Be an Instructor

1. What is a CCA Instructor?

CCA Thai Massage School trains instructors who pass on the traditions of Chiang Mai–style Thai massage to the next generation.

Certified CCA instructors are authorized to teach using CCA’s official textbooks and to award completion certificates issued by the CCA main school in Chiang Mai.
This allows students around the world to learn the same structured curriculum as in Chiang Mai, even when they study in their own country.

2. Connection with the CCA Main School in Chiang Mai

CCA instructors:

Use official CCA textbooks in their classes
Apply to the CCA main school for student certificates
Receive certificates signed by Principal Tanom of CCA Thai Massage School

Each instructor has an Instructor Number, which is used when applying for student certificates and ordering textbooks.
Through this system, the content and quality of CCA courses remain consistent between Chiang Mai and other countries.

3. Instructor Courses – Required Study Hours

CCA uses a required study hours system instead of a one-time final exam.
The goal is not just to “pass a test,” but to develop real teaching ability—the ability to explain each movement clearly with logic and confidence.

Required hours can be accumulated through courses taken both at the CCA main school in Chiang Mai and with CCA instructors in Japan or other countries.

Approximate required study hours:

Level 1 – 80 hours (10 days, 16 hours × 5)
Level 2 – 40 hours (5 days, 8 hours × 5)
Level 3 – 40 hours (5 days, 8 hours × 5)
Level 4 – 80 hours (10 days, 16 hours × 5)
Level 5 – 60 hours (8 days, 16 hours × 4)

If you do not yet feel confident to teach, you are encouraged to take review classes until you can say, “Yes, I can teach this with confidence.”

(Details about application fees and procedures will be explained individually after consultation.)

4. Why We Recommend Taking Each Course Five Times

CCA recommends that future instructors take the same course five times, each with a different focus:

First time – Learn the treatment sequence while taking notes.
→ “Get to know Thai massage.”
Second time – Watch from a teaching perspective and refine your own technique.
→ “Develop treatment skills.”
Third time – Perform the sequence while speaking the steps out loud.
→ “Develop explanation skills.”
Fourth time – Use both voice and body to deliver a good treatment.
→ “Develop teaching and demonstration skills.”
Fifth time – Check yourself as an instructor.
→ “Evaluate your overall teaching ability.”

If you still feel that your teaching ability is not enough, you can continue to take review lessons until you are satisfied with your level.

5. One-Day Instructor Courses (HOME Series and Others)

Some courses allow you to apply for instructor status after just one day of study, such as:

Herbal Ball Therapy
Tok Sen
Ruesi Datton
Baby Massage
HOME Thai Massage
HOME Thai Stretch
HOME Thai Oil

These one-day instructor courses give you the right to use CCA’s teaching system for that specific course.

The concept behind the HOME series is to share the warm, everyday culture of Thai massage—“giving simple care to people close to you”—rather than limiting Thai massage only to professional therapists.

Even though the required study time for these courses is one day, we still recommend review lessons, especially for those with little or no experience.

6. Continuing Study and Review Outside Thailand

CCA graduates and instructors are active not only in Thailand but also in Japan and other countries.

You can review CCA courses with certified instructors in Japan.
You can learn different approaches and styles from many teachers.
CCA encourages students to learn from multiple instructors, as there is no single “correct” style of Thai massage.

If you are interested in becoming a CCA instructor or want to know whether your current study plan can lead to instructor eligibility, please feel free to contact us from the Contact / Apply page.