Ten Years Ago, I Invited Professor Ming Qing Zhu to New Zealand. Ten Years Later, I Was Invited to Teach Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in Malaysia.
Ten years ago, I never imagined that one day my role would change in this way.
In 2016, I had the privilege of inviting Professor Ming Qing Zhu, founder of Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture, together with MoYee Siu, to New Zealand to teach.
Ten years later, in 2026, with the authorisation of Professor Zhu, I was invited by President Loh Kim Fong of the Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Life Medical Research Association to Malaysia.
Together with Dr. Ong Siew Siew, I was invited to serve as one of the principal instructors for the Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training Programme.
To me, the journey from inviting my teachers to New Zealand ten years ago to being invited to stand at the front of an international English classroom is more than simply a change of role.
It represents trust.
And it also represents responsibility.
The transmission of medicine is never simply about remembering what our teachers once taught us.
After years of learning and clinical practice, the greater responsibility is to understand the system deeply enough to explain it clearly, systematically and clinically — and then pass that understanding on to the next generation of practitioners.
Photo Caption
2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia — Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew were invited to serve as the principal English instructors.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching the 2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia
At 87, Professor Ming Qing Zhu Was Still There With Us
This training carried another very special meaning.
Professor Ming Qing Zhu, now 87 years old, personally attended the programme.
The three-day English training was primarily taught by Dr. Ong and me.
Professor Zhu spent much of the programme sitting in the classroom, listening to the teaching and being present throughout the course.
He was not responsible for the day-to-day hands-on supervision of students.
However, he played a role that no one else could replace:
he personally performed live Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical demonstrations on patients who came to the course.
For those of us who have worked clinically for many years, this may be even more valuable than simply listening to another lecture.
We were able to observe, at very close range, how an 87-year-old physician with decades of clinical experience actually applies Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture when a real patient is sitting in front of him.
Photo Caption
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English during the 2026 Malaysia training.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English
Photo Caption
At 87 years old, Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally attended the Malaysia English training and remained present throughout the three-day programme.
ALT Text
87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu attending the Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia
Photo Caption
Professor Ming Qing Zhu with members of the teaching team at the Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu with the teaching team and Acupuncturist students of Singapore at the 2026 Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture training
Textbooks Can Tell Us Where to Needle. Real Clinical Practice Shows Us How to Use It.
This was one of the most valuable aspects of the programme.
Theory, treatment zones and localisation can all be taught progressively in the classroom.
But once a real patient is sitting in front of you, clinical practice is rarely as simple as a diagram in a textbook.
During the training, Professor Zhu personally performed live clinical demonstrations on a number of patients.
This gave us the opportunity to observe how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be applied across very different clinical presentations.
Cases observed during the programme included:
Cerebral Palsy
Post-Stroke Conditions
Parkinson’s Disease
Neuropathy
Tinnitus
Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
and a variety of Pain Conditions.
It is important to clarify that these were not disease-specific teaching modules.
We did not spend a day teaching “how to treat Parkinson’s disease” or dedicate a separate module to “how to treat stroke.”
These were real patients who appeared during the programme and became opportunities for live clinical observation.
What mattered most was seeing how a clinical system moves beyond theory and enters the reality of an individual patient.
One Case That Stayed With Me: A Child With Cerebral Palsy
One of the cases that left a particularly strong impression on me involved a child with cerebral palsy.
Professor Zhu personally performed Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture on the child.
For the practitioners in the room, this was the type of clinical learning that is very difficult to obtain from a textbook alone.
Students were able to observe Professor Zhu’s actual needling process and see how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture was applied within this clinical situation.
A photograph can capture a moment.
But standing in the room and watching an experienced physician meet a real patient, make his clinical decisions and perform the treatment is an entirely different learning experience.
Photo Caption
Live clinical observation: Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally performing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture during a clinical demonstration involving a child with cerebral palsy.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu demonstrating Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in a cerebral palsy clinical case
Photo Caption
Real patients and real clinical observation allow classroom theory and localisation to be understood within an actual clinical context.
ALT Text
Live Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical observation during the 2026 Malaysia English training
Post-Stroke, Parkinson’s and Other Neurological Cases
One of the clinical areas for which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture has attracted considerable interest among practitioners is neurological rehabilitation and neurological presentations.
During this programme, we were also able to observe patients presenting with post-stroke functional difficulties and Parkinson’s disease.
For me, the value of observing these cases is not about looking for a dramatic or “miraculous” immediate result.
