I attended two monthly placements at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2002 and 2003. As a previous French colony, many people spoke French which allowed us to communicate directly with some doctors and patients (which was rarely the case for students going to China).

A beautiful adventure with two masters

Dr Truong Thin (then Director of the Institute) and Dr Daniel Laurent (Head of the college) coauthored the “Manual of Traditional Asian Medicine” in 2002, which I had the privilege to illustrate and edit. We still keep close relationships with the doctors of Saigon as many studients go there every year.

I did a Postgraduate programme in women’s health in Paris, 2004, under the teaching of Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée at the European school of Acupuncture. Elisabeth is a world renown specialist in Chinese studies. I have been attending many CPD workshops on different themes through the years.
Several of Ms Rochat’s books are translated in English with Monkey Press.
As the Edinburgh group coordinator for the British Acupuncture Council, I had the pleasure of inviting Elisabeth in Edinburgh for a lecture on ‘What is healing, in the Medical and Philosophical Classical texts’.

I graduated with in Diploma in Chinese Herbal Medicine at Shulan College in Manchester  2016, under the teaching of Pr Shulan Tang. The course is accredited by Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (NJUCM) and The ATCM (see below). Pr Shulan lectures internationally and is probably one of the most experienced herbalist in the UK. I can consult Pr Shulan to help me reflect on complex cases.

As an acupuncturist I have been using Classical formulas for a number of years previous to the course, until the new European legislation made it compulsory to attend a specific degree in herbal medicine, which I did.

I completed a Msc in digital Education at the University of Edinburgh in 2012. For my final project, I developed a Learning Management System for the study of acupuncture.

You can read my dissertation here: “Towards blended e-learning for Acupuncture: a manifesto for the teaching of Traditional Acupuncture 
in the contemporary Western/postmodern world“.

Students of acupuncture with the British Acupuncture Council have to attend hundreds of hours of observation with registered practitioners. I have the pleasure to collaborate with the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading for this mission. Although I studied acupuncture in France, the style of acupuncture I practice is very close to the approach taught in Reading.

I applied for membership in 2007 when I arrived in the UK and became a full member of the British Acupuncture Council.

The acupuncture I practice integrates “5 Element Acupuncture”, “Channels Acupuncture” and “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)” more specifically for the practice of Herbal Medicine.

I gained Full membership to The Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture UK (ATCM), for the practice of Chinese Herbal Medicine in 2016.

The ATCM is the largest professional body for the practice of Chinese Herbal medicine with around 730 members in the UK.

I started practicing Aïkido (Japanese martial art) under the teaching of Tamura Senseï from the age of 13.

In 2005, I obtained the Black belt 3rd DAN and the teaching professional certificate (Brevet d’Etat). I still practice in Edinburgh with my friend Jim Wolff, when I can find the time. I also obtained 3rd Dan in Iaido (Japanese fencing) under the teaching of Jean Pierre Raick.

Alongside the numerous Aikido camps that I attended, we often practiced Shiatsu (Japanese Acupressure) which years later led me to study acupuncture.

Aikido has played a big part in my experience and understanding of Qi-Breath.