The great doctors of acupuncture, through the course of Chinese history, have often varied from great healers to quacks in the minds of the people and government. From China, undisputedly the originator of this healing process, it spread to the other parts of Asia, (especially Japan and Korea), and even as far as Europe.

Japanese Style

It is said that the Japanese practice a truer form of medicine than the Chinese since the Cultural Revolution had little influence on their medicine. Whether it is that differentiation, or simply the uniqueness of their nation, the Japanese style does not resemble traditional Chinese medicine in any significant way.

Most of the Japanese styles derive from varying interpretations of the ancient test, the Nan Jing. The Japanese have greatly influenced acupuncture with their technological advances in helping to invent the guide tube, the pump cup (as opposed to fire), and the silicon coated needle. As a general rule Japanese styles are much more subtle than traditional Chinese medicine.

The needles are inserted shallower and the "De Qi" sensation is not necessarily sought after. In addition, the Japanese seem to place much greater importance to details (i.e., direction of needle, order of insertions, etc.). They also seem to concentrate much more on root treatment than local. Some say that the subtleties extend to outcome and that they are no less pronounced but sometimes slower and less dramatic.

Korean Style.

To this day, few practitioners teach Korean styles of acupuncture Therefore there is precious little information about them.

The little that is known, comes in the form of Korean hand therapy, a recent invention of the twentieth century. Two schools of thought exist here. They regard the hand as a micro system of the body, much like the ear. The two schools simply differ on the orientation of the body.

The first school believes the middle (3rd) finger is the torso and head, with the arms being the 2nd and 4th fingers, and the legs being the 1st and 5th. The second school thought the thumb (1st) the head, the palm the torso, the 2nd and 5th fingers the arms, and the 3rd and 4th the legs.

Needling is done on the hand both as local treatment for the ailing part of the body. However, a practitioner can also do a full root treatment similar to the Japanese styles all on the hand.

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