News in brief: European Shiatsu news

At the beginning of the year 2023, good news is flowing for European Shiatsu. This is encouraging for the year of the water rabbit, the sign of renewal.

Hungary: Merger of the Hungarian Shiatsu organisations

The two existing Hungarian Shiatsu associations have merged into one entity named Hungarian Shiatsu Association. This is a positive and encouraging sign that it is possible for different organisations to come together for the benefit of the practitioners and Shiatsu on a national level and far away from the parochial disputes. We will soon publish an interview with one of the vice presidents of the Hungarian federation, Viktor Gulyas. Congratulations to them for this great success.

U.K.: Return of the United Kingdom to the ESF

Six years after their departure, the UK Shiatsu Society is back in the European Shiatsu Federation in a big way. It is a large country with a strong and long-established organisation that returns to the FES. The work of the FES does not always seem to be very visible, and often the leaders of the different organisations wonder what is going on. But the FES is in fact very active in European projects to promote (like the “Shiatsu month” in June every year) or to use the European rules to be recognized (like the work on the equivalence of diplomas, see this article) as a profession on the whole continent. Let’s hope that the UKSS will allow a good progress for our cause.

Austria: 20 years of recognition of professional Shiatsu

This month the Austrian Shiatsu Association, ÖDS, celebrates 20 years of Shiatsu as an independent profession in Austria. Together with Switzerland, this is a sign that with hard work it is possible to have Shiatsu recognised as a profession, provided that we speak with one voice. Happy birthday to them and congratulations for having succeeded in maintaining this recognition for 20 years.

Italy: Shiatsu organisations unite to speak with one voice

APOS, COS and FISIEO, the three most important associations in the field, have decided to give a unique voice to the Shiatsu world in Italy.
One of the objectives of this historic initiative is to protect the 6 million Italians who consult Shiatsu practitioners every year from abuse and misinformation. The Professione Shiatsu gathers almost all Italian practitioners, about 10,000 professionals, but despite this large number and more than thirty years of experience, Shiatsu as a profession is still not well known.
In a joint statement, the presidents Alberto Scattarelli (APOS) Franco Castellaccio (COS) and Andrea Mascaro (FISIEO) declared that:

“the profiles of Shiatsu teacher and practitioner include specific training criteria for this autonomous profession, which is defined by regulatory processes in several European countries”.
“Professione Shiatsu aims to promote this professional profile at all institutional levels, not only to present the distinctive aspects of our profession, but also to highlight, together with the relevant health professionals, the many fruitful collaborations between doctors and Shiatsu practitioners in Italy.”

The three associations are recognised under Law 4/2013 and registered with the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (formerly the Ministry of Economic Development). They are also registered under Law 13/2013 with the Ministry of Justice and ensure the certification of the quality of their members, guaranteeing to the clients the high professional level of the practitioners they engage with.c

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Ivan Bel

Ivan Bel was born in 1971 and grew up in France on the Atlantic Ocean. A sailing enthusiast, he discovered Japanese martial arts at the age of 13 and continues to do so today. After studying journalism and Chinese at the Oriental Languages School, he travelled for many years to all the countries of Asia and directed the first online magazine on Aikido: "Aïkidoka Magazine". At the age of 28, he discovered Shiatsu, a passion that would never leave him. He set up several schools in Belgium, founded the blog Ryoho Shiatsu and the NGO Missions Shiatsu Humanitaire. He finally moved to Malawi and then to Bosnia. He teaches all over the world and continues his journalistic work on Shiatsu and conducts historical research through the group "History of Shiatsu".