Peace - Harmony - Wisdom
KEMPO MASSAGE
Massage is as old as humans. Some paintings in the Egyptian pyramids demonstrate hand and foot massage techniques. Massage as a method of treatment is older than medicine itself. Today's modern world tends to emphasize a particular type of massage as the right one and mystify massage, especially if the techniques come from the Far East. It is incorrect to say that one kind of massage is better than another - a massage is just a tool used to improve the person's condition. There are three primary effects of massage:
- increased blood circulation
- muscle relaxation
- increased muscle tension.
These three basic levers make a miraculous revolution in the body possible – reducing or increasing blood pressure, reducing pain, intestinal peristalsis, etc. What is crucial is that the massage is tailored to the person. We are all different and everyone reacts differently to a massage. Close contact and mutual trust are vital. It is important to emphasize that the massage should not hurt (except for connective tissue massage). If the muscle is taut, of course, a minimal amount of pain will occur - but this pain must not turn into pathological pain. If the massage is too painful, it will cause an opposite effect - the massaged muscle (and sometimes the whole body) will spasm and instead of getting better, a person will start to feel even worse. At this point is where the masseur's skills are most evident - a good masseur can correctly estimate how much pressure should be applied while massaging a muscle.
Massages can be divided into several groups: medical, sports, reflexology, relaxing and anti-cellulite massage. At Kempo, we usually practice sports massage, and when there is enough time, we practice medical, reflexology and energy massage. Every Kempo Ka will first massage muscles along the spine and give a neck massage. These areas are often affected by modern lifestyle and poor posture. The massage starts at the upper part of the spine, and as the masseur moves towards the lumbar part or the lower part of the spine, the pressure gradually decreases. The neck is usually massaged while the person is lying on their back. The masseur gently stretches the muscles from the upper part of the spine and around the neck upwards - towards the direction of the scalp. In addition to these two basic massages, hands and feet are also massaged. Each muscle is massaged separately and the massage ends by applying the pressure to the acupressure points on the soles and hands. It should also be mentioned that Kempo Ka uses the same techniques in massage as in attack: thumbs, seiken, hireken, teisho, shuto, Ippon Ken, Empi, nukite… It is crucial that deep within the masseur feels a pure desire to help. The masseur must come to a state in which he or she wants to give unconditionally to the person being massaged. That's the key. The technique is learned and applied along the way, but no technique will improve the person's condition without a basic desire to help. The desire to help a person and focus on that thought is the only way for a massage to be entirely successful. That is the whole mystery of massage. It could be said that this massage practice is wholesome but at the same time demanding.
