Traditional japanese healing (and other) arts were made illegal after mccarthy came in at the end of WW II. many people claim that they feel the affects of an amma session for weeks after. if you can find a practitioner that still gives a traditional Amma massage i highly recommend giving it a try. Learning and practicing amma changed my life for the better. I have never experienced a more thorough massage and have had clients cry, get angry- feel various things during and after the massage. there are more general pressures applied at first to 'open' an area up, (also a way of announcing an intention to begin to work in that area of the body, etc.) it is a comprehensive, invigorating massage that covers the whole body except the genitals and is traditionally done through a sheet. Much of the technique is a method in which the thumb is applied to the point in a four count rhythm, each successive press going a bit deeper. the hour version covers 140 tsubos,(points) along the chi meridians with 25 hand techniques. amma massage follows a strict kata, (form). I studied and graduated from the Amma Institute in san francisco back in the early nineties.

AMMA is uniquely only Mrs Sohns and is getting twisted all over the internet now since she passed away and many who lost permission to teach do not have to answer to her anymore. You will not find AM MA in chinese - Anmo and Anma yes. It is not related to the Japanese ANMA (n not m) and the term AM-MA was coined by Dr Robert Sohn referencing very ancient Chinese wording no longer in use.

The description above of Amma Massage is a twisted form of explanation of AMMA TherapyВ® which is a registered trademark style founded by Great Grandmaster Tina Sohn.

Amma definition