About Jack
My Passion Is to support Yours
Educator
Before becoming an acupuncturist, I held many roles in education. I was a reading and writing tutor for elementary, high school, and college students in California. Then, I taught English in Japan for 11 years. I actually come from a long line of educators. My great uncle was a professor at Cal Poly. My great grandmother was my Sunday school teacher. My cousin was my elementary school vice principal. And my grandmother is a retired public school teacher.
Fighter
I started kickboxing in Japan because Studio-K, headquarters for Western Japan’s Kickboxing Federation, was the only gym in Hiroshima that would accept me. Even my friend, who was a professional boxer and the manager of a local sports club, denied me membership when he learned I had tattoos. Within my first year of training, I entered and won my first sanctioned fight.
Athlete
I’ve fought in kickboxing and Muay Thai rings. I’ve played rugby. I’ve run marathons. I’ve played 2nd, short stop, and 3rd base. I’ve cycled to work and school every week, every year for a decade. I’m an athlete and a competitor, but now most of my competitive spirit is focused on outdoing myself and colleagues to provide the best outcomes possible for my patients.
Healthcare Provider
Acupuncture is the reason I have been able to stay active and healthy for the last 20 years. Learning how to use it to better athlete’s lives is my passion. I work hard to help you feel increasingly better with every visit. I strive to make sure you are able to feel, live, and compete at your best for as long as you wish to do so. I want everyone to have the opportunity to experience a fulfilling and active life, and I take that part of my role in serving you as a healthcare provider very seriously.
Passion & Philosophy
Jackupuncture was born from my love to excel, compete, and help others. This is why sports and brain acupuncture are my focus. I understand how hard it is to train or work when you’re injured, sore, or too exhausted (maybe because of workouts during your lunch break, like me). I have had to fight through the pain, and I understand how unproductive or dangerous that can be. This medicine is the reason I have been able to go so hard for so long in so many different sports. It is also the reason I feel more content, healthier, and more capable as I age.
Always Seeking More
My passion for remaining extremely healthy and the best at what I do continues to drive me. This passion is why I strive to hone the techniques most capable of getting you the best results. I hope for my patients to feel as good as I do and to be as successful, safe, and pain-free as possible. I continue to improve upon the techniques that have worked best for me and my patients because I want you to experience superior results every visit.
Full Picture
The demands of work and sports require a lot of physical and mental energy. My assessments are thorough and encompass much more than pain, weakness, and mechanics. Our review of your case may include nutrition, sleep, stress, balance, and more. The techniques trusted by Jackupuncture and our patients not only help you get out of pain and perform better immediately, they help provide the energy and mental clarity necessary to perform safely and more efficiently at work and sport. Improved efficiency means less pain, sustained energy, improved mental and physical performance, fewer injuries, and a more fulfilling, successful life.
More About Jackupuncture
More About Jackupuncture
Sports
Brain
Health
UCSC to Hiroshima, Japan
After graduating with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz, I was accepted into the JET program as an English teacher for Hiroshima prefecture. For the next 11 years, I lived in Hiroshima, Japan. These years introduced Jack to rice farming, the koto, okonomiyaki, and a busy schedule of competitive athletics, especially kickboxing.
Teacher to Kickboxer
When tattoos prevented me from becoming a member of local gyms, I was taken in by the fighters and owner of Studio-K. While training and competing in kickboxing at Studio-K, I took up running, cycling, and touch rugby as a way to cross-train and include cardio work in a fun way. As might be expected, I became more competitive and active in these other sports, too, and this active lifestyle led to an inevitable injury.
Introduction to Acupuncture
Juggling multiple sports while training for the Tokyo Marathon culminated in the knee injury that led to my very first acupuncture treatment. Within two weeks, acupuncture and Japanese herbal medicine made it possible for me to not only restart training, but to also finish the marathon in a respectable time. A friend of mine experienced the same injury within the same week as me, and despite seeing physical therapists and the same massage therapist as me, the injury prevented him from being able to train or attempt the marathon. With that experience, I made acupuncture a regular part of my health maintenance routine.
Digging Deeper
Thanks to acupuncture and herbal medicine, I was able to continue a daily 7.5-mile commute to work by bike while also continuing to successfully compete for 7 years in many other runs, fights, and touch rugby tournaments simultaneously. These 7 years saw me develop a deeper understanding and study of performance enhancement, injury reduction, and Chinese medicine, including Qi Gong, meditation, and acupuncture. During this same time, many of my teammates and competitors had to sit out due to sickness or injury. After making acupuncture a part of my life, I was never again prevented from competing due to either.
From “Wide Island” to “Gathering Place”
After over a decade of teaching, I wanted to further study my interests while continuing to support my community. A traditional Taoist school of Chinese medicine with a rich history in Qi Gong made that possible and brought me to Oahu, where I enjoy a culture and community pleasantly similar to Hiroshima’s. Now, as of this writing, I’ve been in Hawaii and practicing acupuncture for almost a decade. See more on what sets us apart for acupuncture in Oahu
