About Me
From the road to the treatment room.
I am Patrick Witkamp, acupuncturist and owner of Bai Kang TCM in Tilburg. My path to Chinese medicine was anything but straightforward.
I was born on January 25, 1974, in Nijmegen, but spent my early childhood in Tunisia. My first years in North Africa unknowingly laid an important foundation for who I would later become. Travel, different cultures, and adapting to new situations became natural to me from an early age.
After returning to the Netherlands, I grew up in the Tilburg region. My career then took a very different direction from the treatment room.
A life that initially took a very different direction.
Nijmegen · Tunisia · Tilburg · Australia · Thailand
From regional distribution to long-distance journeys and life in a mobile office.
More than 25 years on the road
My career began in logistics, a world I knew from home through my father. After my logistics education, I eventually chose life on the road, in a mobile office. For more than twenty-five years I worked in transport, from regional distribution to long-distance journeys. It was a profession that gave me freedom and took me to many different places.
That need for freedom and adventure also took me beyond the Netherlands. I lived and worked in Australia and Thailand. In Thailand, I met my partner Sompong. I worked there as an entrepreneur, in avionics, and taught English.
“For many years, my life took place outside the treatment room. Yet somewhere in the background there was always a fascination with something different.”
Life on the road and abroad shaped me: practical thinking, adapting quickly, and above all respecting every person's unique background.
A lasting image
“For years, nothing came of it.”
As a teenager, I saw a scene in a Steven Seagal film. After being injured during a fight, he was treated with acupuncture by an elderly Chinese monk. Afterwards, he entered a deep state of meditation.
It was just a film scene, but the image stayed with me. The small needles, the calm, and the idea that you could work with the body in such a simple way. Of course, I could not have known where that fascination would eventually lead.
The moment I decided to change direction
After more than twenty-five years in transport, I read an article about a woman who, after thirty years at a well-known retail chain, decided to follow her heart and become an acupuncturist. Her story affected me deeply.
Freedom on the road
Transport, long-distance journeys, international travel, entrepreneurship, and the practical dynamics of everyday life on the road.
Depth in healthcare
Intensive study, Traditional Chinese Medicine, needle and laser techniques, and the calm of my own treatment room.
Education & Growth
My development step by step.
My journey from transport to acupuncture progressed step by step.
A new direction
After more than twenty-five years in transport, I decided to take a different path and seriously immerse myself in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Foundation Training
My training began at Qing Bai with the Basic Professional Training.
Advanced Study & Specialization
After obtaining my certificate, I moved to Total Health. There I completed the advanced year twice, followed by the final specialization year.
Western Medical Foundations
At Qing Bai, I completed the Western Medical Foundations programme.
Diplomas achieved
In May 2026, I received my diplomas and completed an important stage in my development as an acupuncturist. For me, this does not mark the end of my education, but the beginning of a new chapter.
The Profession
From interest to profession.
During my training, I became increasingly interested in the way Chinese medicine looks at the body. Not only at the place where someone experiences complaints, but at the whole person and the relationship between different factors.
That perspective still appeals to me. Not because every complaint has one simple explanation, but precisely because every person is different.
My Philosophy
First the person, then the complaint.
That may be the most important idea behind Bai Kang.
When someone comes to me with a complaint, I do not want to immediately reach for a standard treatment. I first want to understand what someone is experiencing, how the complaint developed, and which circumstances may play a role.
Aandacht voor het verhaal.
Aandacht voor het lichaam.
Aandacht voor wat iemand op dat moment nodig heeft.
Traditional Chinese Medicine gives me its own way of looking at and assessing the body. From that perspective, I look for an approach that fits the person sitting in front of me. No fixed formula simply because someone has a particular complaint. A treatment that begins with the person.
Professional Development
Keep developing.
My goal is not to use as many techniques as possible. My goal is to know when a particular approach may be appropriate.
Why Bái Kāng?
A peaceful place for attention and treatment.
Bai Kang is more than the name of my practice. It is where my different experiences come together.
Bái (白), White, pure & sincere
The first sound refers to White, connecting it to my own name. Bái represents the clear, grounded, honest way in which I look at a complaint.
Kāng (康), Health & wellbeing
Kāng represents health and wellbeing. The name therefore creates a meaningful connection between my own name and the direction I have chosen for my practice.
Rust · Aandacht · Balans
Patrick Witkamp
Acupuncturist · Bái Kāng TCM
“My path to acupuncture was not planned. Perhaps that is exactly why I find it important to approach every person without a fixed formula.”