Push Hands

http://www.push-hands.de/en/index_en.html
Here is the link to the English page for next year's Hannover Push Hands event, up to nine days of workshops and afternoons free to push hands everyday. It seems it is possible to camp for free in the sports hall itself, if you bring a sleep mat and sleeping bag. I am almost certainly going along, although I will finalise that in view of finances in the New Year. I have good friends in Berlin and will probably fly there first on Friday 9th February and after lunch catch a train to Hannover. I would be very happy for any folks who I already know, teach, or train with, as well as anyone else out there who wants a posse to travel with, to get in touch.

This event is non-style based, you will find Cheng Man Ching, Yang, Chen, Sun, and other styles represented by push hands enthusiasts there. It is not a competition either. I spoke at length to a wonderful German chap I met at Taichi Caledonia last year about this event. He said that 95% of the folks who attend are there to share what they have and just to get their hands on as many other like-minded players as possible. This is truly a great way to learn, and to test what we hope we have learned. As I have not yet been, I cannot vouch for anything: whether that's the standard of workshops or the lunches, but I have only ever heard good reports. Both Henk Janssen and Sam Masich are teaching workshops in the mornings, and I can certainly recommend them.

The costs are clearly marked in Euros on the linked page and are very reasonable. I intend to stay until Friday 16th evening and then fly back on the latest flight to London as I do not want to miss my regular workshop with Wang Hai-Jun the following day, with whom I am studying Chen Style. The Push Hands event goes on in Hannover until 16th and apparently afterwards there will be a big party.