The real value lies in watching how a physician with decades of experience applies the system in front of a real patient.
Once medicine enters the clinic, knowing the name of a treatment zone is not enough.
Clinical practice also requires judgement, observation, technique and reassessment after treatment.
Photo Caption
Live clinical observation: Professor Ming Qing Zhu performing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture during a post-stroke clinical demonstration.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture post-stroke clinical demonstration
Photo Caption
Parkinson’s disease clinical case — practitioners observing Professor Ming Qing Zhu’s treatment process at close range.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Parkinson’s disease clinical case
It Was Not Only About Neurological Conditions
The patients seen during the programme were not limited to neurological presentations.
We also observed cases involving tinnitus, pain and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Seeing such different clinical presentations highlighted an important principle for the students:
Learning Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture should never become an exercise in memorising “which zone belongs to which disease.”
What practitioners truly need to develop is a way of thinking clinically.
When facing a patient, we need to understand the presentation, determine the appropriate treatment area, select the appropriate method and continue observing the patient’s response throughout treatment.
And this begins with diagnosis.
In my teaching, I place strong emphasis on three concepts:
Disease · Pattern · Symptom
Disease — We need to understand the condition itself. This includes both the modern medical diagnosis and the way disease is understood within Chinese medicine.
Pattern — We then consider the patient through Chinese medicine pattern differentiation. Two patients may carry the same biomedical diagnosis while presenting with very different underlying patterns.
Symptom — Finally, we must understand what the patient is actually experiencing now: pain, weakness, altered sensation, restricted movement, balance problems, functional limitations, or other symptoms.
So when a patient sits in front of us, we are not simply asking:
“What disease do they have?”
We are also asking:
What is the Chinese medicine pattern?
What symptoms and functional problems are most important right now?
Only then do we move into treatment decisions:
Which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zone is appropriate?
Which treatment method should be selected?
Which needle manipulation should be used?
How should Daoyin be incorporated?
And after treatment, what has changed?
Then we reassess.
Then we think again.
This is the difference between simply knowing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture and developing the ability to use it clinically.
Photo Caption
Live atrial fibrillation (AF) clinical demonstration — observing Professor Ming Qing Zhu applying Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in a real clinical setting.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture atrial fibrillation AF clinical demonstration
Photo Caption
Different real clinical presentations allow practitioners to see how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture moves from classroom theory into clinical practice.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture live clinical case during the Malaysia English Training
From Knowing the Location to Learning How to Think
Of course, the purpose of the three-day programme was not simply for students to sit and watch Professor Zhu treat patients.
As the principal English instructors, our responsibility was to teach the foundational Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture system in a structured and clinically useful way.
This included the recognition and localisation of treatment zones, needling methods, Jinqi Method, Chouqi Method, Daoyin, and how these elements can be integrated into clinical practice.
Students also spent considerable time practising localisation and needling.
Acupuncture is ultimately a medicine that must also be learned through the hands.
Looking at a diagram is one thing.
Being able to accurately locate the treatment area on a real scalp is another.
Knowing the name of a needling technique is one thing.
Being able to perform it correctly is another.
Photo Caption
From treatment zones and localisation to clinical application — Dr. Szenan Phua teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zones and clinical application
Photo Caption
Assistant instructor Dr. Tom working with Australian practitioner Reese during hands-on Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture localisation training.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture hands-on localisation training with practitioner Reese from Australia
Photo Caption
Hands-on practice: Mongolian practitioner Enkhbold Gonchig practising Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture needling during the training.
ALT Text
Mongolian practitioner Enkhbold Gonchig practising Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture needling
We Brought Clinical Cases Directly Into the Classroom
This year we also introduced an Interactive Clinical Case Workshop, which became one of the most positively received parts of the training.
After students had learned the fundamental treatment zones and localisation, they were divided into groups and given clinical cases to analyse.
During the first stage of the programme, we introduced five cases.
Later in the training, another five cases were presented.
Each group had to discuss:
How should this patient be understood clinically?
Which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zone should be selected?
Then they had to go further:
Should Jinqi Method or Chouqi Method be used?
What form of Daoyin should accompany the treatment?
And most importantly:
Why?
Once the discussion was completed, each group selected a representative to present its clinical reasoning to the class.
For me, this is where learning becomes particularly important.
Because once practitioners return to their own clinics, nobody will be standing beside them saying:
“Needle here.”
A clinician must learn how to think independently.
