Martial Arts and Medicine
Martial Arts and medicine go hand in hand. In both my formal and informal education there have been so many teachers who have given me so much knowledge from their rich experiences and respective areas of expertise. I wish to thank them all.
My first introduction to Chinese Medicine began in the martial arts learning how to make linaments to treat injuries incurred in martial training. Back in the early 70's, I traveled from Hartford, CT to Chinatown in New York where I met an Chinese herbalist who had the best Iron Palm Linament (Dit Da Jow), so I began traveling back and forth to learn more from him.
In the mid 1980's, Grandmaster Share K. Lew and his senior student, Lauritz Kjerulff taught seminars in the Traditional Healing Temple Arts of Tui Na, Chinese herbal medicines and authentic Taoist Qi Gong. Grandmaster Lew was one of the only two known temple trained priests living in the United States and he influenced me to go for formal education. I learned the Tao Ahn Pai system of Qi Gong from him and Lauritz.
On a more formal basis, my training over the years is as follows:
1989 to present — Studied under Dr. Dong Yong Shou, one of my greatest mentors in the chinese art of Tui Na, herbalism, medical Qi Gong and Acupuncture.
1989 to 1990 — Attended and graduated from the Reese Instititue of Massage.
1992 — Attended Advanced Acupuncture Course at Shanghai University studying Internal Medicine, Parkinson's Disease and Strokes.
1994 — Graduated from the Florida School of Acupuncture in Oviedo, Florida. The Head Instructor was Tom Caraway and Dr. Dong Yong Shou.
1995 — Studied Orthopedics, Traumatology, and Emergency Medicine at Long Hua Hospital in Shanghai, China under Dr. Allan Yan, Surgeon of Orthopedics.
1996 — Studied in the Cancer and Tumor Department and at Long Hua Hospital in Shanghai, China under Dr. Qiu Jia Xin, Head of the Cancer Department.
When my teacher, Dr. Dong Yong Shou opened his clinic in Orlando, FL, he wanted to send his patients to get chinese herbs from a reliable source. Here is where my real herbal education began. I transformed an already existing herbal store (mostly western herbs) into a full chinese pharmacy of five-hundred herbs. Dr. Dong wanted everything the old way, I made pills, plasters, poultices, linaments and, etc. from scratch, which was my greatest lesson. Dr. Dong also taught me his expertise in Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage) and many Qi Gong sets (see Tui Na DVD).
These learning experiences continue to grow, and have been integrated into my own practice today.