Massage & Stretching Workshop Review

by Mark Fan

This seminar showed me two interesting things.

First, from the massage perspective, perhaps the most important thing I noticed was the effect it had on everyone. I think everyone was more "quiet" on the inside. Being massaged and massaging someone else relaxes and calms you to a degree where you can really be patient and sensitive to another person, as well as yourself. This is definitely important when it comes to doing detailed and precise work, because it provides a good mindset to start from. Also, it shows you what it feels like to be relaxed! :)

Naturally, stretching after developing this kind of inner relaxation was different. Often, I want to rush when it comes to stretching. I just want to do the stretch and get it over with, but after getting a massage, I was much more patient with my own limitations and was willing to relax into the stretch longer, and feel it more.

Then we got to the dynamic stretching, and I found it was a good extension of the breath and movement seminars. For example, tension starts to appear at the limits of your stretch (because it can start to hurt!), but Manny showed us how we could consciously relax the various parts of our body that we unconsciously allowed tension to come to. The result was that I could stretch at least an extra inch, just by freeing things that were unnecessarily involving themselves in the process.

Because stretching can cause pain at its limits, it also has application to fighting. The last class I attended Manny showed finger work, and when someone sharply locks your fingers, the effect can be the same as a stretch, but faster because its dictated by someone else. A surge of tension would suddenly appear everywhere. This is a problem, because that tension allows the fingers to break.

The great thing is though, if we go back to the previous workshops, you can regain your freedom with the breathing. That simple movement inside your chest also starts to relax the rest of you, and if you don't let the movement stop (like from the second workshop), you have a chance to save your fingers. Good stuff!