2016 Push Hands Workshop - upstate New York

8/12/16 - 8/15/16

Group photo, by a fellow student Philippe Daviet

I was back in Rosendale, New York, for the second intense push hands workshop of the year. It was very well attended, and it was very nice to see that 50% of attendees were women.

This residential facility is one of my favorite places for a workshop, but unfortunately the weather was swelteringly hot during our stay. The building has no A/C, and the training hall is on the second floor. Even with the ceiling fans and many portable floor fans going in full speed, we were hot, sweaty and very sticky throughout the workshop. On one occasion, I was partnered up with a fellow student whose shirt was completely soaked in sweat. I cringed to touch it, but I knew there was no escaping it. Once I set my mind in the right place, I was able to keep working with him, but you can imagine how quickly I dashed out at the break time so that I could wash my hands!

In this workshop, we learned many interesting exercises to loosen our body and to root ourselves. It was nice to be able to push with many strong players, and put the new knowledge to practice. I feel that I am becoming more flexible and more rooted these days. Master Alex commented that this was one of the best push hands workshop by far, and that he was very pleased to see how much we have improved. It was not the most comfortable workshop, but after our hard training, it was very rewarding to hear the Master's encouraging words.