To a casual observer they seem to have little in common. Tui Na, which means 'push and grasp' presents an endless range of soft tissue and manipulation techniques that are applied with lots of movement and vigour to the clothed body, using a chair and couch. Shiatsu is also done through the clothing but on a mat on the floor and by comparison seems rather still and static. It offers many techniques which focus sustained pressure on the soft tissues. Thai massage resembles Shiatsu in its soft tissue techniques which are also slow, often sustained presses applied to the clothed body.
Thai manipulations come in a bewildering variety and look rather like applied yoga.
Indonesian massage seems to be the odd one in this company. It is an extremely vigorous form of bodywork performed directly on the skin using oil as a lubricant. Soft tissue techniques are backed up by a whole arsenal of manipulative ones. What clearly defines each of these systems in its own right is the way the masseur's hands move and press as they track the meridians and specific energy points. For an understanding of the similarities and differences between them, it is useful to look into their origins.