and arthritis and evidently, some of Oetzi's points travelled along meridians. Meridians on the hands and feet should be more 'anatomically fixed' than meridians on the large fleshy parts of the body and if acupoints did travel they would do so along straight lines - the meridians.

 

I guess I have to answer my own question by saying that the skill of the TCM or 'acu-tattooist' is all but lost to the modern world. What a shame! The idea of acu-tattoos has a delightfully individualistic flavour, and what a wonderful advertisement for TCM !

 

Cheers,

 

Sammy.

 

 

[zrosenbe]10 August 2003 05:42Chinese Medicine Subject: Re: Anyone know a TCM Tattoist ?The Jingluo bronze statue is just that, a statue, giving an approximation of location of acupuncture holes, like that of any anatomical figurine or statue used in an anatomy-physiology class. Does anyone really think that the inside of the human body looks like the representational statue? It is a map. The bronze statue is a map. The map is not the terrain.It has nothing to do with advancement, and by movement we don't mean it moves while performing acupuncture. The practitioner moves with the body, not fixing it in time and space like a statue.We need to stop looking at the phenomonon of holes, channels, and their treatment as some kind of primitive surgery with the same amount of anatomical perfection. Blind Japanese acupuncturists can find the holes without looking at any charts. On Saturday, August 9, 2003, at 04:39 PM, ga.bates wrote:

" The Jingluo Bronze acupuncture statue (circ Song dynasty 1027 BC), whichis the bases of traditional Chinese Acupuncture, .. " (below)Does this mean that modern Chinese medicine and acupuncture have advancednow to the stage where acupoints no longer have a precise anatomicalposition?How do you locate a moving acupoint ?How do you know an acupoint has not moved whilst you are performingacupuncture ?Very confusing !http://www.pku.edu.cn/academic/xb/2003/_03e120.htmlTheory of Meridian ScienceZHANG Renji, PAN Qili(College of Life Sciences,Peking University, Beijing, 100871)Abstract:Theory of Meridian-Cortical-Viscera Interrelationship suggests Meridian(Jinguo) is an individual system. Meridian Science was founded based onbiological experimentation in early Chinese medicine. The Jingluo Bronzeacupuncture statue (circ Song dynasty 1027 BC), which is the bases oftraditional Chinese Acupuncture, has revealed 4-Dimensional structural linesalong the human body that corresponds to lines of neurobiologically activesites. The primary focus of Meridian Science is the investigation of theregulatory process in the human body. From scientific studies there seems tobe correlation between the intercellular space in the biological model andMeridian pathways. Thus, Meridian Science could provide insights into themechanism of Tradition , with potentially great benefits tohuman health care. There two primary categories of studies in MeridianScience,1) the study of the effects of Chinese herbs and medicines on thehuman body and 2) the study of the physiological and psychological effectsand mechanism of Meridian lines and pathways. Specifically, the phenomenonof Acupuncture and Meridian pathways can be illustrated by a bi-directionalfeedback loop that crosses vertebrates segments along the human body and theperceived sensation of the stimulus by the human brain, or even caused byQigong. The theory of Meridian Science bases on :(1) Yin Yang of human bodyand various components of the environment;(2) coordination between life anduniverse;(3) circulation of Qi and body fluid in the Meridian pathway toregulate the visceral organs. The basic concepts of Meridian Scienceinclude:(1) identity structure;(2) time in Meridian circulation;(3) space onMeridian architecture; (4) death and life;(5) dominance and recessiveness inthe Meridian pathway sensation; and (6) entirety function in human body.Key words:theory of meridian-cortex-viscera interrelationship; 4D prism coordinate;Lower resistance meridian; Opposite membranous structure with liquid media;Hypotheses of lower resistance passing regulation; Coding-integration-motorneuron; Meridian molecular biology; Meridian informatics(R.D.2002-02-28 P.D.2003-01-20 Vol.39 No.1 pp.134-143?Cbobbiaqua [bobbiaqua]09 August 2003 21:02Chinese Medicine Subject: Re: Anyone know a TCM Tattoist ?In a message dated 8/9/03 3:10:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time,inandor writes:I am looking for someone to tattoo my most frequently used acupoints.Any suggestionsWhile it is true that points can change daily or moment to moment they canalso be understood and used in this way. Although I don't recommend this itwas at one time done on MS patients who needed daily treatment and familymembers were shown how to needle them when practitioners were not availablefor house bound daily visits. In general, it is not a good way to work forobvious reasons. Also the point location test for the NCCAOM exam wasdetermined originally by having many practitioners mark certain points andthey often differed a bit as to location but it worked for them in practice.Something to think about.Bobbi