Thanks for stopping by
Hi, I’m Eoghan. I do Amatsu, origami cranes, woodworking, woodturning, motorbiking, archery, MS awareness and when I’m not doing those things, I’m trying to save the world. Ask me about solar panels, global resource management, nuclear fusion, superconductors, Star Trek, board games or anything else that might spring to mind
Who did I train with?
I did my training with the Daghda School. They did their best with me. At the time, I didn’t know I was an AuDHDer. I told them I had MS. I don’t think they understood that bit. Most of the time I just did my homework out of a sense of fear, because that’s what I’ve always done. School was always a fear of consequence for m, rather than an exploration of a potential opportunity. Of the 12 students who started in my class, only 1 actually graduated in the end, plus Seán frequently moved the goalposts on us. Incidentally, if you’re out down around Naas, go and see Darren. He’ll look after you. I’m not sure about that beard on him now, but I think we all tried interesting things during lockdown.
Actually, if I remember it now, the only guy who actually passed the course was a former UK Commando Paratrooper who was on a keto diet (not sure if that helped). Dennis is a great practitioner, but if you asked him to spell pedagogy, I reckon he’d struggle. Poor fella dropped a sheet of timber on his toes a few years ago. Last I heard, he wasn’t doing well. I’m certainly glad he brought Amatsu back from Japan, but I’m not a fan of the politics. I prefer the way Billy does things. No drama. Just helping people. That’s what I like to do.
The whole experience of the training left a lot of people very sour and salty altogether. My heart goes out to the first years who came after me. I’m a lot happier just learning with Helen now as I go along. CPD and techniques beyond basic training are a far nicer way to learn. I love that I’m able to be physically aware enough to help other practitioners improve their technique. Anatomical morphology is so individualistic that it’s always good to practise on as many different types of humans as you can. I won’t write too much about Daghda, though. It’d put me in a bad humour.
How did I first get started with Amatsu?
My Dad first got me exposed to Amatsu because he was working with Helen Clarke, who learned Amatsu from Billy Doolin, who learned Amatsu from Hatsumi himself. Masaaki Hatsumi is the current Grandmaster of Ninjitsu, though he’s pushing into his 90s these days, so he’s quite old, and I don’t think he’s nominated a successor yet. He learned it himself from Takamatsu. There’s a good translation of the scrolls by Peter King if you go fishing for it. Pretty good book too.
Everyone who does Amatsu has a different style. Mine is largely right brain intuitive tension pattern style. Other practictioners use a lot of muscle testing. I prefer to just mend people in a procedural manner, improving movement functionality and flexibility as I go. Usually I can feel a problem based on the proximity of the pain signal to the joint.
Amatsu as we know it now
Amatsu is pretty different to the way it used to be back in feudal Japan. Nowadays, it’s all mixed in with techniques borrowed from kinesiology, reflexology, myofascial release therapy and whatever other modalities the practitioner you’re seeing has learned over the years, like reflexology, aromatherapy, sound therapy and even CBT and talk therapy in some cases. So you’ll be lucky to find a ‘pure’ amatsu practitioner any more, because of the way the modality is taught. But of course, Hatsumi always taught by giving instructions, and then telling his students to ‘go play’, so that’s how we learn.
