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My experience and method
of gaining skill at constitutional pulse taking
The ideal method of gaining skill in constitutional pulse taking
is to learn under a competent teacher who always corrects errors and shows the
right way to take the pulse.
For example, there is a patient whose pulse beats
in the cun region, but a novice feels it in the guan region. The
teacher corrects him and has him practice it until he gets the right pulse.
This is similar to learning music, painting, or golf under a teacher who
directly teaches, each time correcting errors. Because pulse taking must be
learned through personal experience, not in the head.
However, this isn't the only way to gain skill in constitutional pulse taking.
It isn't easy to learn pulse taking by yourself, but novices are often in that
situation, and learning by yourself can't be avoided. It is indeed possible to
practice by yourself and learn constitutional pulse taking.
First one should master the knowledge of the characterizations of each of the
constitutions. Then choose one or two nearby family members or colleagues to
practice on.
Sometimes even without taking a constitutional pulse one can more
or less know which constitution someone near to you has, simply by observing his
temperament and body shape.
Sometimes one can't be certain which constitution
he has, even with careful observation of his temperament and body shape. Such a
person isn't good for the exercise. Choose one or two people who are clearly
distinguishable and practice intensely on them.
If you have someone that seems to be a soyangin by temperament and body shape,
take his pulse following the instructions above and check to see if it actually
does beat on the left hand cun region. If he really is soyangin, his pulse
will certainly beat in the left hand cun region. If it beats in another
region, repeat taking his pulse, until you feel it in the cun region. If
you notice that his pulse beats in the cun region, you did it right. Now
do it again many times to check that it always beats in the same region.
To a novice, the same pulse seldom seems to beat in the same region. This is
caused by pressing the fingers each time with different pressure. That is doing
it wrong, so do it again until you feel the right pulse. In fact, if you
alternately increase and decrease the pressure of the three fingers, you can
notice that the pulse region changes with the pressure.
A constitutional pulse, in contrast to traditional pulse, always beats in the
same region, so one must keep taking the pulse of one's helper over and over
again. If you get to the place where each time the pulse is felt in the same
region, that means that you have spontaneously become skillful at taking a
constitutional pulse.
When I first learned constitutional pulse taking, I practiced on my wife.
Observing her temperament and body shape, I was certain that she is teumin. A
teumin's pulse beats on the left hand guan region. So I repeatedly practiced
taking her pulse with the aim of always feeling it in that region.
I took her pulse when she woke up in the morning, after her meal, while she
slept. I practiced taking her pulse at all times of the day and night, because
my wife is the most approachable partner for my practice.
In constitutional pulse taking one must press the fingers very hard. For that
reason, each time my fingernail marks remained, sometimes with pain, but my
wife patiently tolerated that and was willing to be my partner for practicing
taking pulses.
Besides, I was always in contact with patients and registered each of my pulse
takings on them regardless of where the pulse was felt. Ignoring yesterday's
result, today I took their pulse again and compared the two results.
In the beginning my pulse taking couldn't convince me, so I couldn't apply its results
to treatment.
However, after about a month the various pulse takings at
different times on the same person more often coincided with each other. I
finally began to have self confidence about taking pulses.
Taking pulses is an art which one naturally acquires through time
with repeated practice. Feeling a pulse and distinguishing its region with the
tips of the fingers means that the fingers function as sensors. In that way
with persistent practice one can train any body part to be a very subtle sensor
superior to a machine.
A wine taster trained his tongue for many years to exactly recognize wines,
determining from which land and year. An expert trained his ear to recognize
spoiled contents of a tin can from one hit with a metal wand. A specialist in
chick sexes practiced for a long time to quickly distinguish the sex of baby
chicks only by observing their looks, without seeing their anus.
In the same way, he who wishes to practice constitutional medicine must gain
skill in this constitutional pulse taking, so must persistently practice and
train his fingers.
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