Photo Caption
Interactive Clinical Case Workshop — practitioners working in groups to develop a complete treatment approach from clinical reasoning and treatment-zone selection to needling method and Daoyin.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Interactive Clinical Case Workshop group discussion
Photo Caption
The goal was not simply to find the answer, but to understand why a particular clinical decision was being made.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment-zone and clinical case discussion
Photo Caption
Each group selected a representative to present its clinical analysis and treatment reasoning to the instructors and the class.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training student clinical case presentation
One to Three Needles: A Special Blessing From Professor Zhu
There was also one particularly warm and memorable moment during this course.
Professor Zhu personally inserted one to three scalp needles into every participant.
For us, this was not a treatment session.
We regarded it as a symbolic gesture of blessing and encouragement from Professor Zhu to each practitioner as they continued their learning and clinical journey.
One by one, everyone happily offered their head to Professor Zhu. 😊
For a moment, the atmosphere shifted from intensive clinical learning to laughter, anticipation and a warmth that is difficult to describe in words.
Photo Caption
One needle, one blessing. At 87, Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally inserted one to three scalp needles for each participant as a gesture of encouragement for their continuing learning and clinical journey.
ALT Text
87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu giving blessing needles to Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training participants
And I Was the Last Person to Offer My Head to Professor Zhu
Because I was one of the principal instructors for the English programme, I waited.
I waited until every student had received their needles.
Then, finally, it was my turn.
I sat in front of Professor Zhu and offered him my head as well. 😂
Ten years earlier, I had invited Professor Zhu to New Zealand to teach.
Ten years later, I had been invited to Malaysia to teach Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English.
And at the end of the course, I was still sitting in front of my teacher, receiving his needle.
That moment meant a great deal to me.
Because no matter how long we have stood at the front of a classroom,
and no matter how many years we have worked in clinical practice,
a doctor should always remain a student.
Photo Caption
I was the last person to “offer my head” to Professor Zhu. Ten years after inviting my teacher to New Zealand, I was invited to Malaysia to teach the English programme — yet the learning has never stopped.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua receiving a Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture blessing from Professor Ming Qing Zhu
The Course Ends. The Real Learning Returns to the Clinic.
Three days of training eventually come to an end.
But the learning of medicine does not.
After returning from Malaysia, I came back to Centre of Balance in Hamilton, New Zealand, and resumed my everyday clinical work.
For me, international teaching, standing in front of a classroom and observing Professor Zhu’s clinical work must ultimately return to the same place:
the patient.
Every patient comes with a different history, physical condition and clinical presentation.
Acupuncture treatment should therefore be based on an individual assessment rather than simply applying a fixed protocol to a disease name.
The same principle applies to Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture.
Over the years, I have continued integrating Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture into my everyday clinical practice, together with Chinese medicine diagnosis, acupuncture and other approaches where appropriate for the individual patient.
For patients presenting with post-stroke functional problems, neurological symptoms, peripheral nerve symptoms, movement difficulties or different types of pain, we first assess the individual situation and then discuss whether Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be appropriate as part of the overall treatment plan.
Photo Caption
From international teaching back to everyday clinical practice at Centre of Balance in Hamilton, New Zealand — ultimately, everything we learn must return to the care of real patients.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua Centre of Balance Hamilton New Zealand Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical practice
Looking for Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture or Acupuncture Treatment in Hamilton?
If you or a family member are experiencing post-stroke functional difficulties, neurological symptoms, peripheral nerve problems, movement difficulties or persistent pain, and would like to understand whether acupuncture or Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be appropriate for your situation, you are welcome to contact Centre of Balance.
We do not assume that one treatment is suitable simply because a patient has a particular diagnosis.
We prefer to first understand your medical history, current symptoms and functional difficulties, and then discuss an appropriate treatment approach with you.
Centre of Balance
Hamilton, New Zealand
Acupuncture · Traditional Chinese Medicine · Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture
Final Group Photo Caption
2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia. The three-day programme may have ended, but the real clinical learning continues.
ALT Text
2026 Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training with Professor Ming Qing Zhu Dr. Szenan Phua and participants
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Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in Hamilton NZ | Dr Szenan Phua’s Journey From Student to International Instructor
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Dr Szenan Phua of Centre of Balance Hamilton reflects on ten years of learning Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture, teaching the 2026 Malaysia English programme, and observing 87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu’s live clinical demonstrations.
Ten Years Ago, I Invited Professor Ming Qing Zhu to New Zealand. Ten Years Later, I Was Invited to Teach Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in Malaysia.
