For those of you who don't know, rolfing is a form of body work wherein the connective tissue is rearranged to improve posture, releive chronic pain (old injuries), and improve flexibility... Part of it is also about releasing the fascia from knots in the connective tissue, allowing it to move more freely...
Just to let you know, all I know about this stuff I've learned through martial arts, specifically baguazhang (八卦掌), so it's not from a medical background really, and I could be off on some of it. All I know is how important it is to doing Chinese internal martial arts (内家), the main three being xingyi, baguazhang, and taijiquan (形意，八卦掌，太極拳)...
Usually rolfing is a 10 session series, in which they work on different body regions over about a month. Each session is about 90 minutes, and costs over $100, so the whole thing is over $1000.
Luckily, I found out that the Rolf Institute in Boulder is their world headquarters, and you can get a major discount if you go through the series with their senior students as a guinea pig -- it's only $25 per session! So I'm going to start next week and see how it turns out.
I'm hoping for a lot of improvement in the things that are important in bagua training, especially the mobility of my fascia. You can find interesting accounts of other people's experiences being rolfed on the web, including accounts of feet growing an inch, or height increasing by inches, etc. Interesting stuff. I hope I have a similarly weird experience. ;)
Hey Trevor,
Been meaning to post a comment for a while - we have a lot in common, having both an interest in Japan and having lived in the Washington D.C. area.
Where did you train in baguazhang/hyakkoku-ken? I've been considering starting boxing here in Japan as a physical exercise/training, but if you know a good baguazhang training place to recommend...
Best,
-Jason
I've been doing bagua in Denver...
I don't know whether there's a really good place in Japan or not, although I did find info on the web once (in Japanese) about a school in Tokyo where they teach xingyi and bagua...
It's tough to find the 'real' stuff nowadays, since there are so many 'wushu' type people out there now.
Here's a tip -- if their arms or legs are straight, ever, then it's just for show... Also, avoid people whose butts stick out. ;)
Posted by: Trevor Hill at March 2, 2003 10:30 PM
Rolfing sounds wonderful, although I know some people think it's painful. I imagine it's good pain, though. I'd really like to try it, but it's just too expensive. Keep us up to date on how your experience turns out.
Posted by: M Sinclair Stevens at March 3, 2003 11:51 AM
I've heard that some sports teams now have a permanent rolfer on the payroll...!
Yeah -- it's very expensive, but there are a lot of people around Denver/Boulder that have it done. I guess it's the whole hippie influence... ;)
I'm glad I'm getting a chance to do the discounted course... :) The orientation is tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes...
Posted by: Trevor Hill at March 3, 2003 12:06 PM
Oh, and I expect I can take the pain... My bagua teacher does similar things to us when we have problems, and...
Well, there are just no words to describe how painful it can be... it does work to fix the problem though... ;)
Posted by: Trevor Hill at March 3, 2003 12:15 PM
Hi Jason. I live in CO and was wondering how you were able to become a "Guinea Pig" at the Institute. I guess it would be hard to compare the students with a certified rolfer since you haven't been to one. But it would be nice to get it done and save a little money. Let us know how it turns out.
Posted by: debby at April 22, 2003 09:28 PM
Actually, it's Trevor. You must have mistaken the first comment for me...
Anyway, I actually just emailed the rolf institute after checking out their website, and talked to the secretary there. I had heard through the grapevine that they did this, so I just emailed to ask about it, and it happened that they were starting a series the next week...
It's called the "Client in the Classroom" program, and it's $25 per session for the "10 series" that way... They also have other programs that are $40 or more per session, depending on how they're structured, but you can ask them all about it by emailing the contacts on www.rolf.org... :)
Posted by: Trevor Hill at April 25, 2003 01:46 PM
Posted by: Jason Cha at March 2, 2003 04:13 AM