Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1515580
face techniques that differed from anma techniques. This type of collaboration is constantly happening with modern- day massage championships, camps, and coaching events, and there is an exciting resurgence in these massage competitions throughout the US and Europe. It is the heritage of massage education to learn from others. That spirit of generational sharing is why I decided to take PowerFace to the 2023 American Massage Championship in Cherokee, North Carolina, and share it with others there. I wanted to inspire other massage therapists, as I have been inspired by my peers in my journey. Notes 1. Cleveland Clinic, "Wrinkles," last reviewed July 27, 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic. org/health/diseases/10984-wrinkles. 2. James B. Mennell, Physical Treatment by Movement, Manipulation and Massage, 3rd ed. (Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co. Inc., 1934). 3. Kobido College, "What Is Kobido?" accessed November 2023, www.kobidocollege.com/ heritage. Melissa Strautman is the founder of MassageFix and the inventor of PowerFace. In the last two years, she won gold and silver medals at the American Massage Championship and a gold medal at the World Massage Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame and is a certified medicupping specialist. A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 57 BUILT AND SHARED THROUGH TRADITION In addition to encouraging the use of Japanese facial massage techniques (as noted in step 3), history also inspired my PowerFace protocol. While there are many types of Japanese facial massages, the star of the show is the Kobido style, which was developed in 1472 after two masters of Japan's only massage style at the time, anma, were locked in an epic massage competition that lasted for months, with no winner being declared. 3 These centuries-old massage competitions helped keep the art form pure and inspire new apprentices. These two masters deadlocked over their perfect use of kyoku te (bending hand, a unique percussion technique) on the face. Kyoku te is one of the seven categories of the ancient anma modality. In gracious form, they acquiesced to each other's superior abilities. Together they developed a new house called Kobido that taught 48 specific Massage therapy regulations vary from state to state, so be sure to check with your state board before adopting new protocols into your practice.