J. Acupunct. Tuina. Sci. (2009) 7: 293-295 DOI: 10.1007/s11726-009-0293-3

Copyright©2009 Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian︱● 293 ●

Experience and Technical Exchange

How to Develop Students’ Motiation in Practicing

Tuina Techniques

AN Guang-hui (安光辉)1, TANG Xiao-ting (唐晓婷)2 1 College of Acumox and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, P. R. China 2 Antu Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai 200093, P. R. China

【摘要】目的：探讨激发学生训练推拿手法动力的方法，以提高《推拿手法学》教学质

量。方法：围绕《推拿手法学》以手法训练为主的课程特点，通过多感官教学法、师带

徒教学法、多媒体教学法、实践教学法的综合运用，缓解学生手法练习导致的身体和心

理疲劳，激发学生训练推拿手法的动力。结果与结论：通过多种教学方法的综合运用，

活跃了课堂气氛，增强了学生推拿手法训练的能动性，开阔了学生视野，取得了较好的

教学效果。 【关键词】推拿；按摩；教学 【Abstract】Objective: This paper discusses the methods on how to develop students’ motiation in tuina exercises, as a result, to improve the teaching quality of Manipulation of Tuina. Methods: For tuina exercises in Manipulation of Tuina, multiple sensory, apprentice, multimedia and practice teaching methods are comprehensively employed to relieve students’ physical and mental fatigue resulting from tuina exercising and to develop their motivation in tuina exercises. Result and Conclusion: Comprehensive use of these several pedagogies can enliven classroom atmosphere, enhance the students’ initiative in tuina exercises, broaden their horizons and consequently achieve good teaching results. 【Key Words】Tuina; Massage; Teaching 【CLC Number】R244.1 【Document Code】A

As a major discipline in traditional Chinese

medicine, the teaching quality of Tuina Science is closely associated with the clinical efficacy[1]. Manipulation of Tuina, a branch course of Tuina Science, stresses the combination of theoretical learning with practical exercise of tuina manipulations. However, dull repetitive and high- intensity manipulation exercises may cause students’ physical and mental fatigue and an oppressive classroom atmosphere.

In order to change this situation, we broke through the conventional teaching methods and made some teaching reforms in many ways. It is now summarized and reported as follows.

Fund Item: Shanghai Third Stage of Highland Construction for Undergraduate Education-Acupuncture & Tuina Author: AN Guang-hui (1979- ), male, assistant

1 Multiple Sensory Teaching Method

Some teaching researches hold that tuina manipulation skills consist of a general, diversified and specified phase. In the beginning, the students primarily watch the teacher’s demonstrations and then imitate. At that time, the excitement in the student’s cerebral cortex spreads extensively and intrinsic accurate inhibition mechanisms are not established yet, followed by stiff and poor coordination bustling manipulations, and by failure to perform accurate manipulations in time and space[2]. Aiming at this problem, we introduced a multiple sensory teaching. For instance, in practicing tuina manipulations, the students are required to read the manipulation rhymes silently or loudly, such as "sinking the shoulder, lowering the elbow, suspending the wrist, semi-flexing and

J. Acupunct. Tuina. Sci. (2009) 7: 293-295

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closing the fingers, tight pushing with a slow movement." At the start or end of tuina manipulations, the postures of the fingers remain unchanged to judge whether the postures are standard. For example, in practicing DING’s gun-rolling manipulation, the wrist is flexed at about 80°. In rou-kneading the back of left hand with right-hand thenar, the friction sound is heard and the flushing hand is observed after kneading. This teaching method involves vision, hearing and sense, combines the hands, eyes, ears and mind, and helps the students concentrate their attention to grasp the manipulation techniques and skills.

2Apprentice Teaching Method

Presently, the teaching method of one teacher for many students in the universities confines the teaching of technical courses. Manipulation of Tuina, a technical course, lays a great stress on apprentice method. In the past, the famous tuina practitioners particularly emphasized the demonstrations of manipulation techniques[3]. In the textbook edited by Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it asserts that manipulation skills should be learnt from the teachers at first and then developed[4]. We apply this teaching method to classroom teaching, namely, the students are asked to imitate their teachers’ techniques as possible as they can, and then develop their own manipulation techniques. First, stand in the middle of a classroom and face anterior, posterior, left and right towards each other to give vivid demonstrations of manipulations; and then come close to ensure that they can clearly watch every demonstration. Afterwards, watch video of such masters as DING Ji-feng, CAO Ren-fa, YAN Jun-tao and QIAN Yu-lin and imitate. Moreover, the students are encouraged to consult their teachers to develop their own tuina skills. Finally, some well-done students are selected as examples for other students; and some poor-done students get individual instruction.

In the process of practicing manipulations, the students are told to imitate the teachers’ manipulations with attention, and practice after class.

This teaching method solved the problem of more students with fewer teachers, and could enhance the

relation and feelings between students and teachers. It could also correct the students’ inappropriate manipulations. Meanwhile, good examples of excellent manipulations are set to arouse students’ enthusiasm for manipulation practice, and benefit mutual learning and therefore improve manipulation skills.

