The Healing Arts

One of my goals this year was to begin the process of understanding Kyusho, an ancient art that focuses on pressure points on the body and manipulating them through striking, rubbing, and pressure; to increase the amount of pain that is felt or to get the body to react in a certain way that will help facilitate a defense or take down.

There are a lot of points to memorize, but when used correctly, they sure do HURT and are a wonderful addition to my self defense training.

While I have enjoyed learning about these points, I have also become aware of how useful they are inHEALING.  Whether treating my ankle with acupuncture or getting a therapeutic massage, both treatments focus on using meridian points to heal my ankle and help nourish the surrounding tissue. 

How cool is that?

There are points on the body that can be used to destroy your attacker, or heal your best friend!  It's pretty amazing!  

Coach Tom talks all the time about continuing our training as master instructors.  Before the UBBT, I was putting very little time into my personal training, focusing almost exclusively on my school and classes.

As a result of starting Ju Jutsu training as a requirement on team 6, I am now training in karate, a combatives style of Ju Jutsu, Kyusho and now the healing arts.  

Gosh, there is so much to learn that I wish I got involved in the martial arts at an earlier age, however, I see many opportunities in the next 50 years ahead for me!

Thanks to Master Dave McNeil, not only for his advice on dealing with my ankle, but also opening my eyes to another wonderful element of the martial arts.

"If you want to be an average martial artist, learn how to be the best fighter.  If you want to be a great martial artist, learn how to be a healer!"  Shihan Tom Ryan

This blog post is a part of The Ultimate Black Belt Test (ultimateblackbelttest.com), an undertaking of The 100 (the100.us), and a part of Samurai Karate Studio (samuraikaratestudio.net).




Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com