My classroom was next to the basketball court when I was in primary 1. Every recess, I spend my time sitting next to the court and enjoyed watching the game played by the upper primary students while eating my recess meals. I only picked up the game so much later - when I was in Sec 3! I used to hang out with my buddies of other ECA (now called CCA) uniformed group leaders. They all loved basketball - so I have to learn the game. YiShun (NPCC), Charlie (NPCC), Vincent (NPCC), YiYang and ZhiWen (NCC) all used to play at the Lengkee Community Centre from 12 noon all the way till about 5pm.
As a beginner and bigger build than them, I was forced to play centre and I was only 1.68 meters tall! Because my prior training at TKD, I am more aggressive and force strongly inside the paint area - thus earning me the nick of "The Road Bully" as I always drive my way through as if I was a reckless monsterĄ
For those doubters that I can still play the game, I can still score if I want to and I am talking about lay-up, drive-to-the-basket, post-up or even the three-point-baskets. When I am hot in "The Zone", I can't be stopped! Once my burst comes - within a span of 7 minutes, you can see me taking over the game. I simply do everything from steals, rebounds, blocks, assists to scorings. I will be simply unstoppable! (~Muahahaha~, evil laugh)
I injured myself playing basketball before. I was in clutches for a week with a suspected fractured. It really scared me to death then. It was then I learned to be more "tame" in the game. As my age catches up with me and I have not grown any taller (though I prayed that miracle happensĄ), I had since played power-forward and point-guard now. Why power-forward? I can still "bully" people and I simply loved to rebound and defense - as Dennis Rodman and the fact that my shooting are not that consistent. As for point-guard, I just enjoyed dishing out assists and working out the attacking plan. With the most important thing being the "boss" - I would be in control of the pace and rhythm of play.
I still try to play the game as frequently as possible. In the evening after work, you can most probably find me at the basket court near my home - the Lengkee C.C. shooting hoops, playing 3-on-3 half-court or 5-5 full court. Though I am one of the "uncles" now, I still got a lot to learn from kids like Gabriel, WeiJie and Timothy. Their trick moves are just really fantastic.
Guess it is common to have some players in the NBA as your idol when you are playing the ball game. My first "hero" is none other the bully himself - "Sir" Charles Barkley - the mean lump of meat. Hahaha, he is big-sized - in other words - FAT in the NBA but yet he averages good numbers in scoring, rebound and assist!
My next NBA player that I admired later in SAJC is the menace - Dennis Rodman - the "Worm" and the rebound master. He is just unbelievable in his rebounding and defense. There is simply no other creature like him in the planet - that probably explained why he is termed as an alienĄ
The last but not least, I learned to really appreciate is His Airness - the one and only Michael Jordan - the supreme player that ever played the game. No one can stop him except himself and that is a fact! Three-In-A-Row twice and six champion rings, what more do I need to prove the case that he is the greatest player? What I admired most is his mental toughness and discipline. His will power to win is unrivalled and unique. He only gets stronger when the crucial moment is near - he simply has the ability just to be in control when the chips are down. And that doesn't matter whether that he is injured, sick or marked tightly!
And tell you the truth, I admired the "Zen-Master" the most - the super cool Phil Jackson. For a coach, he is just a cut above the rest. The most important thing is that the players - no matter how big a star (Jordan, Kobe or Shaq) or how problematic (Rodman or Scottie) - respect and listen to him. He can get his players to execute out what he wants precisely. His famous "Triangle Offense" is still the most feared and powerful formation. He allows his players to do what they do best - even small supporting casts of the teams shine like stars because Phil just simply brilliant in getting the best out of their players. He is one of the role model that I later learned from when I coached my St. John Ambulance Teams.
Your body can be old - but never too old in the heartĄ
Taekwando or TKD - is a Martial Art that trains both the mind and body. You see, I was a rather "weak" boy - getting sick quite easily. Moreover, I was more "indoor" kind of boy. Taking up TKD helps me to challenge me both mentally and physically. You see, I was rather horizontally challenged!
Nevertheless, I took up the sports in Jalan Imbi - my first Primary School. Without fail, I would be send over by my dad for the exercise I dearly needed every Sunday morning. There, I am placed under the watchful eyes of my "Si-Fu" or "Ah Sir". He would give us morning physical training for an hour. Then, we would proceed for an hour of basics - the punches, the kicks and the patterns.
After which, the real excitement will begin - the sparring. Of course, those are for green-belt bearers and above. Hell man, I got a good beating for being so kind and reluctant to hit out. But it was in good sports. You learn to be stronger up there. You take a blow, you stand strong. You are knock-down, you get up. You are outmatched or outclassed by your opponent; you hang in there- holding your ground. I attribute a lot of my determination and drive in my later part of my life to TKD.
I love Kung-Fu movies, but I am definitely no Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. I am more of a defensive fighter - relying more on counter-attacks and heavy blows. I usually will tempt the opponent to take two or three hits at me first. I will understand the skilled and force the opponent possessed before formulating how to counter-attack.
Sometimes the fear will get to you, but you can't run away just like that. It's cowardly and shameful. You have to dig deep into whatever reserves you have inside you. Fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but rather the presence of fear and the overcoming of it. I also understand that in combat, sometimes you need to simulate the "bulldog-spirit", be the aggressor - with lots of fire and fury.
Ask any martial arts exponents, they will tell you that sparring will no doubt be the part they will remember the most! Until today, I remember two of my most memorable fights I have had. Once was at my promotion to green-belt examination. My opponent actually ran away from me as I just overwhelmed him with fear. The other time was when I went for my junior black-belt examination or grading. The black-belt holder that I was pitted against was so fast, agile and powerful. I still remember the sidekick he gave me - I managed to block it, but it just went on like it didn't matter that it was blocked - it slided right up to my neck. I almost choked on that kick!