3 Multimedia Teaching Method

At present, tuina therapy is not fully understood, and its effectiveness for children’s disorders and some internal diseases has not been accepted completely. Affected by this viewpoint, many students show little enthusiasm for tuina therapy. Therefore, through multimedia, we show students some ancient literature, pictures, reports of internal diseases treated by tuina, tuina genres, and Tai’s, Hongkong’s and Western massage by refined oil to present some tuina knowledge, broaden students’ understanding of tuina’s indications, help them to know some tuina masters and their representative manipulation techniques, and eventually arouse their interest in tuina course.

4 Practice Teaching Method

In the past, the practice of tuina manipulation is usually performed on rice bags. It has been demonstrated that practice on rice bags can’t produce effective feedback, including affirmation, appreciation and instruction, but easily cause practitioners’ physical and mental fatigue. Hence, we stress early and more practice on people, and timely modify manipulations on subjects’ feedbacks. In class, the practice is conducted in groups. The subjects sit and the practitioners stand by their side, and other students stand around the subject and practitioner. Every practitioner performs tuina on every sitting subject in turn, after one turn the subjects and practitioners alternate. In the second procedure, the teacher and several students perform tuina one by one on a subject student with his eyes covered, and then the subject student is asked to tell the poorest and best manipulations and which manipulation is performed by their teacher. This practice greatly mobilizes subjects’ and practitioners’ enthusiasm and excitability, makes

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the subjects sense different manipulations and practitioners experience the differences of muscles and pain thresholds of students with different figures. At the same time, other opportunities are offered for the students. For instance, the students are invited to practice tuina for university staffs, martial art members after training and patients with myasthenia gravis. Tuina practice on people can greatly arouse students’ interest in tuina learning, enhance their intrinsic motivation and lay solid foundation for later learning.

The above experience is just an attempt in our teaching Manipulation of Tuina. We find that these pedagogies can arouse students’ enthusiasm in learning and gain excellent results.

References [1] FANG Min. Exploration of Teaching Tuina Course Based

on Working Process. Acta Universitatis Traditionis Medicalis Sinensis Pharmacologiaeque Shanghai, 2009, 23(2): 10-11.

[2] XU Jun. Formation of Rolling Manipulation and Its Early Exercise Principles. Xinjiang Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2001, 19(1): 32-34.

[3] LI Ye-pu. Inheriting and Developing Chinese Tuina. Clinical Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2003, 15(2): 82-83.

[4] ZHOU Xin-wen. Manipulation of Tuina. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technical Publishers, 2000: 3-4.

Translator: XIAO Yuan-chun (肖元春)

Received Date: August 10, 2009

● Related Link ● What are the Therapeutic Effects of Point Zusanli (ST 36) (Continued)

To clear away heat and to calm the consciousness In the clinic, point Zusanli (ST 36) is also applied to remove the fire, to restore the consciousness and

to clear away the heat in the Yangming Meridians. It is said in chapter 61, On Acupuncture Points for Edema and Heat Diseases, Essential Questions (Su Wen): "The eight points of Qichong (ST 36), Zusanli (ST 36), Shangjvxu (ST 37) and Xiajvxu (ST 39), can clear away the heat in the stomach". It is said in A-B Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing) that point Zusanli (ST 36) could be used to treat "mental disorders", "convulsion, opisthotonus, lockjaw and sore throat", "acute mastitis with fever", etc. The application of moxibustion on point Zusanli (ST 36) can remove the fire to brighten the eyes. It is said in Secret Necessities of A Frontier Official (Wai Tai Mi Yao): "If one is over thirty without application of moxibustion on point Zusanli (ST 36), he may have the up-rush of qi to the eyes." Hereby, the frequent prevention from wind stroke. Therefore it is also called "the healthcare moxibustion". It is recorded in ZHANG Gao’s A Talk on Medicine (Yi Shuo) in the Song Dynasty (960-1279): "If one wants to be healthy, point Zusanli (ST 36) can’t be dry. The reason why the people with the wind diseases ought to have moxibustion on point Zusanli (ST 36) is that it is the ditch of the five Zang organs and six Fu organs, and it needs smoothening frequently, then diseases ude to wind won’t occur."

Point Zusanli (ST 36) has a very large scope of indications. It is summarized in Songs of Twelve Points of the Heavenly Stars (Tian Xing Shi Er Xue Ge): "Point Zusanli (ST 36), locating at the place 3 cun below point Xiyan (ST 35) and between anterior and posterior tibial muscles, can relieve stuffy chest and epigastric distention, treat the cold retention in the stomach, borborygmus and diarrhea, swelling and soreness of the leg, the diseases due to cold damage and consumptive diseases, tympanites and all other problems. When one is over 30, acupuncture on point Zusanli (ST 36) can protect his sight." In modern clinics it is often applied for the treatment of indigestion, acute gastroenteritis, gastroptosis, ulcerations,bacillary dysentery, acute simple appendicitis, acute infectious hepatitis, hypertension, leucopenia, etc. (The End)

Selected from Perplexities to Acupuncture and Moxibustion, wrote by LI Ding, and published by Shanghai University of TCM Press in 2007.