man, what an awsome experience.  i don't even know where to begin.

first off it was my first time in nyc, here's me just outside grand central;

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/higgs_family_album/Photo-0056.jpg?t=1169052741

here's what  my arms look like after 4 and a half days of spinning and sticky hands!  mine were'nt even the worst.  fortunately my skin is a little toughened by work and the sun.  some peoples arms were close to being bloody!

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/higgs_family_album/DSCF0003.jpg

we would start at 8 am and train until around 7 pm, then break for meditation and then dinner. (we had a few water breaks plus a good lunch break as well)

lights out at 11 and back up by 6:30am for most of us.

it was one of the most grueling experiences of my life and it was awsome all at the same time.  we really dove into the nitty gritty of the art.

sometimes you'd be hurting so bad and then drop into this awsome state of total flow where all your suffering dropped away (until you noticed you weren't hurting anymore, at which time the pain would come back).

i got to meet a lot of awsome people for the first time, and i got to train with a lot of awsome people.

i also passed my butterfly test and got my descipleship!

EDIT- look for more pics (of the actual training) to come as i get them!

Whoa! 8-7? Tha's a long day! No wonder your arms were all banged up. Sounds like you enjoyed it, though. Thanks for the pics!

yeah it was miserable and totally great all at once.

Awesome Ashe, thanks for sharing.
Congrats on the discipleship!

Was the intensive taught by Mr. Chin? Was the intensive for instructors only? What were some of the topics covered?

Best, and congrats once again...

oh yeah, we also spent the last half hour of the days training in meditation.

here's some of the pics

group photo

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p311/falling_leaves_kung_fu/group_07.gif?t=1169361200

waiting to start the chum cha

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p311/falling_leaves_kung_fu/waiting.gif?t=1169361255

giving the tea

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p311/falling_leaves_kung_fu/tea_1.gif?t=1169361302

bow to your Sifu!

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p311/falling_leaves_kung_fu/baishi.gif?t=1169361320

Cool pics. Thanks for sharing.

Polystyrene cups!!!!!!!

Isn't there at least something made of porcelain or even glass?

Anyway congratulations on your discipleship and with that comes great responsibility coming from your Sifu to you and of course vice versa; it is almost a father/son relationship and your Sifu can kill you for any serious infringement of the System's Rules

yeah, my wife said the same thing about the cups.

i suppose it's another example though of where asians and westerners place importance. sometimes we take certain things (sometimes the worng things) a lot more seriously i guess...