From Clinical Practice at Centre of Balance to International Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Education — A Ten-Year Journey of Learning, Clinical Practice and Transmission
Ten years ago, I never imagined that one day my role would change in this way.
In 2016, I had the privilege of inviting Professor Ming Qing Zhu, founder of Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture, together with MoYee Siu, to New Zealand to teach.
Ten years later, in 2026, with the authorisation of Professor Zhu, I was invited by President Loh Kim Fong of the Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Life Medical Research Association to Malaysia.
Together with Dr. Ong Siew Siew, I was invited to serve as one of the principal instructors for the Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training Programme.
To me, the journey from inviting my teachers to New Zealand ten years ago to being invited to stand at the front of an international English classroom is more than simply a change of role.
It represents trust.
And it also represents responsibility.
The transmission of medicine is never simply about remembering what our teachers once taught us.
After years of learning and clinical practice, the greater responsibility is to understand the system deeply enough to explain it clearly, systematically and clinically — and then pass that understanding on to the next generation of practitioners.
Photo Caption
2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia — Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew were invited to serve as the principal English instructors.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching the 2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia
At 87, Professor Ming Qing Zhu Was Still There With Us
This training carried another very special meaning.
Professor Ming Qing Zhu, now 87 years old, personally attended the programme.
The three-day English training was primarily taught by Dr. Ong and me.
Professor Zhu spent much of the programme sitting in the classroom, listening to the teaching and being present throughout the course.
He was not responsible for the day-to-day hands-on supervision of students.
However, he played a role that no one else could replace:
he personally performed live Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical demonstrations on patients who came to the course.
For those of us who have worked clinically for many years, this may be even more valuable than simply listening to another lecture.
We were able to observe, at very close range, how an 87-year-old physician with decades of clinical experience actually applies Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture when a real patient is sitting in front of him.
Photo Caption
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English during the 2026 Malaysia training.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua and Dr. Ong Siew Siew teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English
Photo Caption
At 87 years old, Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally attended the Malaysia English training and remained present throughout the three-day programme.
ALT Text
87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu attending the Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia
Photo Caption
Professor Ming Qing Zhu with members of the teaching team at the Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu with the teaching team and Acupuncturist students of Singapore at the 2026 Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture training
Textbooks Can Tell Us Where to Needle. Real Clinical Practice Shows Us How to Use It.
This was one of the most valuable aspects of the programme.
Theory, treatment zones and localisation can all be taught progressively in the classroom.
But once a real patient is sitting in front of you, clinical practice is rarely as simple as a diagram in a textbook.
During the training, Professor Zhu personally performed live clinical demonstrations on a number of patients.
This gave us the opportunity to observe how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be applied across very different clinical presentations.
Cases observed during the programme included:
Cerebral Palsy
Post-Stroke Conditions
Parkinson’s Disease
Neuropathy
Tinnitus
Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
and a variety of Pain Conditions.
It is important to clarify that these were not disease-specific teaching modules.
We did not spend a day teaching “how to treat Parkinson’s disease” or dedicate a separate module to “how to treat stroke.”
These were real patients who appeared during the programme and became opportunities for live clinical observation.
What mattered most was seeing how a clinical system moves beyond theory and enters the reality of an individual patient.
One Case That Stayed With Me: A Child With Cerebral Palsy
One of the cases that left a particularly strong impression on me involved a child with cerebral palsy.
Professor Zhu personally performed Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture on the child.
For the practitioners in the room, this was the type of clinical learning that is very difficult to obtain from a textbook alone.
Students were able to observe Professor Zhu’s actual needling process and see how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture was applied within this clinical situation.
A photograph can capture a moment.
But standing in the room and watching an experienced physician meet a real patient, make his clinical decisions and perform the treatment is an entirely different learning experience.
Photo Caption
Live clinical observation: Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally performing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture during a clinical demonstration involving a child with cerebral palsy.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu demonstrating Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in a cerebral palsy clinical case
Photo Caption
Real patients and real clinical observation allow classroom theory and localisation to be understood within an actual clinical context.
ALT Text
Live Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical observation during the 2026 Malaysia English training
Post-Stroke, Parkinson’s and Other Neurological Cases
One of the clinical areas for which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture has attracted considerable interest among practitioners is neurological rehabilitation and neurological presentations.
During this programme, we were also able to observe patients presenting with post-stroke functional difficulties and Parkinson’s disease.
For me, the value of observing these cases is not about looking for a dramatic or “miraculous” immediate result.
The real value lies in watching how a physician with decades of experience applies the system in front of a real patient.
