Itm Massage Course In Chang Mai

[jaffas21]

Hi ..... im coming to Thailand in January to begin a 3 month massage course preferably in Chang Mai as ive heard its more relaxed than Bangkok ...

The school im looking at is the ITM Massage school which does a 3 month teacher training course http://www.itmthaimassage.com/ for 66,000 baht.

they have indicated they want a $450 deposit before beginning the course and that they will send out a tourist visa form, the course goes from 14th january to 29th march i believe, and the tourist visa is for 60 days .. so i guess i'll need to tack on an extension to that visa at some stage.

Has anyone been on a course at this school ? judging from google its quite well known .. but im slightly bothered about handing over £1000 in advance for a course .. and also whats chang mai like for a social venue ?

thanks in advance

Edited September 27, 2007 by jaffas21

[Ulysses G.]

I do some business with ITM and they have a good reputation for teaching massage and have been very honest with me.

As far as Chiang Mai goes, it is what you make it.

[jaffas21]

I do some business with ITM and they have a good reputation for teaching massage and have been very honest with me.

As far as Chiang Mai goes, it is what you make it.

Yeah ... geographically i know its in the north, but I don't know much about it culturally or what its near

... i study escrima here in the uk and would like to try some krabi krabong in chang mai as i've heard theres some schools there, as well as the massage of course .... i'll probably post nearer the time and see if anyone wants to show me around or something

[Ulysses G.]

Somebody's been in daddy's stash.

[mcgriffith]

UG dude,

Are you intimating that he's smoking the Escrima in the Krabi Krabong?

McG

[jaffas21]

UG dude,

Are you intimating that he's smoking the Escrima in the Krabi Krabong?

McG

hopefully krabi krabong is a form of martial arts .. ... it may be a local term for something else of course ... lol

[MahNuad]

Hi ..... im coming to Thailand in January to begin a 3 month massage course preferably in Chang Mai as ive heard its more relaxed than Bangkok ...

The school im looking at is the ITM Massage school which does a 3 month teacher training course http://www.itmthaimassage.com/ for 66,000 baht.

they have indicated they want a $450 deposit before beginning the course and that they will send out a tourist visa form, the course goes from 14th january to 29th march i believe, and the tourist visa is for 60 days .. so i guess i'll need to tack on an extension to that visa at some stage.

Has anyone been on a course at this school ? judging from google its quite well known .. but im slightly bothered about handing over £1000 in advance for a course .. and also whats chang mai like for a social venue ?

thanks in advance

I studied there a few years back. As far as basic Thai massage instruction goes, it was OK - basically the same routine that is taught at the Old Medicine Hospital (where I studied earlier and which is the original "northern style" massage center, as far as I can tell) with a few slight variations.

As for "teacher training", it was pretty inadequate in my mind. At the time, the course was 6 weeks, but I only had 4 weeks available, so the owner (Chongkol, or John as farangs usually call him) let me pay the full course fee in order to get the paper, but let me go with only the 4 week study. As far as I could tell what I missed was a couple more weeks on Sen line theory - and a little more time giving a couple of lessons per week on portions of the routine. If the course is now 3 months, maybe it has improved, but I've talked with a few people (like myself, licensed massage therapists who have taught massage and worked professionally in the US) who have studied there since me and who are not impressed.

If your goal is teacher training, you might look around. If your goal is the piece of paper legitimizing you as a teacher, you could probably negotiate a better deal. If your goal is to become a good Thai masseur, I could suggest another teacher or two in Chiang Mai who go well beyond the basic Old Medicine Hospital routine. (PM me, if that is the case.)

[jaffas21]

PM'd you thanks

.... if anyone else has any serious information on massage schools in chang mai, or other areas .. I would be interested in hearing about them

thanks

[tijnebijn]

I have done a 4 week course with them , back in '99 .

Seem they let the price got very much higher then back then .

John quickly goes through all the sen therapy basic stuff .

He did not go one to one , maybe cause it is pretty busy at the ITM .

he was previously one of the head teachers at the old medicine school .

Personally after 8 years now I think ITM is pretty basic .

The real thing you learn after experience , when you are not afraid to do what you feel .

The Wat Po in Bangkok massage is slightly better then the Northern for technics .

At least that is my opinion , a combination Thai massage , Reiki , and experience does the job .

But ofcourse you have to learn the basics first , ITM does that pretty well , but he loves the money

like they all do in Chiangmai .

There are also some advanced courses from POO , he teaches some amazing stuff .

He stays somewhere around the centre , you got to explore the city a bit , I got

this recommendation from a fellow classmate at the time , don't know if he is still around .

[jaffas21]

I have done a 4 week course with them , back in '99 .

Seem they let the price got very much higher then back then .

John quickly goes through all the sen therapy basic stuff .

He did not go one to one , maybe cause it is pretty busy at the ITM .

he was previously one of the head teachers at the old medicine school .

Personally after 8 years now I think ITM is pretty basic .

The real thing you learn after experience , when you are not afraid to do what you feel .

The Wat Po in Bangkok massage is slightly better then the Northern for technics .

At least that is my opinion , a combination Thai massage , Reiki , and experience does the job .

But ofcourse you have to learn the basics first , ITM does that pretty well , but he loves the money

like they all do in Chiangmai .

There are also some advanced courses from POO , he teaches some amazing stuff .

He stays somewhere around the centre , you got to explore the city a bit , I got

this recommendation from a fellow classmate at the time , don't know if he is still around .

whats POO? this massage school www.tmcschool.com/ seems to be the other main one in chang mai from what i've seen, but I am interested in any quality government accredited ones ... i have heard of the wat po one, but someone recommended chang mai as being more relaxed than Bangkok which is why im looking towards the north

Edited October 1, 2007 by jaffas21