Regina woman to use 'fire cupping' technique in Thai massage competition

A Regina woman is competing in the first ever Canadian championships in Thai massage. She plans to use ‘fire cupping’ to catch the judges’ attention.

Nanny Assink trained to become a practitioner in her home country of Thailand. She moved to Regina three years ago and works at a local studio, ‘Thai Massage YQR.’

She’s excited to compete this weekend in Toronto, and will try her best to wow the judges with her freestyle technique of ‘fire cupping.’ The massage is usually done fully clothed ad involves assisted stretching, combining yoga with acupressure.

The 200 competitors in Toronto will be judged in three categories: freestyle, traditional, and therapeutic.

Karen Piper, owner and practitioner at Thai Massage YQR, explained how one of the categories in the competition would work.

“The one category is a therapeutic massage, so a competitor would be given a specific issue like a frozen shoulder, or a tight hamstring, or low back pain, and the competitor will then have to tailor their treatment to focus on that particular issue,” she said.

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Assink said even if she doesn’t win, there will be things to gain from the competition.

“I believe that you can get some connection with the new people, and then also you can get some new techniques,” she said.

If Assink is successful in Toronto, she may qualify for the world championships in Tokyo. The event also includes several workshops, where Thai massage practitioners can learn different techniques from the masters.