Join Greg Hamilton and the players from the film Mystic Ball in Mandalay this summer for the first ever international chinlone camp.

Experience the magic of chinlone for yourself!
June 11 – July 8, 2009

• Learn from and play together with the best chinlone players in the world!
• Mystic Ball Chinlone Camp offers a unique opportunity to learn this extraordinary art at the source.
• Experience the essence of team-play and team spirit in a fun and loving context.
• See the best chinlone teams and playing at the amazing Waso Chinlone Festival, which will be going on at the same time as the chinlone camp.

We have a limited number of spaces – please register early.

To register or get more info, click here

Week 1: June 11 – June 17

Week 2: June 18 – June 24

Week 3: June 25 – July 1

Week 4: July 2 – July 8

The camp runs for 4 weeks
you can sign up for - 1 week – 2 weeks – 3 weeks or 4 weeks

To register or get more info, click here

KO MAUNG MAUNG
Widely recognized as a great player and one of the best chinlone teachers in the country. He has trained a number of the top players, including his son Aung Soe Moe. He regularly travels around the country teaching, and has also traveled to Japan to teach chinlone. Ko Maung Maung is one of the featured players in Mystic Ball and also Greg's main teacher.

SU SU HLAING
The greatest tapandaing (solo performance style) performer in the country and one of the top women circle players. Su Su has taught many young girls the difficult art of tapandaing. She has performed in Singapore and Thailand, and is featured in Mystic Ball.

These are two of over a dozen of the best chinlone players in the world – who will be teaching and playing together with the students.

GREG HAMILTON
Has played chinlone for over 25 years, and for many years he's been teaching people outside of Myanmar to play. He's familiar with Myanmar culture and Mandalay. Since 1986 he's made over 20 trips to Myanmar, all for chinlone training, playing, research and filming

TRANSLATORS
There are translators to help with your training and for when you go to the festival.

Chinlone Camp fee - $700.US/week

Please register early – there is a lot of interest and spaces are limited.

To register or get more info, click here

- Daily shuttles from the hotel to the Chinlone Festival
- Lunch with Chinlone Elders
- Dinner with players
- Trip to U Bein's Bridge and surrounding temples
- Circle play with chinlone music
- Lunch at Su Su's house with her family
- Drive through Amarapura
- Honoring the Elders Ceremony at Mahamuni – last day of festival
- Trips to places in the film
- Boat party trip
- Tapandaing Performance by Su Su
- Special Performance – Dream Lovers Team

If you've seen Mystic Ball then you have some idea of what chinlone is, but there is nothing like seeing the game played live. The movements have a strangeness, beauty and grace that is difficult to describe.

SPIRIT OF THE GAME
The spirit of this game is playful and fun. You start playing and before long, everyone is laughing as they play. Chinlone is a funny game – it's almost impossible to keep the ball up for long with the feet, especially when you are trying to do extraordinary moves with the ball. But the moments when everything comes together are intense and magical.

ANYONE CAN PLAY
You don't have to have special coordination or agility to learn how to play chinlone, anyone can learn to play. It's not a sport that demands any special physique, any special equipment, or any special environment. Moderately fit is enough, if you can dance – you can play chinlone. At Mystic Ball Chinlone Camp, the moves are broken down into a series of steps. You work at your own speed and learn new moves when you feel ready.

FITNESS
Playing chinlone is an incredible form of exercise. It develops cardiovascular health and stamina. It increases the flexibility of your legs, hips and back. You'll gain functional strength in your legs and all of the core muscles of your body. Your speed, agility and coordination will improve.

When you play chinlone, everything is done while you're on one foot or while you're in the air. You'll notice a huge improvement in your sense of balance.

USING BOTH FEET
Though most players are primarily right or left footed, most try to be ambidextrous with their feet. From the beginning we try to develop functional strength in both legs, and skill with both feet. Being able to use both feet will give you more options to play with and more ways to be creative.

IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK
You always get immediate feedback from the ball every time you kick it. The ball either stays up or doesn't, your pass is either on target or not.

FOCUS
Whenever you play or practice chinlone, you will be cultivating your awareness and your ability to focus continuously. The importance of being able to focus intensely on one point will be familiar to sports people and martial artists. Chinlone offers a very effective way to increase this ability.

You need to be absolutely in the moment. If your attention drifts away from the ball even for an instant, chances are you will lose it.

I feel as if I am in the ball as it flies around. That's how connected to the ball I am. It's the same whether I'm playing alone or with other players. The players in Myanmar have the same feeling. There is no separation between self and ball.

TRANCE
Most of the people who play a lot, (I could probably say all) experience something like trance or a kind of altered state at times when they play.

In Myanmar, this is referred to as 'jhana' (a Pali word referring to a state of mind that comes about from intensely focusing the mind on one point, usually during sitting meditation). The word 'Zen' comes from 'Jhana'.

TEAMWORK
Chinlone offers a pure experience of team play, without competition.
This is the most team oriented sport I know. Each player on a chinlone team is equally necessary, all the time - unlike most team sports.

I love that men and women can play on the same team. I've played on teams with women, kids and eighty year olds.

DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS CAN PLAY TOGETHER
One of the unique things about chinlone is that a beginner can play quite comfortably with the most advanced player and everyone can still enjoy the game. The difference in skill makes no difference at all in the play since the object of the game is to keep the ball in the air, which can easily be done by a beginner who has learned the basic kicks. The beginner may use the most elementary kicks while the advanced player may use the most complicated ones he knows.

