Birch Stephen

Initially training in pre-TCM and TCM styles of Chinese acupuncture, Stephen Birch has been practicing acupuncture since 1982 with a specialization in Japanese acupuncture. He began studying with Kiiko Matsumoto and then started studying in Japan with senior experienced practitioners, first with Yoshio Manaka and then with various Meridian Therapists, especially those in the Toyohari tradition: Kodo Fukushima, Toshio Yanagishita, Akahiro Takai, Shuho Taniuchi, Koryo Nakada and many others. He co-authored 3 books with Matsumoto, including ‘Hara Diagnosis’. He also co-wrote Manaka’s English book ‘Chasing the Dragon’s Tail’ (in German ‘Manaka’s Quantensprung’) and the text ‘Japanese Acupuncture’ with his wife Junko Ida (also available in German). He wrote a general text on acupuncture ‘Understanding Acupuncture’ with Bob Felt. At present he is working on a Japanese pediatric (Shonishin) text and a book on Qi and the Jingmai with two Spanish colleagues. He has taught extensively around Europe and also in Australasia and the US. He recently joined the faculty of the first degree granting acupuncture college in Scandinavia, the Norwegian College of Acupuncture. He has been involved in research about acupuncture for over twenty years with a PhD in acupuncture research methodology, working on studies in the US and Europe, and has published dozens of papers on this topic; he is working on a series of papers that will hopefully light the way towards better research in the field. At present he is one of the two more senior Toyohari instructors in Europe and also helps direct a diverse grass-roots research movement into this subtle qi based therapy. He has maintained a practice throughout this time and currently practices at the Japanese Acupuncture Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands