“We are not here to compete with Western medicine, we are here to complete Western medicine, there is only one medicine.”
Dr. Ngyuen Van Nghi
When we refer to Chinese medicine, we are referring to the medicine that stems from the Huangdi Neijing, the oldest existing medical text in the world and the foundation on which all traditional Chinese medicine is based.
The Neijing lays out more than simply techniques for this or that illness. It describes a worldview based on a rigorous and scientific examination of the cycles of change that run through our existence. This worldview then informs the manner in which therapies are deployed. Our arts, both martial and medical, are based on this and our cultural activities are about making this worldview accessible to modern people as much as they are about specific techniques of fighting or healing.
The medicine practiced in the association has mainly been passed on to us from previous generations of gongfu practitioners and specializes in manual therapies, that is in tuina and jie gu/zheng gu, and external herbal therapies for management of injury. These are considered essential components of our work as martial artists.
Many of our members are practicing professionals in the field of Chinese medicine and these members use both acupuncture and internal herbal therapy in their treatment plans. We do not believe in a dogmatic approach but seek to use the best of both traditional and modern methods from Eastern or Western medicine that best serve our clients and patients.
Chinese medicine is a cultural treasure that has spread out from its birthplace to reach every corner of the world; it makes low-cost, low-tech, highly-effective medicine available to all. We are proud to be a part of the efforts to find a place for this medicine in the modern world.