Once medicine enters the clinic, knowing the name of a treatment zone is not enough.
Clinical practice also requires judgement, observation, technique and reassessment after treatment.
Photo Caption
Live clinical observation: Professor Ming Qing Zhu performing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture during a post-stroke clinical demonstration.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture post-stroke clinical demonstration
Photo Caption
Parkinson’s disease clinical case — practitioners observing Professor Ming Qing Zhu’s treatment process at close range.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Parkinson’s disease clinical case
It Was Not Only About Neurological Conditions
The patients seen during the programme were not limited to neurological presentations.
We also observed cases involving tinnitus, pain and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Seeing such different clinical presentations highlighted an important principle for the students:
Learning Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture should never become an exercise in memorising “which zone belongs to which disease.”
What practitioners truly need to develop is a way of thinking clinically.
When facing a patient, we need to understand the presentation, determine the appropriate treatment area, select the appropriate method and continue observing the patient’s response throughout treatment.
And this begins with diagnosis.
In my teaching, I place strong emphasis on three concepts:
Disease · Pattern · Symptom
Disease — We need to understand the condition itself. This includes both the modern medical diagnosis and the way disease is understood within Chinese medicine.
Pattern — We then consider the patient through Chinese medicine pattern differentiation. Two patients may carry the same biomedical diagnosis while presenting with very different underlying patterns.
Symptom — Finally, we must understand what the patient is actually experiencing now: pain, weakness, altered sensation, restricted movement, balance problems, functional limitations, or other symptoms.
So when a patient sits in front of us, we are not simply asking:
“What disease do they have?”
We are also asking:
What is the Chinese medicine pattern?
What symptoms and functional problems are most important right now?
Only then do we move into treatment decisions:
Which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zone is appropriate?
Which treatment method should be selected?
Which needle manipulation should be used?
How should Daoyin be incorporated?
And after treatment, what has changed?
Then we reassess.
Then we think again.
This is the difference between simply knowing Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture and developing the ability to use it clinically.
Photo Caption
Live atrial fibrillation (AF) clinical demonstration — observing Professor Ming Qing Zhu applying Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in a real clinical setting.
ALT Text
Professor Ming Qing Zhu Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture atrial fibrillation AF clinical demonstration
Photo Caption
Different real clinical presentations allow practitioners to see how Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture moves from classroom theory into clinical practice.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture live clinical case during the Malaysia English Training
From Knowing the Location to Learning How to Think
Of course, the purpose of the three-day programme was not simply for students to sit and watch Professor Zhu treat patients.
As the principal English instructors, our responsibility was to teach the foundational Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture system in a structured and clinically useful way.
This included the recognition and localisation of treatment zones, needling methods, Jinqi Method, Chouqi Method, Daoyin, and how these elements can be integrated into clinical practice.
Students also spent considerable time practising localisation and needling.
Acupuncture is ultimately a medicine that must also be learned through the hands.
Looking at a diagram is one thing.
Being able to accurately locate the treatment area on a real scalp is another.
Knowing the name of a needling technique is one thing.
Being able to perform it correctly is another.
Photo Caption
From treatment zones and localisation to clinical application — Dr. Szenan Phua teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua teaching Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zones and clinical application
Photo Caption
Assistant instructor Dr. Tom working with Australian practitioner Reese during hands-on Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture localisation training.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture hands-on localisation training with practitioner Reese from Australia
Photo Caption
Hands-on practice: Mongolian practitioner Enkhbold Gonchig practising Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture needling during the training.
ALT Text
Mongolian practitioner Enkhbold Gonchig practising Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture needling
We Brought Clinical Cases Directly Into the Classroom
This year we also introduced an Interactive Clinical Case Workshop, which became one of the most positively received parts of the training.
After students had learned the fundamental treatment zones and localisation, they were divided into groups and given clinical cases to analyse.
During the first stage of the programme, we introduced five cases.
Later in the training, another five cases were presented.
Each group had to discuss:
How should this patient be understood clinically?
Which Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment zone should be selected?
Then they had to go further:
Should Jinqi Method or Chouqi Method be used?
What form of Daoyin should accompany the treatment?
And most importantly:
Why?
Once the discussion was completed, each group selected a representative to present its clinical reasoning to the class.
For me, this is where learning becomes particularly important.
Because once practitioners return to their own clinics, nobody will be standing beside them saying:
“Needle here.”
A clinician must learn how to think independently.
