Dr. Kenneth Hoffman has a sign in his acupuncture office that reads, โFight me if you wish, but remember, Iโm old for a reason.โ Itโs not meant to be intimidating or threatening; rather, it reminds his students and young staff that he has been around for a whileโand that he knows what heโs doing.
โItโs a common principle in East Asian philosophy,โ Hoffman explains. โItโs called the scholar-warrior principle. When one is in youth, they learn to fight. But as they get older and they gain wisdom, they begin to follow more scholarly pursuits.โ
Itโs the trajectory Hoffman followedโone that led a young paratrooper to earn a black belt in martial arts, then study Eastern medicine, and eventually become the founder and director of Sophia Natural Health Center as a doctor of acupuncture.
โTo me, my lifeโs pursuit has been about the balance of yin and yang,โ Hoffman says. โThe ability to fight and the ability to heal…to me, itโs very natural.โ
Early Training and Eastern Philosophy
Hoffmanโs journey toward becoming a healer really began when he started training in 1991 under the tutelage of a Taoist master. The training in both martial arts and medicine was rigorous and strictโHoffman likens it to what you would see in a Karate Kid movie.
โHe taught me three exercises,โ Hoffman recalls. โHe said, โNow, I want you to practice these 100 times a day and keep a journal, and if you donโt, Iโll stop teaching you.โ
โWhat he taught me was that any worthy wisdom in life is going to be grasped through hard work and perseverance.โ
Sabbatical and Advanced Studies
Hoffmanโs training with the Taoist master led him to take a sabbatical to live and study Chinese healing arts in the Chi Nan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan. He took his training a step further by simultaneously enrolling in Pacificโs Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine and the schoolโs transitional doctoral program.
Hoffman says the schoolโs blend of Western and Eastern medicine was what drew him to the acupuncture program.
โIt was going to give me the language I needed to help more people and to integrate more into a Western society,โ he says. โFor example, instead of talking about chi and blood, Iโll talk about oxygen and the transmission of nutrients through the blood. It makes more sense to people.โ
After graduating from PCHS, Hoffman also began to study functional medicine. He now practices what he calls โintegrative natural medicineโโa blend of East Asian medicine and functional, more Western medicine.
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In addition to treating patients at his clinic, Hoffman is a strong advocate for his profession and is dedicated to leaving a legacy of practitioners who can continue his commitment to a holistic, integrative approach to medicine.
โWe can go forward and really push this medicine forward,โ he says. โWhoever is willing to come to me, whoever is willing to learn the system…Iโm going to give them everything Iโve got.โ
And while Hoffman is dedicated to healing, he places equal importance on his ability to fightโalthough perhaps not physically.
โIt takes a warrior mentality to every day go out there and fight for what you believe in,โ he says, โto battle paradigms and to battle peopleโs belief systems and their ignorance about what health is and how to manage their health.”
โYou have to have a warriorโs heart to make it in this medicine.”
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