Yuichi Kohatsu – Therapist to the World
A path to healing exists if you don’t give up.
Who is Yuichi Kohatsu?
World Series MVP. This prestigious award is given to the top player from the winning team of Major League Baseball’s World Series. In the history of MLB, the only Japanese player to ever win this title is Hideki Matsui, who achieved this accolade with the New York Yankees. Sharing that moment of ultimate joy with Matsui in 2009, when the Yankees won the World Series and he was named MVP, was Yuichi Kohatsu, who served as Matsui’s personal trainer from 2008 to 2012.
Kohatsu recalls how the memory of Matsui receiving the MVP award still gives him chills, describing it as an experience like no other. “When I first met Matsui, he was struggling with a knee injury. He couldn’t bend his knee, and even walking was painful. No matter which famous therapist he consulted, nothing worked. However, when he reluctantly came to see me and underwent my treatment… he was immediately able to bend his knee and even run. He was shocked,” Kohatsu recalls. From that fateful encounter, the two worked closely together for five years, right up until Matsui’s retirement. During Kohatsu’s time as his personal trainer, Matsui never once missed a game due to injury. It can be said that their close partnership was key to Matsui achieving the honor of becoming a World Series MVP.
What is the Kohatsu Method?
After graduating from high school, Yuichi Kohatsu obtained his national license as a judo therapist and opened the Kohatsu Osteopathic Clinic in 1993. The clinic quickly became popular, with over 100 patients visiting daily. However, Kohatsu wasn’t satisfied with his treatment methods. He sought to become a true healer, one who could cure patients at their core. To achieve this, he studied professional baseball trainers, Olympic trainers, and chiropractic specialists in Japan. Yet, he found nothing new or groundbreaking.
It wasn’t until he encountered a master deeply versed in American chiropractic techniques that he finally discovered what he was looking for. After years of analysis and research, he developed what is now known as the Kohatsu Neuro-Muscular Pain-Free Therapy. This innovative therapy has been applied not only to the general public but also to celebrities, professional baseball players, Major League athletes, competitive cyclists, and J-League soccer players. Patients have consistently reported astonishing results, such as, “The pain disappeared in just one day,” and, “My performance improved drastically.”
Kohatsu explains the foundation of his method: “For example, when a person moves their finger, first the muscle moves, then the joint, and the finger bends. But it’s the nerve that sends the command to move the muscle. Seeing, hearing, and even the movements of internal organs—all are functions of the nervous system. My method, the ‘Kohatsu Neuro-Muscular Pain-Free Therapy,’ focuses on directly influencing the nerves.”
Simultaneously, Kohatsu is devoted to training other therapists in his method. He frequently conducts seminars, and attendees include people from all walks of life, those aspiring to become therapists, and even doctors involved in advanced medical research. About 50 participants attend these seminars, including specialists in internal medicine, orthopedics, neurology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and cosmetic dermatology.
Many success stories and cases have been reported, including a child born with a congenital disability who was told by doctors they would never walk. After undergoing treatment by Kohatsu, that child is now able to walk. To continue spreading his method, Kohatsu frequently travels not just within Japan but also abroad.
“My goal is for as many people as possible to learn the Kohatsu Method and help save even one more person who is suffering from pain or illness.”
