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The healing art, of the Martial Arts
Tai-so
Shiatsu
Your mind should be
like a parachute...open to work! Maurice Horan convinces athletes
to perhaps, look at life from a different viewpoint, lateral
thinking or some Multidimensional thought. Martial artists when you
punch you use your triceps not your biceps. (Try a bicep curl)
“Ferrari tune their cars before they race them not afterwards” They
fit new tyres but also check the chassis, ok you have new trainers
(tyres) and they even may have titanium inserts. Can orthopaedic
innersoles help to correct your posture/ relieve tension in the
body/back? Western Medicine mostly looks at the symptom not the
cause. When have you had your chassis (hips) assessed. Are they
out? How much do you spend on training, Nutrition, your intake of
cals, carbs and protein you probably know them off by heart. But are
you drinking too much water! If so, you will in time damage your
immune system by washing away your body’s vital vitamins and
minerals. It’s common with professional athletes. This over use of
just water will take around ten years before it makes the press,
remember this article. All a waste if your structure is out of
alignment? When was the last time you took yourself along for body
maintenance, a body M.O.T?
Along with the
study of how the human body repairs itself, how the body moves, its
form and its function, martial arts began. It evolved, alongside
the healing arts. Martial arts not only demands physical courage
from those who take part, but grace and mastery of body as well.
Proving the human body capable of movements and forms of the
greatest beauty. Historically, Dim-mak points are killing points
and healing points. Both martial artists
and healers have a Symbiotic relationship: healers practice martial
arts and fighters study the healing arts. Both are looking to build
the core and find true balance. Soldiers went into battle
knowing their medics were beside them. Samurai with Kobo Kuatsu.
As Galen was to the gladiators of
Rome. Galen (129 to
199 AD), travelled to Rome where he treated professional gladiators
who were wounded in the arena.
These treatments were later extended to treat wounds
suffered on the battlefield to soldiers in the Roman army.
By its very nature marital arts requires ballistic moves so the warm
up contains ballistic stretches as this has been the way for
thousands of years. I would suggest a few minutes of Proprioceptive
Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching before your class. Gymnasts
use P.N.F. stretching. Warm
up: Preparation by stretching will increase the athlete’s mobility
by up to 60% and also protect him or her from soft tissue injuries.
Conditioning: Proper conditioning will produce enough power and
stamina to perform all the tasks and moves called for in the
execution of an athlete’s routine. The
quest in finding balance within the core energy, core, strengthening
the core, the body's vital energy or Ki. The concept of
Ki is one of the most important in Japanese philosophy. It
directly concerns everyone's daily life, since it is nothing less
than the vital energy of that life. In Chinese philosophy, the
equivalent concept is known as Qi (Ch'i); an energy
whose 'home' is the Dantian (Tan Tien) point, Chi
(pronounced “chee”) refers to the life force or vital energy
of life. In China, this concept is call qi or chi and
in Korea and Japan, it is called ki. Chinese, Korean and
Japanese ideas regarding the chi are nearly identical. The more
balanced our Ki, the less susceptible we are to illness and
injury. Shiatsu can also help those already suffering from health
problems, either as a single therapy or in conjunction with other
modalities. By bringing the body back into balance our own healing
processes are set into motion. Martial
artists and healers develop unusually good visuo-spatial
awareness. In his practice,
Maurice has helped enhance the
performance of gymnasts, martial artists and other athletes, by
treating their injuries and increasing flexibility. Also, an equal
amount of work is done helping clients clear emotional blocks
allowing them to move forward with their lives i.e., Holistic
treatments maintaining and developing their Ki which bring
about a state of coherence and balance. Performance can be greatly
affected by psychological influences such as stress. Stress is
valuable under certain circumstances; the stress response puts
people on the mettle, increases alertness, improves sight,
strengthens muscles and reduces reaction time. The negative effects
of stress, emotional blocks can often manifest in a physical way
thus restricting optimum performance, as emotional energies are
stored in the soft tissues of the body, which can cause muscle
nerves to not fire properly or weaken as a consequence.
Maurice currently trains
with
Xun Y
Dong, who is 7th Generation Heir of Mizong Quan and 10 Generation
Heir of QingPing Jian.
www.zhenwei.org
Maurice was an engineer in the aviation and water industries, but a
love for gymnastics led him to train and work as a professional
gymnastics coach under the British National Squad Coaches. Training
his own squads who competed in Europe and Great Britain. Maurice
suffered a shoulder injury which conventional medicine could not
fully address. Upon a friend’s recommendation Maurice tried
Shiatsu, and after a few treatments he found himself pain-free and
with full range of motion in his shoulder. These dramatic results
impressed Maurice so much that he started to study Shiatsu to become
a therapist himself.
