some thoughts on Penn's acupuncture

[gumby]

Was gonna cover in the vlog but realized people probably wouldn't get it.

Since losing to edgar for the first time I believe penn started getting acupuncture on a regular basis. it is a traditional practice which happens to be an interest of mine (including all of chinese medicine). Penn also said publicly he will not divulge how it helped, which piqued my interest even more.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/2/26/2016364/bj-penn-getting-acupuncture-before-ufc-127

In this video you can see penn has mostly points in his forehead and a couple on the inner leg being moxibusted.

http://www.focalaxis.com/wp-content/gallery/acupuncture-charts/3acupuncture.jpg

That is the best meridian chart I could find which shows the major & extraordinary points on the head. If you look at the right hand leg, the two points in the orange (just below the calf) affect your liver Qi/chi.

As the doctor in the video says, most of the points on the head have to do with your bladder,gallbladder and circulation. the central point right above the eyebrows is the "Du Mai" or governing/kingdom vessel. This point is primarily in control of energy flow throughout your body and also has to do with focus. The points on the inside of penns leg affect the liver which from the chinese view has a major role in circulating not only blood and fluids but also Qi.

My uneducated opinion is that penn has been using these sessions to help with cardio, circulation and focus. Liver deficiency is very commonly treated in chinese medicine and often it will greatly increase the energy someone has. the liver and gallbladder are paired in chinese medicine, so that is probably a deficiency that penn has (blame booze and burritos....lol).

my 0.02.