Photo Caption
Interactive Clinical Case Workshop — practitioners working in groups to develop a complete treatment approach from clinical reasoning and treatment-zone selection to needling method and Daoyin.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture Interactive Clinical Case Workshop group discussion
Photo Caption
The goal was not simply to find the answer, but to understand why a particular clinical decision was being made.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture treatment-zone and clinical case discussion
Photo Caption
Each group selected a representative to present its clinical analysis and treatment reasoning to the instructors and the class.
ALT Text
Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training student clinical case presentation
One to Three Needles: A Special Blessing From Professor Zhu
There was also one particularly warm and memorable moment during this course.
Professor Zhu personally inserted one to three scalp needles into every participant.
For us, this was not a treatment session.
We regarded it as a symbolic gesture of blessing and encouragement from Professor Zhu to each practitioner as they continued their learning and clinical journey.
One by one, everyone happily offered their head to Professor Zhu. 😊
For a moment, the atmosphere shifted from intensive clinical learning to laughter, anticipation and a warmth that is difficult to describe in words.
Photo Caption
One needle, one blessing. At 87, Professor Ming Qing Zhu personally inserted one to three scalp needles for each participant as a gesture of encouragement for their continuing learning and clinical journey.
ALT Text
87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu giving blessing needles to Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training participants
And I Was the Last Person to Offer My Head to Professor Zhu
Because I was one of the principal instructors for the English programme, I waited.
I waited until every student had received their needles.
Then, finally, it was my turn.
I sat in front of Professor Zhu and offered him my head as well. 😂
Ten years earlier, I had invited Professor Zhu to New Zealand to teach.
Ten years later, I had been invited to Malaysia to teach Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in English.
And at the end of the course, I was still sitting in front of my teacher, receiving his needle.
That moment meant a great deal to me.
Because no matter how long we have stood at the front of a classroom,
and no matter how many years we have worked in clinical practice,
a doctor should always remain a student.
Photo Caption
I was the last person to “offer my head” to Professor Zhu. Ten years after inviting my teacher to New Zealand, I was invited to Malaysia to teach the English programme — yet the learning has never stopped.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua receiving a Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture blessing from Professor Ming Qing Zhu
The Course Ends. The Real Learning Returns to the Clinic.
Three days of training eventually come to an end.
But the learning of medicine does not.
After returning from Malaysia, I came back to Centre of Balance in Hamilton, New Zealand, and resumed my everyday clinical work.
For me, international teaching, standing in front of a classroom and observing Professor Zhu’s clinical work must ultimately return to the same place:
the patient.
Every patient comes with a different history, physical condition and clinical presentation.
Acupuncture treatment should therefore be based on an individual assessment rather than simply applying a fixed protocol to a disease name.
The same principle applies to Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture.
Over the years, I have continued integrating Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture into my everyday clinical practice, together with Chinese medicine diagnosis, acupuncture and other approaches where appropriate for the individual patient.
For patients presenting with post-stroke functional problems, neurological symptoms, peripheral nerve symptoms, movement difficulties or different types of pain, we first assess the individual situation and then discuss whether Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be appropriate as part of the overall treatment plan.
Photo Caption
From international teaching back to everyday clinical practice at Centre of Balance in Hamilton, New Zealand — ultimately, everything we learn must return to the care of real patients.
ALT Text
Dr. Szenan Phua Centre of Balance Hamilton New Zealand Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture clinical practice
Looking for Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture or Acupuncture Treatment in Hamilton?
If you or a family member are experiencing post-stroke functional difficulties, neurological symptoms, peripheral nerve problems, movement difficulties or persistent pain, and would like to understand whether acupuncture or Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture may be appropriate for your situation, you are welcome to contact Centre of Balance.
We do not assume that one treatment is suitable simply because a patient has a particular diagnosis.
We prefer to first understand your medical history, current symptoms and functional difficulties, and then discuss an appropriate treatment approach with you.
Centre of Balance
Hamilton, New Zealand
Acupuncture · Traditional Chinese Medicine · Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture
Final Group Photo Caption
2026 Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training in Malaysia. The three-day programme may have ended, but the real clinical learning continues.
ALT Text
2026 Malaysia Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture English Training with Professor Ming Qing Zhu Dr. Szenan Phua and participants
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Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture in Hamilton NZ | Dr Szenan Phua’s Journey From Student to International Instructor
Dr Szenan Phua of Centre of Balance Hamilton reflects on ten years of learning Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture, teaching the 2026 Malaysia English programme, and observing 87-year-old Professor Ming Qing Zhu’s live clinical demonstrations.
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