Maurice
works out of clinics in London and Reykjavik and on location
with film companies. And is part of the teaching team’s at two
Shiatsu schools. Whilst adamant about
respecting client confidentiality, Maurice will say that
recommendations from the gymnasts he is training have led to other
gymnasts, many marital artists, Dance company T.K. Spin,
a boxer and several
celebrities coming to see him for Tai-so shiatsu
With
over twenty years of coaching gymnastics, Maurice has gained a
thorough understanding of sports science, sports injuries and body
mechanics. Thus, enabling him to develop Tai-so Shiatsu. Sempai
Wataru Ohashi suggested a name be found for the joining of the two
modalities, Shiatsu which literally means “FINGER PRESSURE”. Tai-so
means “Gymnastics”
Tai-so Shiatsu was born on 27 March 03. Sempai Ohashi was happy
with the choice.
Maurice has become convinced of the benefits to be gained from
Tai-so Shiatsu, a combination of American sports science stretching
technique, Shiatsu and joint-releasing techniques. Working with the
national squad gymnasts at Hendon Sports Centre, Maurice introduced
Tai-so Shiatsu 28 months ago and it has now become an integral part
of the training regime. The proof of the pudding is in the eating,
and the gymnasts at Hendon have found that Tai-so shiatsu not only
enhances their performance but it is also very effective in
preparing them for competitive events and for recovery afterwards.
Shiatsu is a holistic therapy that involves the
practitioner applying gentle finger and palm pressure along the
body's energy meridians to bring physical, mental and emotional
balance to the client. Shiatsu treatments can detect and correct
energy imbalances that precede illness. For those already
suffering from health problems, Shiatsu can be of great benefit,
both as a discipline in and of itself or in conjunction with other
complementary or Western treatments. As Shiatsu has spread
throughout the World, it has been enriched further and thereby has
maintained its relevance in a modern, hectic World Originally an
integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Shiatsu has
developed in Japan over the last century as an official manual
therapy. The key figure in the development of Shiatsu in the latter
part of the twentieth century was Shizuto Masanaga who pioneered a
system usually referred to as Zen Shiatsu. Masunaga developed a
model of extending the TCM meridians to present an even more
complete picture of the body's energy system. There are 14
meridians, a total of 361 points, each point can have between one
and twelve action/usage. Trigger points in the West are used by
sports therapists, for the past two thousand five hundred years they
are know and used as ah shi points which translate to “that’s
it”.
Seeing the immensely positive benefits and worth of proactive and
reactive Tai-so Shiatsu therapy, Maurice was invited into the film
world, where he has become hugely successful. Celebrity therapist,
Maurice has recently worked on sets of various films and TV
productions,
Working with Gordon
Alexander on his latest film “Sucker Punch the movie…
A superb martial artist, Gordon has worked with some of Hong Kong’s
finest, including Jackie Chan but it is as an accomplished actor
that he is going to be best remembered.
Other
Tai-so Shiatsu projects, including martial arts extravaganza
feature
“Underground".
The director was Chee Keong Cheung, Oliver Morran and Mark Strange
[also a M/artist] the fight co-coordinator were Dave Woodford and
Matt Routledge.
Maurice has also
been in attendance on set of the sci-fi TV show ‘Starhyke’, a
slapstick comedy, starring Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), Suanne
Braun (Stargate), Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars), Rachel Grant (Die
Another Day) and also features Sir Patrick Moore as the Oracle.
Rachel, (who also appears in ‘The Purifiers’) who took on the role
of warrior Wu Oof, had several fight scenes and says ‘Maurice is
fantastic to have on board any production. Night shoots are
gruelling, particularly if they involve fight scenes. The cold gets
to the muscles very easily and maintaining flexibility and a good
performance gets tougher and can be dangerous. If injuries occur it
can be most disappointing for an actor and costly for production.
Maurice was a great help and aided my performance tremendously.
Knowing he was around gave me the confidence to go all out with high
kicks and receiving bruises. When fighting is not involved, shiatsu
can be very calming and helpful for an actor particularly if nerves
are at bay. Maurice is polite and lots of fun too which always makes
a difference’.
I hope this has
enlightened you, perhaps changed your outlook, or even helped.
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