Maryland Workshop

[Coach Tran]

I want to first thank Brian Wiegand aka "Wiggy1" for allowing me to stay at his house and eat his food. Thank you Slade for being an excellent partner. You are a sharp CST instructor who is already a coach in my book. Finally, thank you to all the fine men and women who came our workshop. I hope you enjoyed the workshop and will look at chopsticks in a whole new light. I hope we can do this again. You guys really impressed me and taught me how to be a better instructor. "Open your first chakra..." :D

[Doc]

I also want to thank Brian for organizing the event, as well as Slade and Bao for making the trip and putting on an excellent workshop! We had a good time and learned lots! Chopsticks will no longer be a threat! :-) And remember...."don't be afraid to choke it!"

[Coach Tran]

Keith,

A pleasure meeting you. I hope you will enjoy the "Big Clubbell Book" you won. Good luck on your move and new life's transition. I am glad you remember one of most important lessons in CST and maybe in life, "don't be afraid to choke it!" LOL. Another Baoism...


Yours in CST,
Bao Tran

PS: If anyone could give a review of this workshop in full detail, it would greatly be apprenicated by the tribe. I am sure many want to know what the chopsticks were for at our workshop.

[Coach Larson]

OK, I'll take a stab at a review . . .

We gathered at the pavillion in the beautiful Greenwell State Park under skies that threatend rain.

We began right around noon with an hour of Intu-Flow lead by Bao with Slade going around providing individual feedback. They would adopt this tag-team approach all day altenating between one person providing instruction and the other checking individual student's form one-on-one. We had about a dozen people at the seminar so this proved to be an excellent method of instruction.

After a short break we went on to work for a couple of hours with the Clubbells. We went through many of the basic exercises including Rock-its and Pendulums and progressed to the Swipe and Mill combinations. We also tried out the ICS versions of these movements and were shown how they differed.

We then took another break before moving on to Prasara. The breaks we took were teaching moments as well. They provided us time to ask more questions about several aspects of RMAX that were not specifically covered in the seminar. Both instructors proved to be very knowledgable and enthusiastic to answer all our questions.

On a little side note, I was glad that at this seminar I had the opportunity to meet for the first time with Keith Myers. We talked a good deal about carbine fencing and I got to play around a little bit with his handmade carbine fencing wasters. I continue to be intrigued in this area of study and plan to pursue it further in the near future.

When we moved on to Prasara I was unsure how this would go for me as I don't have a lot of experience in this wing of CST. However, as we started working it the instructors did a great job of "tuning-in" to various levels of experience among the students and were able to adjust their teaching so that even complete beginners like me could learn. They were able to break down the movements into small enough bites so that I could properly digest them and then put them altogether.

After this it was time for the chopsticks . . .

Hopefully someone will post some of the pictures of this segment as I think a visual would be more descriptive here.

What this involved was Bao holding a single chopstick with a straight, extended arm with the tip of the stick touching the student against the soft tissue at the base of the front of the throat. Bao then gave us instruction on the proper way to breathe and then directed us to push forward with our body, in essence forcing ourselves to walk straight into the tip of the chopstick that was pointed at our throats.

Each one of us came up one by one for this challenge. Amazingly, the chopstick, every time, snapped in half and the student suffered absolutely no injury!

It was a pretty incredible experience that I am very glad that I was able to participate in.

What I found interesting was that I have seen similar demonstrations at TMA events where students were directed to believe in the power of "Ki" to make such effects happen. At the seminar there was only clear instruction in what was essentially proper structure, breathing, and movement plus the removal of fear to produce the same effect. Exciting stuff!

Overall it was a great event and I am glad I made the 3.5 hour drive each way to attend. It has inspired me to dedicate myself even more to my study of CST and look forward to the Kappa seminar event more. As a result I plan to soon start blogging my personal practice goals and progress very soon on the forum.

Thanks to Brian for organizing this event and to Bao and Slade for the great instruction.

[wiggy1]

Bao, my friend, the pleasure was all ours. You are welcome in our home anytime.

I would like to thank eveyone that attended and made this event possible, without the athletes, there is no reason for such a workshop. It was nice to finally put faces to the names that we all get to know so well from the forum.

Jeffry, thank you for such a wonderful and detailed review. Everything you said was spot on.

Slade and Bao,

Thank you for your time and knowledge. The two of you made a great team, and complimented each other very well. We were very lucky to have such a dynamic pair leading us. You both will make excellent Coaches, and we are all pulling for you.

I will post some of the pics that I have shortly, it's been a very busy weekend, and I need a little time to decompress first.

