We prove that every C ∞ -smooth, area preserving diffeomorphism of the closed 2-disk having not more than one periodic point is the uniform limit of periodic C ∞ -smooth diffeomorphisms. In particular every smooth irrational pseudo-rotation can be C 0 -approximated by integrable systems. This partially answers a long standing question of A. Katok regarding zero entropy Hamiltonian systems in low dimensions. Our approach uses pseudoholomorphic curve techniques from symplectic geometry.Date: April 23, 2012. 1 1.2. Idea of the proof. Pick a closed loop of Hamiltonians H t : D → D, over t ∈ R/Z, which generate a symplectic isotopy whose time-one map is ϕ. Denote the 1-periodic path of Hamiltonian vector fields on the disk by X Ht . For each n ∈ N equip Z n = R/nZ × D with coordinates (τ, z). Then the vector field R n (τ, z) = ∂ τ + X Ht (z) defines a flow on Z n with time-one map ϕ and first return map ϕ n .Consider the 4-manifold W n := R × Z n with the unique almost complex structure satisfyingwhere ∂ R is the vector field dual to the R-coordinate on W n . Then (W n , J n ) is a so called cylindrical, symmetric, almost complex manifold. That is, it is compatible in a precise way with the necessary symplectic structures for the compactness framework from symplectic field theory [4] to apply to J n -holomorphic curves.