FWC Crete Camp, 13th - 20th July 2011
What the students thought...
Jeremy Mathieu
Another Crete Camp and another fantastic week! Can't remember seeing a single cloud in the sky for the whole week (or for any of the previous ones now that I think about it!). Just pure sunshine to go alongside the delicious food, enjoyable group spirit and unforgettable training experiences. No deep metaphysical moments this time, but a complete reboot of the system for which I am really grateful. I arrived in Crete exhausted, confused and feeling resourceless, I came back to London refreshed and full of life, and solutions to my worries now just seem to be jumping at me - a very nice feeling indeed! Every year, as my life keeps changing, I keep finding new ways in which this week in Crete proves beneficial. It is a chance for everyone to recharge, put some perspective and some distance with their daily routine and come back stronger to face whatever might be in the way. Cant recommend it enough! My biggest highlight for this year? Seeing James, our trip vegetarian, so intrigued by our eating of the lamb's heads that he decided to tuck in and taste a bit of brain. That got the biggest cheer of the week and showed the good spirit that animated the camp. Every year, much to the credit of Dennis and Sharon, this FWC spirit just seems to keep growing stronger and stronger to allow for anyone to feel welcome and blossom under its wing. And it is definitely in Crete that I feel it the warmest. See you all there in 2012. I've already booked my place.
Jasmine Singh
I never would have thought a last minute decision would have had such a significant impact on my body, mind and spirit. A constant inner battle between love and hate of the physical training pushed me to levels I have never even considered breaching. And through this all, I was not alone but found companionship in some great people and we walked, ran (ok, hill-sprinted), trained, swam, ate great food, drank Raki and supported each other on this epic journey, together. I can already see the change in me.
PS. THE CIRCLE OF FIRE ROCKS!
Jill Steen
The mountains are pink with morning light, goats' bells chime and tinkle, and the air has a clear gentleness about it spoilt only by the sounds of ragged breathing. What, you may well ask, am I (a 67 year old never-run since school except in class) doing half way round the 1st lap of a 6km run? The answer, I suppose, is enjoying the beautifulness and hopefully trying to achieve/maintain some level of fitness. The first few mornings I tottered in last but on the final two "runs" (well sprint a bit; walk a bit) I was ahead of others. Some very minor degree of success in "hill sprints" was also achieved. It is amazing what an incentive there is in a Greek breakfast, particularly the famed yoghurt and honey. My only pre-Crete work-outs were dedicated to consumption of these.
Overall the week was wonderful with training on the beach and stretching in the "grove". Other highlights included:
- ice cream in Hania
- realising I could swim considerably further than I thought
- the food. Sheep's head is a delicacy that had previously passed me by. The brains, tongue and other meat were delicious however I am seriously going to have to work on the "whippiness" and speed of my hand and finger movements for next time as I was not quick enough to get an eye.
A "high"light I missed was
- a double back flip (achieved by Yevheniia) in the sea
Hopefully as a result of our training there will be an improvement in my
- patterns (both hard and soft style)
- flexibility (a leg-lift with "nose-on-toes" in 100 days is, I fear likely to elude me, but by age 100 – who knows?)
Very many thanks to all who made the trip possible and for the organisation where all was so easy - the maxim being "just turn up when and where you’re told". This, in spite of a considerable amount of "work", made the whole trip a relaxation.
Ferenc Kasza
When I woke up on the 13th I felt drained. Balancing work, training, social life, etc... we've all been there. I was actually wavering, weather was broody and I was thinking; what if I just sleep the whole week through. Last year was great and I paid for it already so that's not an option. Packed some clothes, suncream, towel and consciously left all consumer electronics besides my phone behind, so let's be off to the airport.
When you wake up each morning you wake up after heavy sleep, the first two days getting up may seem hard, but the morning run is a great way to wake up propper and the groupspirit keeps you going. The sprints after are my favourite though, the breakfast after is well timed and delicious.
Training on the beach after is great; the sun is shining, the water is nice and warm, there's fresh fruit, the training is kind of relaxing and we had polished our patterns and my movements definitely feel more clean and purposeful now. After a bit of swim to cool off it's time to have lunch and boy it's great.
