Version 4 — supersedes all previous versions (1–3). Many people report chronic bodily discomforts such as aching, stiffness, trauma-related sensations, or restricted mobility, even when conventional medical tests are normal and after repeated stretching or rehabilitation exercises. This paper suggests that these phenomena may stem not merely from structural restriction, but from maladaptive bodily responses to specific spatial coordinates. These phenomena are not fully explained by existing models that focus mainly on muscles, flexibility, or joint range of motion. In this preliminary study, I propose a body-mind framework, the Kichikae Protocol, that introduces three novel concepts: F. Max (full-body sensory activation and controlling movement with extremities), Kup (stored tension arising from both past experiences and novel movements), and Han (a specific point in three-dimensional space around the body associated with Kup). Within this framework, Kup refers to inner tension that appears to remain stored in the body, particularly in the torso, and that may contribute to chronic discomfort and mobility limitations. This paper situates this proposal in the wider history of body-oriented psychotherapy and somatic therapies, which have long suggested that stress, trauma, and suppressed emotions can be stored as chronic muscular tension and postural defense. Distinct from conversational somatic therapies that rely on interoceptive dialogue, and diverging from conventional physical rehabilitation that focuses on muscles, ligaments, or joint range of motion, the Kichikae Protocol operates by targeting specific external spatial coordinates of threat memory (Han). Crucially, unlike conventional stretching which directs focus to specific tissues to mechanically elongate them, the protocol explicitly prohibits focusing attention on specific localized areas. Instead, the intervention strictly prioritizes the F. Max state (full-body sensory connectivity and control through the extremities) while targeting these spatial coordinates (Han). The intervention consists of active behavioral techniques—such as directed olfaction, exhalation, or active suppression (e. g. , Squeezing, Pressing techniques) —to resolve stored inner tension (Kup). The effectiveness of these techniques is contingent upon the participant maintaining the F. Max state throughout the process. Building on this theoretical lineage, this paper reports an exploratory analysis of wellness survey data collected across two cohorts at a Kichikae center: Cohort 1, a private 7-session foundational cohort (N=59 clients, 222 valid before/after session pairs across nine Likert-type outcome measures), and Cohort 2, a 2026 group-class cohort using a foundational Basics-only curriculum (N=268 clients, 385 valid before/after session pairs across an expanded set of 11 Likert-type outcome measures). Descriptively, 98. 3% of Cohort 1 clients and 94. 8% of Cohort 2 clients showed a positive average change (score improvement > 0) across measures. Across the seven outcome measures common to both cohorts, six replicated or strengthened in Cohort 2 relative to Cohort 1, with attenuation concentrated on muscle pain/discomfort (−33% in mean change). In Cohort 2, the largest effect across either cohort was observed on a new acute-state Relaxation measure (dᵦ = 1. 32; +30. 5%), and three additional instruments designed to probe the framework's predictions about reproducibility, maintainability, and modality distinctness each received convergent endorsement from approximately three-quarters of post-class respondents. Together, these findings suggest that a simple, structured protocol targeting internal tension and stored defensive patterns may be associated with improvements in muscle pain/discomfort, body stiffness, mobility, and emotional stability in a general client population across both private and group delivery formats. However, given the observational design, self-report measures, and lack of a control group, these results should be interpreted as preliminary. Nevertheless, the consistent positive outcomes observed across both private and group delivery formats suggest that the Kichikae Protocol may offer a viable non-clinical intervention for addressing chronic somatic discomfort and enhancing body-mind integration. If confirmed, this suggests that some chronic movement restrictions may reflect unresolved spatial threat encoding rather than structural restriction. This study does not evaluate clinical treatment efficacy. Rather, it reports observational patterns derived from a non-clinical wellness context and is intended to be hypothesis-generating. Copyright © 2025 Youngkwon An. All rights reserved.
An Youngkwon (Fri,) studied this question.