Tong !

Learnt a new Chinese word last night - "Tong".

It will forever be etched on my brain.

In fact it is so etched in my brain that today, when I got up and washed my hair, the meaning came flooding back.

Pain !

I regularly go to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) massage places. They give deep tissue, pressure point style massages and last night was no different.

Now, experience shows that with TCM massage, it will hurt. I've questioned myself many time as I lay there, squirming in pain. Trying to be strong & not admit it hurts.

Why ? Why am I paying for someone to hurt me ?

But I know that afterwards I will feel better - not necessarily immediately though. I once had a TCM massage on my legs after a heavy workout. As I got up after the massage - my legs shouted pain! After I'd walked downstairs that had eased off & in the morning I felt better than I would have normally expected. Hence why I use them.

But last night - Pain !

This morning - Pain !

And I'm sure he smiled all the way through it!

Now - why was this different? He massage my head ! The back of my head and the sinus areas to be precise. Initially I thought - this is nice. I'd gone because I'd had a hard day, so I was tense, as well as a little sore from the gym.

But he used his fingers to push hard into the ridges & bumps on the back of the head & neck. Finally I cried out !!

He laughed !

"Tong ?" He said.

What does Tong mean - "Ting Bu Dong" - I don't understand?

"Tong ?" Again with a smile !

Enough is enough - out came my phone. I opened up my Baidu Translator App - got him to say it again.

Almost instantly I'm looking at a single word.

Pain.

It sat there - my understanding now complete - he looks at me & says,

"Tong ?"

How do I answer ? With my limited, one word, Chinese.

"Yes ?" - could be misunderstood as "Yes please !"

"No ?" - could be misunderstood as "No it doesn't hurt!"

I pick "Yes" - "Ok, Ok" he comes back with. Then he is a little more gentle. Great I think. No - just the quiet before the storm.

He proceeds to rub my head where he has just massaged with his knuckles as if he was trying to scrub a stain from my head.

"OUCH!!!" "TONG, TONG !!" I scream. He chuckles and eventually stops.

Do I feel less tense ? - Yes.

Do I have Tong when I touch my head ? - YES!

If there is a lesson to be learnt from this story - maybe it's not to trust a massage person that smiles & chuckles when they work. They are probably a sadist!

#China #Fitness