After waking up from the afternoon nap (if you had one, you're free to do what you wantafter lunch) it's time to go to the olive grove and train some more. We did some streching and by the last day I could almost kick myself in the nose (without bobbing my head).
Dinner... well dinner deserves it's own paragraph, Kristos (chef maestro) is a magician, I have to put forward a motion to clone him, seriously my favourite part of the camp.
I returned a lot more positively. The next morning after I came back and woke quite early I looked out of the window saw it was dark, cold and about to rain... let's go for a run.
Yevheniia Mikheenko
Crete was joy! Getting off the airplane greeted by the bright moon and warm air and realising that I'm truly back here and have a whole week ahead was one of the best feelings. Several things made this camp even better than last year. I really enjoyed how the training was structured – the mornings of pattern work on the beach (punctuated by the ever-present delicious watermelon!) and afternoons of deep stretching in the olive grove soon made a difference to how I felt doing my patterns. I started to be able to move the way I wanted to move. It was made even more enjoyable by being part of a group that got on really well together. The synergy was felt throughout the week, in the laughter and shared enthusiasm for getting through the tough parts of training. It was evident on the hill sprints, where we managed to get most of the unusual running formations up the hill in one piece, including a double firewall (one circle of people inside another spinning in opposite directions), and during the deep stretches which involved three or four people and a significant amount of trust. My new-found skills from this trip include eating sheep's head, brains and eyeballs being the tastiest bits, and a double back somersault into the sea. A special mention must also go to our last day and the ice-cream in Chania, which exceeded all expectations.
On a personal note, getting through this camp healthy and happy was a triumph, which helped me realise how much a year of training had paid off. Last year, I'd had a relapse of a serious kidney problem two days into the Crete camp, leading to my fourth and final round of high-dose steroid treatment. This year, I trained harder than before and my kidneys were fine. I look forward to next year!
A huge thank you to everyone for making the camp superb.
This was my first Crete camp trip. I was a little bit apprehensive to say the least, though I had been told by people who had been before that I was in for a treat.
The first couple of days were hard going. I’m not great at getting to know people easily, and here I was with a group of people, most of whom i barely knew, about to spend practically every waking moment with them and doing some intense training.
However, after that initial period, despite the (very) early mornings, injury and sometimes feeling a bit lost, I started enjoying myself.
My fellow campers were amazingly warm and friendly. The instructors were awesome, even after bleeding on them, and Dennis and Sharon were beyond description! I’m so glad I had the opportunity to get to know them just that little bit better and hear some the great stories they and others had from days gone by.
The training was brilliant, even the early morning runs, which included some of the craziest things I have ever done while running up a gravel hill! I loved training on the beach in the mornings. I learnt so much about what I was doing wrong and how to get better at it. Much of what I saw Dennis teach was beyond my level, but I’m hoping it’s tucked away at the back of my brain until the appropriate time. And all of this while getting a tan!
The afternoon stretches were intense. Stretches so deep they bordered on being spiritual. I don’t think I have ever been as flexible as I was when I came back from Crete. I will also never forget that olive grove; the almost deafening cicadas, the very sharp ground, and the scent of olive trees.
After each training session, there was of course a massive meal...oh the food...so much food! I still miss the yogurt we had at breakfast. The dinners and lunches at Christos’ were amazing, he’s a true genius! Meal times were also a great opportunity to get to know everyone a bit better. and have heated debates about things like how a swordfish uses its nose or why drugs are better than alcohol.
And speaking of alcohol, how can I not mention the last night...ahhh raki (or should i say Tsikoudia?).
Crete was unforgettable and I thank everyone who made it so!
One week in Crete - tasty food, amazing weather, warm sea, sunny skies, excellent company, intense training and absolutely no stress… simply the ideal holiday.
We couldn’t have ordered better weather with Crete offering clear skies and blazing sunshine. So it was a little surprising that not one of us British Isle dwelling pasty skinned holiday makers suffered from the ‘oh look it’s sunny, lets get our tops off’ over exposed first day sun burn!
Everyone trained hard throughout the week, and gratefully there were no real injuries, other than possibly a few overstretched hamstrings. The hot weather was ideal for stretching and a few of Dennis’s special flexibility exercises produced some interesting squeals from students. So by the end of the week everyone’s leg lifts were reaching previously unexplored territory.