PLAYING ALONE
Chinlone can also be played alone. I can't think of another ball game that you can play alone and actually be doing the sport. The pull of gravity provides a constant challenge and that means you can have an interesting and exciting play all by yourself. Even when I'm playing alone, I often get a move or a string of moves or a save that is completely different or beyond anything I've gotten before. I still get the same thrill today from learning a new move or making an amazing save as I did twenty years ago. I continue to learn new moves and to refine ones I already know.

Mystic Ball Chinlone Camp is organized to make your learning process effective and enjoyable. You'll improve faster and become a better player because right from the beginning you are practicing in the correct way.

The camp is divided into two parts - the morning sessions will focus on learning individual skills and the afternoon sessions will be devoted to learning how to play on a team.

INDIVIDUAL COACHING
You'll receive individual coaching to help you learn how to play in the circle as soon as possible. Basic skills with the ball as well as more advanced ball skills will be taught in a step by step way. You'll learn moves that you can use when it's your turn to solo in the center of the circle.

There is an ideal form to aim for with any of the traditional moves. This is not simply a matter of aesthetics: good form is connected to good mechanics. If you want to become a good player, it's essential to start off learning the proper form and technique. I know from experience how easy it is to develop bad habits and how hard it is to change them. Without an understanding of proper technique, it's possible to strain your lower back or other parts of your body.

We'll show you how to practice on your own so that you can continue to improve your skills at home.

TEAM PLAY & COACHING
The really exciting and fun part of chinlone happens when you play on a team. This is when you get to do any fancy moves you know and try any of the new moves you've learned during the individual sessions.

You'll learn the 'etiquette of the circle', which allows players to know when they should kick the ball and when it's their turn to solo. You'll gain an understanding of how to support the soloist and how to play in the center of the circle when it's your turn to solo.

You'll get the feeling of how the game is played in Myanmar. This is important because chinlone is not played the way hackey sack is played, nor the way soccer players juggle a soccer ball. Chinlone has a its own rhythm, flow and form. You will naturally absorb a lot of this just from seeing the playing up close, especially at the festival.

SEE THE BEST TEAMS & PLAYERS
It's like the World Cup of chinlone – except of course that there is no competition! Teams come from all over the country to perform and socialize at this festival. More than a thousand games will be played and you can be sure of seeing the very best chinlone teams and playing. The chinlone festival takes place on the grounds of the Mahamuni Pagoda, the most famous temple in Mandalay. Admission to the festival is free. The playing starts at 9 am every day and goes on non-stop until midnight. The atmosphere at the festival is intense and happy.

CHINLONE MUSIC
There is a traditional orchestra (Sein Wein) that provides musical accompaniment to the games. This special chinlone music derived from ancient Burmese battle music, inspires and energizes the players.

As the players respond to the music, the musicians accent the kicks musically with drums and cymbals.

There is also an announcer who calls out the names of the moves done by the players and entertains the audience with clever wordplay and jokes.

AUDIENCE
The audience cheers and encourages the players, and there is never any booing because there are not two sides. They love to see great saves and will even applaud if a player loses the ball after making an extraordinary effort.

Another way they show their appreciation is by sending small tips of money to be pinned on the back of the player's shirts – during the game. The announcer says the name of the tipper and which player the tip is for. It's considered a great honor to receive tips in the circle.

There is nothing but pure love and respect in the audience.

MANY STYLES OF PLAY
You'll see players with many different styles - some are shockingly quick, some are smooth and elegant, others are incredibly acrobatic. The older players – over 60, have a different style than the younger players; men and women tend to have different styles as well. Some teams are able to play the ball so that it seems to move in slow motion, almost floating, while other teams pass the ball so fast you really have to pay attention to follow the action.

EXCITEMENT & TENSION
Every ball that stays up for a long time creates it's own excitement and tension. Sometimes you can feel the whole audience holding it's breath – as a player pulls off an extraordinary move or makes an almost impossible save to keep the ball alive.

ENDLESS CREATIVITY
Every team tries to impress the audience and give them the most beautiful play they can. Every year I find myself sitting in the audience feeling amazed by the playing – the intensity, the new talent, the beauty and sweetness of the elders, the music and the endless improvisation and creativity.

MEANING OF THE WASO CHINLONE FESTIVAL
The Waso Festival is a time for making offerings to the Buddha – usually flowers and incense. The chinlone festival is a chance for the players to make their offering to the Buddha by playing chinlone. Every team pays a small fee to play in the festival and this money is then given as an offering to the pagoda. There is no greater honor for a chinlone player than playing in the Festival. 2009 will mark the 81st consecutive year of the Waso Chinlone Festival.

MYANMAR
Myanmar is the largest country in South-east Asia and shares borders with Bangladesh, India, China, Laos, and Thailand. It is about the size of the UK and France combined. Myanmar is a union of 135 ethnic groups, each with their own languages and dialects. It is predominantly a Buddhist country with more than 80 percent of the people embracing Theravada Buddhism.

MANDALAY
Mandalay was the last capital of the Myanmar royalty, and for this reason it still has great importance as a cultural centre. There are more chinlone players around Mandalay than anywhere else in the country, and it's famous for producing great players. Mandalay is a place where you can come close to the heart of Myanmar.

WEATHER
Mandalay is north of the equator, June/July is their summertime. The weather is hot but not humid.

To register or get more info, click here