Hammer tap massage or Tok Sen (video)
Tok Sen massage
Who wants something different than a traditional one Thai massage can also choose Tok Sen massage, a massage with a wooden hammer and wedge.
The wooden massage tool used for this is made from a tree that was struck by lightning. This is because it is believed that diseases and other physical discomfort are afraid of lightning and therefore leave the body.
This form of massage comes from the ancient Lanna culture (Northern Thailand). Doctor Shivako, King Bimbirsa's personal physician, developed the basis of this massage form 2500 years ago. Tok = knock and Sen = energy path.
With the help of two pieces of wooden work equipment, which can be compared to a hammer and chisel for the image, the flow in the energy channels is stimulated and energy stagnations are reduced or eliminated. In addition to using the wooden tools, the energy pathways are stimulated with pushing and stretching techniques.
The massage would be good for:
- Fatigue and recovery
- Vague pain complaints
- Rheumatic complaints
- Psychological and mental stress
- Backache
- Headache
Video Tok Sen massage
Watch the video here:
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
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Tok Sen
I saw it for the first time during the "impact" fair, it shocked me.
The hammer and the chisel may be made from a "lightning tree", but hitting someone in the neck with a chisel???? and hard too.
I also saw that they were working hard on the back.
Personally, I would strongly advise against this.
I myself have followed a training for sports masseur and then you know what the consequences can be. I also sometimes have reservations about other massages here in Thailand. I sometimes wonder whether there are recognized training courses for Thai masseurs?
Sometimes I feel like everyone just does what they think is right.
In the Netherlands you have to learn all the muscles and their purpose and here??
(maybe someone can answer that).
gr. Nico
Nico, First of all, there are training courses for Thai massage in Thailand and a thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology is required and tested. The problem lies in the stigma everyone has when talking about Thai massage. There is no such thing as Thai massage (generalizing). However, there are many different forms of Thai massage with different goals, of course. There is the relaxation massage, with or without eroticism, for which you obviously do not have to follow any special training (except perhaps the drama school to give the customer the idea that she enjoys it very much). And you have also referred to the medically oriented Thai massage as Reflex massage. There are 2 main currents here in the Northern and Southern style (North more focused on stretching and South more on pressure point massage). Thai doctors have roughly divided Thai massage into 3 levels, which are of course comparable to doctors at the highest level (level 3). Thai Reflexology has been around for 2.500 years and was used for medical purposes before there were doctors or other medical facilities. So your idea that everyone just does what is not correct. If you are really interested, I recommend that you read a publication by Vichai Chokevivat, MD, MPH and
Anchalee Chuthaputti, Ph.D. Department for the Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. Called THE ROLE OF THAI TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
IN HEALTH PROMOTION. The above division into 3 levels on page 14 ff is elaborated here. I myself work in the Netherlands and have my own Thai Reflex massage shop. I get many patients who cannot be helped in the regular circuit and have been able to help people several times in the past 10 years thanks to Thai Reflex Massage. This article about Tok-Sen was probably brought in as a result of my comment in a previous contribution about Thai massage. I am going to Thailand specifically for this course in October and I am very curious about how and what this is like.
Followed training? Will be with the invite, but I have NEVER seen a diploma hanging anywhere. Sometimes asked about it, but people usually don't get further than ... "course followed". And in 10-15 weeks a few hours will NEVER reach the level of a 4-year study as for Physiotherapy in NL.
And.. for 2500 years…. You should only know how many charlatan treatments have been carried out since then… also the necessary “medicines”, which have been in use for so long, but where no one has yet been able to prove this clinically.
Yes, since 1995 it has benefited several times.
Mr Nico , you are absolutely right in issuing a warning . The video shows that the veins – in which there are valves – are tapped . If these are damaged, it can cause a blood clot. Massaging arms and legs from the body to the ends thereof is also not recommended for the same reasons. One should always massage towards the body ( you have probably also learned ) . I know many in Thailand who pass themselves off as masseurs after they have received training. Usually it is only a week or a little longer. Of some knowledge about anatomy; diseases ; varicose veins etc. etc. is totally out of the question. Although they have a diploma, it is strongly discouraged to get a massage from these people. I myself have seen a patient whose hip was broken (aged 28 years) after a massage. Advice : if you want to be treated , do it at least in a hospital . "the rest" I strongly advise you against, unless you are sure that the person has received training those years !!!!! lasted .
The medical Thai massages are also given at the huge complex of the Health Department in Nonthaburi. Make an appointment, 1 hour massage costs 150 THB. one can also obtain all Thai medicinal herbs in the pharmacy, after a free doctor's check
All prescription drugs are also available here.
I have often had a massage (with oil) in the tourist areas of Thailand and it is nice, but I have never found a good massage as any sports masseur can give in NL.
I call it "tickling the tourists"
I also had it done once at a Thai party in Almere. I had a stiff neck for 6 weeks
you can, rightly or wrongly, criticize the different forms of Thai massage.
I have had complaints for years that could never be solved by physio, manual therapy and chiropractic. I would like to add, but that's personal, physiotherapy is just wet and dry, working on the surface, compared to a certified Thai masseur.
The Thai massage has helped me get rid of my complaints.
And yes, my complaints only got worse in the beginning and I suddenly got muscle pain in places I didn't even know there were muscles.
After a month I suddenly noticed an improvement and then only progress.
Is not it great.
Tok Sen is also performed in Dutch by a handful of people who have been trained for this.
I myself had my training for Tok Sen in Chiang Mai.
it does sound harsh, but you have to experience it yourself to judge what it does to you.