All who have attended previous Crete camps come home waxing lyrical about the food, and it certainly lived up to the hype. The ever present restaurant owner and club friend Kristos served us up a new culinary delight every day, and after early morning exercise breakfast has never tasted so good!
A surprising source of entertainment came during the barbeques in the delightful surroundings of the olive grove, with a quick game of ‘guess the song from the intro’. It gave everyone a great insight into Dennis’ favourite tunes… oh yeah and did I mention the amazing food?
A highlight of the camp had to be Adam Prout massaging Matt Damsell’s sore knee – the only way Matt could cope with the pain Adam was gleefully handing out was to chew on his flip flop (see accompanying photo).
If I had to focus on one positive from the trip it is the lack of stress involved. Everything runs so smoothly. The only tricky decisions we had to make all week were ‘tea or coffee for breakfast?’ and ‘should we sit by the pool and have a dip in the afternoon, or embrace the local custom and indulge in an afternoon siesta?’ It’s a hard life…
Robbie Powell
For me Crete camp was a process of slowing down. Taking a week for yourself with only training to think about was a huge benefit for my body and mind and its not until you come home that you realise how good a reset Crete camp is. The training is deep, focused and challenging and I was never left wanting for food with traditional Cretian cuisine and the best watermelon I've ever tasted. My favourite part of camp was the training in the olive grove in the afternoon after a siesta, Dennis' teaching in these sessions gave me new insight into the style and how I should train.
Gordon Marsh
Crete 2011 was a fantastic experience in a number of ways including intensive training, great company, fantastic food and the feeling of sheer physical accomplishment.
Training was organised into three sessions a day. Early starts are not normally my thing but I guess the sleepy haze may have made the morning runs and hill sprints a little easier!
The main benefits I got (and memories I have) from the tour are:
- Sheer feeling of achievement at getting through a solid week of training
- Increased flexibility thanks to the afternoon sessions
- Learning the basics for first pattern
- "Winning" the morning run (although I think Jeremy and Harold gave it to me)
- Vinay's so-far-yet-so-close attempts at kicking the low branch of the tree at the Grove
- Kids copying my kung fu on the beach (seriously kids, I suggest you copy someone else!)
Or from a more sensory perspective...
The sound of dogs barking on the morning run,
the sight of the ocean in mid-morning beach training,
the feeling of short dry grass underfoot at The Grove,
the taste of a Sheeps head and;
the smell of Tiger Balm in the Cretan air...
The end of camp was a strange experience, while the hard training was over with a degree of relief, I definitely missed the feeling of accomplishment that you got at the end of each day on returning home.
Urszula Wolski
My second Crete camp and it was just as enjoyable as the first. I thought that being on last year’s camp would prepare me for this year. I was wrong! Getting up at 5.30 in the morning was still a struggle, but again once up, I could fully appreciate the beauty of the morning and the sunrise. I even remembered to take my camera and get some pictures along the way, some scenic and some of the runners as they lapped me.
The training sessions were tough at times, but I learnt a lot, things that will stay with me for life. I particularly liked the way that everything was broken down back to basics. For me, some basics were certainly in need of improvement. Working on the patterns in this way improved my understanding of the pattern and its movements. The afternoons were dedicated mostly to stretching and working on our flexibility, something that I lack in. But after a few afternoons I was able to stretch further than I ever imagined.
Plentiful scrumptious food (Kristos is amazing!), glorious weather, beautiful scenery and wonderful people made this camp a delightful experience and one to remember! My thanks to Dennis and Sharon for making this a truly memorable camp, one where I learnt a lot – for one learning that there is a lot to learn!
I look forward to the next Crete camp.
Vinay Audipudi
The Crete camp was fantastic this year, no surprises there. Sun was shining, the sea was clear deep blue and the mood was energising. We trained harder than before and I personally got a lot more out of the camp. My instructor Nick ensured there was a build up to the crete camp and fitness levels were higher than before. All this meant I learnt a lot more. The hill sprints after the morning run were fun, my favourite of all being the Scorpion. Morning training on the beach was intense and as a result my pattern improved significantly. We spent the afternoons stretching and kicking, taking the leg raises higher and higher. Food at Krystos's was exceptional, so was the Raki and the company. Overall, a superb training holiday not to be missed by anyone!