Shiatsu Masters I have known
Shiatsu masters I have known:
1. In Jiujiang one of the masseurs who worked in the blind people's massage centre (the masseurs were blind, not the customers). He was probably in his 50s, and was my first experience of what a proper shiatsu massage should be like. The aches and pains, creaks and strains just magically vanished from my body. This was the first masseur I had who managed to completely remove the tension from my neck. Sadly, he left the centre to work as an instructor in the blind people's massage college quite soon after I discovered his work.
2. Xiao Hu was his successor at the blind people's massage centre. A bit younger, a whole lot smaller, and not quite a skilled, it took him a while to figure out how to best work on my tension-prone shoulders. Eventually managed it though,and without ever hurting me (which is more than can be said about some of the younger blind masseurs - there was one who attacked my body so viciously that I ended up bursting into tears and refusing ever to be near him again). Xiao Hu was good, but not really a master - I should probably put him in the "apprentice master" category. He also had a problem. He loved his work. He really loved his work. So much so that he got an erection every time he gave a massage. (Well, it happened every time with me and with several of my friends. We were all female, though, so he may have kept himself under control better when massaging men.) This was a tad awkward and uncomfortable for the massagee. Most of us dealt with this situation by tucking our arms under our bodies and pretending we couldn't feel it. But we always knew it was there, and we wouldn't have gone back if it wasn't for the fact that he was the most talented masseur in town.
3. Ian Ferris is the only non-Chinese masseur on this list, but he did prove to me that a British masseur, who has chosen to train and qualify properly, almost certainly is doing it because of a love and talent for the job. Too many Chinese masseurs, especially the young ones, are doing it because it's a job and they get paid money for it. They aren't talented, and they aren't interested. Ian, however, was, and it showed in an absolutely fantastic massage.
4. Mr Zhao was my regular masseur in Ningbo for a year. He was the shortest, stoutest, ugliest, unshaven little man I've ever allowed to touch my body. But, boy, did he know how to give a massage. Regularly removed the rocks and iron bars that would settle into my shoulders during that period due to too much travelling and too much work. Always found his way to the root of every problem. Sadly, after a year, he was head-hunted by another massage centre on the other side of the province.
And those are all. I've had hundreds and hundreds of massages in China, but so few of them have been to a decent standard. The one I had this evening was barely adequate. Felt ok while it was going on (the worst will feel excruciatingly painful), but afterwards there was no change whatsoever in any part of my body. The tense bits were still tense, and the painful bits were still painful.
1. In Jiujiang one of the masseurs who worked in the blind people's massage centre (the masseurs were blind, not the customers). He was probably in his 50s, and was my first experience of what a proper shiatsu massage should be like. The aches and pains, creaks and strains just magically vanished from my body. This was the first masseur I had who managed to completely remove the tension from my neck. Sadly, he left the centre to work as an instructor in the blind people's massage college quite soon after I discovered his work.
2. Xiao Hu was his successor at the blind people's massage centre. A bit younger, a whole lot smaller, and not quite a skilled, it took him a while to figure out how to best work on my tension-prone shoulders. Eventually managed it though,and without ever hurting me (which is more than can be said about some of the younger blind masseurs - there was one who attacked my body so viciously that I ended up bursting into tears and refusing ever to be near him again). Xiao Hu was good, but not really a master - I should probably put him in the "apprentice master" category. He also had a problem. He loved his work. He really loved his work. So much so that he got an erection every time he gave a massage. (Well, it happened every time with me and with several of my friends. We were all female, though, so he may have kept himself under control better when massaging men.) This was a tad awkward and uncomfortable for the massagee. Most of us dealt with this situation by tucking our arms under our bodies and pretending we couldn't feel it. But we always knew it was there, and we wouldn't have gone back if it wasn't for the fact that he was the most talented masseur in town.
3. Ian Ferris is the only non-Chinese masseur on this list, but he did prove to me that a British masseur, who has chosen to train and qualify properly, almost certainly is doing it because of a love and talent for the job. Too many Chinese masseurs, especially the young ones, are doing it because it's a job and they get paid money for it. They aren't talented, and they aren't interested. Ian, however, was, and it showed in an absolutely fantastic massage.
4. Mr Zhao was my regular masseur in Ningbo for a year. He was the shortest, stoutest, ugliest, unshaven little man I've ever allowed to touch my body. But, boy, did he know how to give a massage. Regularly removed the rocks and iron bars that would settle into my shoulders during that period due to too much travelling and too much work. Always found his way to the root of every problem. Sadly, after a year, he was head-hunted by another massage centre on the other side of the province.
And those are all. I've had hundreds and hundreds of massages in China, but so few of them have been to a decent standard. The one I had this evening was barely adequate. Felt ok while it was going on (the worst will feel excruciatingly painful), but afterwards there was no change whatsoever in any part of my body. The tense bits were still tense, and the painful bits were still painful.