Again, thanks to all. Can't wait to do it again!

[wiggy1]

... under skies that threatend rain.


This is a HUGE understatment. The forecast was for 80% chance of Thunderstorms, but the Gods were definitely smiling on us as there was not a single drop of rain until around 4 pm. Which by that time, everyone was pretty much whooped, and moving to the covered pavilion for the "Chopstick" event and a little more theory was a welcome relief. Slade and Bao can be quite the slave drivers!!!

[Coach Tran]

http://cstwarrior.typepad.com/photos/cst_tribe/chopsticks1.html

Here is a pic of Maliha, Tariq's wife, after she broke a chopstick by using her natural and non-mystical abilities of using her breathe and structure. Maybe her "first chakra"? :D She was a brave woman and I give her alot of credit. I think learned what it meant by courage does come after and not before. There are more video clips and pics to come, folks. I feel sorry for those who missed out on this event. I hope the chopstick experience will open more questions and research about breathing and structural integrity.

Jeffry, thank for showing up and for the review. Kappa will blow you away I am sure. I learned from the best and if you think Slade and I was good. Be conident that Coach Sonnon and the CST Headcoaches are the best. As I reflect back on our experience, I learned alot from Slade's clubbell instructions. I felt we clicked and were on the same page. Slade is my senior in the CST system and he is loaded with information. I respect his background and his experience in the CST system. Thank you Slade for sharing your insights with us.Your athletes are lucky to have you as their teacher. Once again, thank you all for allowing Slade and I to teach you. Oh yeah, please do not try the chopstick thing by yourself. LOL.

Yours in CST,

[wiggy1]

God bless the First Chakra!!!

[Tariq]

Well folks...my review and some pics will follow in a day or so, but here is the chopstick clip:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-612340155953232828&pr=goog-sl

Enjoy!!!

[Coach Tran]

Tariq,

Thanks for sharing that clip.


Yours in CST,

Bao First Chakra Instructor ;)

PS: Folks, please do not try to do the chopstick exercise by yourself. You may hurt yourself.

[Tariq]

Jeffry’s review is spot on. Not sure if I can add much, but I would like to say a few things.

This has been said before on this forum by participants of other seminars/workshops and I will say it now, after first hand experience: there is no substitute for training with a CST instructor. I would strongly encourage all tribe members, who have not done so already, to make an effort to find an instructor and spend some time with that person.

The workshop was a great introduction to various aspects of CST. I have only worked with Intuflow thus far, and the workshop gave me a flavor of things to come. We only scratched the surface, yet I feel it has raised my awareness of my own CST practice to a much higher level.

Thank you Brian for working on the logistics and making this happen.

Bao and Slade, it was a singular pleasure to have learned from and trained with you. Both of you are amazing teachers and you combined high quality instruction with a whole lot of fun. My wife summed it up best to me at the end, “I am tired, but at the same time feel energized”. Getting her to become involved with CST has been of my goals and I am grateful for the way the whole workshop was conducted; I now have a partner and tremendous support at home for my practice.

Last but not least, a big thank you to all those who attended the workshop and made it such a great experience.

p.s. I am working on the pictures and will get them up as a soon as I can.

[Cody Fielding]

This has been said before on this forum by participants of other seminars/workshops and I will say it now, after first hand experience: there is no substitute for training with a CST instructor.


This is a key to deepening our practice. To this day I attend every CST event I possibly can. At each one I learn and take away.

Sounds like Bao, Slade and all the athletes had a great time.

Well done everyone!...woohooo!

C-

[Dave Snyder]

I wanted to take a moment to thank brian, Slade and bao for putting on a great WS. It was good to meet a great bunch of folks who were both hardworking and laid back.I have been dabbling with RMAX material for a long time but haven't been to a WS/gathering in quite awhile. I came away with a much greater understanding of CST and was inspired with Bao and Slades Prasara demonstration. I do believe that it is time to stop dabbling and dive head first into my CST pratice. looking forward to further events. If any of the D.C./Northern Va. crowd would like to get together please give me a shout. Take care

Dave

[Jarlo Ilano]

Sounds like everyone had a great time!

Here's to more workshops on the East Coast by Bao and Slade!!!!

[wiggy1]

I just tried to post some of the pics from Saturday, but they exceed the max size for each picture.

Does anyone have a website that we could post these at?