I use it daily in my massage practice and all my clients experience this Tok-Sen treatment as pleasant and often much less painful than a "standard" Thai massage techniques in which you also press pretty (and sometimes very) hard on the painful places of the body .
zie http://www.tzoejan.nl
greeting Jan
I totally agree you must have a training to be able to perform a good Reflex massage and I think more difficult than a course in the Netherlands My wife has studied for a total of 4 years and comes from a recognized massage family If you are interested in the real technique under the to get the hang of it you can order a course from her Look for fun at Diamond Lanta Massage on Tripadvisor then you will understand what I mean Welcome to Koh Lanta
In the Netherlands we know in manual therapy the Mrs. Dr. Sikkez method, which is also with hammer and chisel and she was quite successful. And the Thai are normally very well educated so as long as you don't have severe osteoporosis I wouldn't worry about it
Big advantage is relatively too fast to resist
I have had at least 200/300 massages during more than 30 years in Asia in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Bali and have never had any problems with anything!
I am a fan of the hard massage because the oil massage is more for relaxation and fun I think.
once I had a pinched nerve in my leg that became more painful every day and I went to a massage parlor and asked for a hard massage and showed where the problem was.
after an hour of kneading and breaking and stretching, the pain was gone, but the massage itself was hard but still doable.
Of course there is sometimes chaff among the wheat.
in Pattaya I once ran away angry because the lady only caressed a little and I didn't think that was a massage. her colleague then took over but again of the same!
I threw 100 thb of colère on the bed and therefore left the place after less than fifteen minutes of flirting… pure money-making but that had never happened to me before so an exception!
people also say here “I have not seen a diploma anywhere!”
I must strongly deny that because at the River Kwai in Kanchanburi where I stayed for a total of 5/6 weeks, there are at least 4 or 5 diplomas hanging on the wall and the mamasan I know very well still regularly goes to the temple to learn.
so that of "they just do what they want without knowing what they are doing" that is for people who have not often done a massage.
if you choose a beautiful girl to massage you, there is a good chance (not always) that the massage is not good, so preferably take an experienced fat (hehe) older lady with experience because they can put more strength and weight in the scale haha !
once in Lopburi had a massage from a blind man in the local temple.
logical that they give good massages because their senses are better developed due to their disability and it was therefore a very good massage ..;
Vampires are also killed with a hammer and wedge, right? But let's hope that the masseur / masseuse is not too superstitious ....
Any therapy or massage, no matter how bizarre it seems, has its value if it brings improvement to the person concerned.
Only I have the impression that not every therapy or massage really deserves this name.
Certainly there are certain courses for massage, but if you look at a night market in the evening, you get the impression that many housewives work there, who, although they like to believe otherwise, have never had any real training.
Many Farang who would have had a lot less confidence in their homeland now suddenly think everything is great and don't wonder at all what risks can be hiding.
Only the word Thai massage takes away almost all hemmings and thoughts from these gullible people.
A few years ago, my husband, who is Thai herself, observed the massage art of her compatriot at the night market.
Although my wife had complete confidence in her and tried to convince me that it only cost 100 Baht, she couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
A night without sleep with a lot of pain, from what seemed so good and cheap at first, ended up being a hospital visit with a completely different price tag.
When we informed the relevant Masseuse 2 evenings later, my wife received a shy smile from her, and I received a well-meaning SOLLY.
Went to a masseur for a Tok Sen massage on the advice of fellow villagers. Would not recommend to anyone showing red spots and pain in my legs afterwards. In my opinion dangerous kind of massage with incorrect method. Also received a list of diseases with what I would not have. I can recommend other massages such as a traditional massage for muscle complaints. been coming to Chumpon for years for a good massage that helped me get rid of my muscle pain in my arms.
I am the first to admit that there are many "masseuses" without a diploma. I always say 90% is at best pleasant with no added value. The other 10% are good to very good. My wife is a masseuse (one of 10%). She was trained at Chiang Mai University and therefore has diplomas. One for Thai massage and one for oil massage training of 3 months each. In addition, she has had a special training for manual manipulation in Chiang Mai for a month (she was the only Thai among 20 foreigners) The foreigners came from all over Europe, most of them had a training as a physiotherapist or manual therapist. So a good Thai masseuse really knows what she is doing. We live 6 months a year in Thailand and the other 6 in Belgium. returning to Belgium, my wife can immediately go back to work because many customers ask, she does a lot of sports massages. So Nico there are indeed training courses for Massage in Thailand, the problem is that most tourists only look if the masseuse is beautiful 🙂 A good advice from me choose an older lady who has the most experience and often also had an education.
The 5 Thai masseuses we have in our circle of acquaintances have had or no training and there is 1 who has had a 10-day training in bangkok at the famous wat poo training.
There will be quite well trained masseuses, but the problem is how to recognize them.
A diploma on the wall means nothing if it has not been recognized by an official body and is also original.
A real diploma bears official stamps, but the best assessment comes from the customer. Only you can judge whether the masseuse does a good job for you. And what is good for one person is not for another and it is not easy to indicate what you want in Thailand, if they do not understand you, they always say yes 🙂
I don't have five masseuses as acquaintances, but I usually go to these ladies four or five times a month.
Always Thai massage this Tok sen I have never seen.
Have you ever had hot stones and short sticks that people try to 'mutilate' the soles of your feet and toes?
Sometimes some heated ointment or the back with oil.
Have a few as a permanent address, but if I see a new one, I'd like it, even if it's just for once in the agenda.
I always pay attention to a diploma or certificate upon entering, often if not always there is a hand full on the wall over the years, given the age difference between photo and real life.
So far it usually goes well as far as information is concerned, often it is no longer a one-man business.
So there is another lady regularly at the end of the bed, often muttering something before they start.
So you don't know anything about those ladies, they can also be certified, but they can also be the neighbor who has had a crash course in the empty hours.
Finally, there is little variation in a Thai massage.
If they ask a few times if things are going well, you may have reservations.