Regarding the acceptance of foreigners looking for chances to observe in Japanese acupuncture clinics, or maybe even “learn” a little from the Japanese masters, I have heard many excuses from the Japanese for NOT accepting foreigners.
Some of those excuses include:
* the Japanese master (“sensei“) feels ashamed when being observed –
this has been said by people practicing for 3-40 years;
* the sensei is afraid, his/her technique(s) might be stolen –
Well, if anybody wants to “steal” a manual skill, than the aspiring thief must first acquire this skill by him/herself … will take YEARS to accomplish!
* the sensei simply does not WANT to share his knowledge
* the sensei is AFRAID of foreigners –
I heard this from a man (age about 60), who is running his own clinic for close to 40 years; I could understand, if an old Japanese lady of very small stature said that the presence of a 190 cm +90 kg person, but from a MASTER and clinic DIRECTOR??? If any foreigner did anything inappropriate, he could simple ORDER the foreigner in question to leave …
* AND, naturally, the all time favorite No. 1: “I cannot speak English” –
In my experience, this does not really matter; hands and feet with do just fine!
There are still more “strange” statements, but I think the above is enough to demonstrate the point.
My personal opinion: the Japanese are wasting VERY valuable opportunities for themselves.
But maybe I myself am “too foreign” to understand why they are so reluctant … to share with the world a body of knowledge and highly developed skills – both of which the Japanese could/SHOULD be very proud of …
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