[Coach Tran]

Brian,

Please email me those pics. Tariq and Dave thank you for your kind words about the CST workshops. If more people see the reports about this events, I hope people will definitely sign up for this experience. If anyone want me to come to their area for a CST event and host me in their town or area, please PM me. I will open your first chakra and stab you in the throat and maybe shake my hips too.:eek:

[Tariq]

ok...finally got the pictures to be the right size. This is a subset. I have much higher resolution pictures available that I would be more than happy to pass on to anyone interested. Please PM me. Bao, I will send you a bunch via e-mail.

[Coach Tran]

Tariq,

I look foward to your email and the pics. Thank you in advance.

[Doc]

ok...finally got the pictures to be the right size. This is a subset. I have much higher resolution pictures available that I would be more than happy to pass on to anyone interested. Please PM me. Bao, I will send you a bunch via e-mail.


I keep getting the "you do not have permission to access" message when I try to download anything that is an attachment in the forum. Is anyone else having this problem?

[PaoloValladolid]

Not much more I can add... I googled First Chakra and found it was even more appropriate to the workshop than I was previously aware. :).

I hadn't played with Rock Its much and was surprised how taxing it can be on the legs. But wait, I thought CBs don't work the legs? ;)

I agree of course with Tariq that live instruction will really help your CST practice. Nothing beats having well-qualified 3rd party observers critique your form. I finally remembered to ask to be shown a Wrist Cast, which I had trouble learning from the video. I was previously unaware of how practice of this movement as well as the Intermediate level finger drills from Intu-Flow can help develop the Intelligent Grip described in the Big Book of Clubbells.

I was also inspired by the Prasara demos and plan to work some more on the Pigeon Flow. I also enjoyed Bao's flow for office workers and look forward to seeing more from him on this.

It was great meeting everyone! Thanks to Brian for organizing the event and his chicken (which I didn't choke but gladly ate), the instructors Slade and Bao for the great presentation! If any fellow No. VAers are thinking of road tripping down to Richmond to see Slade and his very talented student Jason, please contact me!

[Coach Tran]

I keep getting the "you do not have permission to access" message when I try to download anything that is an attachment in the forum. Is anyone else having this problem?

I am having the same problem, doc. Tariq, please send me them pics so I too can enjoy the memories we shared. Paolo, thanks for comming and for breaking bread with me.

[mshelb]

Many thanks to Slade and Bao - you guys are excellent instructors. I’m still going over and absorbing everything we discussed. The workshop was a really big help to me with every aspect of my practice, and I’m excited to start implementing what I learned. I won't practice with the chopsticks of course, but I think I learned something from that too.

Thanks to everyone involved - it was good to meet you and I hope to train with you all again.

[Coach Tran]

Mike,

Thanks for showing up and for your kind words. If there is anything I can do to help your practice, please let me know what I can do for you.

Yours in CST,

[mshelb]

Thanks Bao - I'll do that. Your coaching on my bridge thread has shaped my back rehab plans for the near future. I've added a flow to my practice, and it has fit in without any adverse effect. Progressing towards health. Thanks again.

[Coach Billew]

Thank you to everyone who attended this Workshop. I had such a wonderful time. Special thanks to Brian for organzing, and to Bao, for being such a great teaching partner. I hope to see you all again soon.

[kerykes]

I have to chime in with everyone else and say Slade, Bao, Brian - well done; it was a great coming together of a diverse bunch of people.

Aaaaand... I hope to see some the NoVA folk down here in Richmond soon.

[Coach Tran]

April,

It was pleasure meeting you. I hope I will have the pleasure training with you and everyone again.

Yours in CST,

[Doc]

Since we still seem to be having the problem with accessing attachments on the forum.......does anyone have pics from the workshop posted anywhere? Anyone willing to eMail pics to me? I'd like to have access to copies to commemorate the historic occasion! :-)

[Tariq]

I just sent you a pm.

[wiggy1]

To everyone at the event that won a door prize, or placed an order, they should be arriving on your doorstep any day now.

If you do not receive them soon, please let me know.

Thanks again to everyone!!!

[Tariq]

Brian,

Just received my packet...thanks much!

Tariq

[madsox]

Okay, after Doc's review of the seminar at our last training session (before he deserted us for Texas!), I'm jealous and want to 1: get a dang pair of Clubbell®s so I can work them regularly, and 2: find me a seminar for experienced coaching!

Oh, and 3: get a workout group going near my house, I'll post about that elsewhere.

Anyway, it sounds like a great time was had by all - fun and informative.

Cheers!
Andrew

[Coach Billew]

Andrew,

You would be welcome down here anytime. Also I would be happy to come do a workshop in your area to help you get a group started any time.

Feel free to pm me.