All good things have to come to an end though. I gave up martial arts when I was about to sit for my U.P.S.R. - Malaysia's primary school leaving examination. Subsequently, I spend my times remember the old days of training as I live my new life in Singapore. I did try to come back and learn the art again in my university days. However, my knee was busted and the load of study proves too much of a combination blows for me.
One thing is for sure - what I have learned from TKD is much more than physical combat skills. Rather, it is more of a mental discipline and inner self-control. These are things I will remember and hopefully apply it to my daily life as long as I live.
Well, I just started learning archery in mid 2002. My sis, Amy introduced me into it. She is pretty good at it. In fact, she has lots of trophies and medals to back it up. She even split her arrows twice! This is the only sports that I got beaten by her completely.
Talk about bow and arrows; you will have people relating by Robin Hood and now more recently - The Lord of The Rings. In fact, archery isn't that kind of "exciting" sports in that sense. It's about hitting the bull-eyes - your target. If you don't hit it, you have got to fine-tune and figure out what you did wrong. Applying this philosophy into life, you can learn much about how you miss your target and analyze what went wrong.
The reason why I say I enjoy it because it is no longer a sport that compete with opponent sword-to-sword out there. More than ever, you are pitted against yourself - something totally unlike TKD - you need the resilience to comeback from setbacks and disappointments. You have to learn to move on. In a way, it's something like golf.
I can understand precisely why I fair poorly in this sports - I am impatient and too impulsive. In archery, the main thing is about composure and cool-headedness - some qualities that I have yet to possess. I have thus come to conclude that I may not have talent in this sport, but it is definitely one of the things I enjoyed doing to de-stress and gain focus in life. Sometimes, a sport is not about other people, it's about you and yourself.
Chess - the choice game of gentlemen trying to outwit one another. It has been in existence for a long time. It teaches one of strategic, rational and creative thinking all at the same time. It is in fact, what I called the ultimate mental duel. Not only you have to make guesses of what moves your opponent is making, you need to think of counter-moves while anticipating his counter for your counter-moves. The permutations are infinite - thus making the game interesting and exciting. It also teaches the virtue of being careful and not to be greedy - do not bite the bait so easily - there is no free lunch.
My uncles enjoyed playing Chinese Chess among themselves. My cousins and I used to hang around them trying to figure out why they can play a game for so long. My mum actually is the first person to teach me how to move the pieces. In no time, I am playing chess with my cousins. As young kids, we would test our skills and play with the uncles - of course, they would let us have some advantage by omitting their important pieces. Soon, we are improving so much that they have to play us on equal grounds.
When I just came to Singapore for my secondary school education, I managed to find a group of classmates equally engrossed in the game of Chinese Chess. Together, we started a small group - The "Chess Corner". We organized our own internal ranking system and play against one another regularly. GuoQiang, HongLiang, YiYang and I were the "Four Heavenly Kings of Chess" - coined as the rage then were the "Four Heavenly Kings of Canto Pop". When we were Sec 1, we can actually outplay the best chess players in the school chess club school team. We remained the school's best chess-playing class for the entire four years.
When I got to Junior College, Again, I managed to get into a good company of chess players. WeiAnn, my best pal and "brother" is also a very excellent chess player. Both of us are in the Chess Club. He being the club favorite - took office as the President of Chess Club while I was the Captain for the School Teams. Here and then, as always, I would receive challenges from players to game of chess. It gives me the need to stay on top of my game.
However, I have since given up playing chess competitively as I know that I have almost reached my maximum potential. When I finally retired, I will look up my chess-playing buddies and we will relive the days of young - enjoying the company of playing chess against one another once again.
Man United
That match converted me to become a soccer fan. More specifically - a Manchester United fan. Yes, I am referring to The Match - Manchester United v.s. Bayern Munich. From many people - that is a freakishly lucky match, for me - it is a match played with passion. ManU was trailing for more than a half. With the seconds ticking away down to last few minutes, the home fans were already starting to celebrate. Out of nowhere, the Red Devils started the unthinkable fight back.
Be it luck or by a stroke of genius, the now Sir Alex Fergusen decided put in his substitutes - a baby face assassin and an old striker. What was he thinking? Surprise, surprise, they proved to be the winners. The opponents are still dazed after the equalizer. Before they knew it, the winner was in! Everyone was shell-shocked. The best attack defeated the best defense!
Two lessons to be learned here. Football can be not an exciting game - it can still be won in the last minutes - regardless what is the score line. The other being - never lose your guard or lose your heart. That make it three lesson?? ;p
Though I never played soccer, I do follow the match quite closely especially when ManU plays. I have started to support ManU - not just because I jumped on the bandwagon. I read their system and I actually admired their manager - the rightly knighted Sir Alex. He is fiercely competitive and can really get the best out of his players. Most importantly, their "small-fries" can proved to be the decisive winners despite the presence of big star players. Their teams play the team game instead of the individualistic flair.
That is what I called the beautiful game. Alex Fergusen is like the Phil Jackson, my favorite basketball coach in the NBA - they are way above the rest. They can play mind game. Their players were tough mentally - they will not get cocky when they lead nor will they get panicky when the chips are down. They are the role models that I later learned from when I coached my St. John Ambulance Teams.
Howard - That's Me
Growing Up
Playtime
Nerdy Primary Schools
Havoc Secondary School (BMSS)!
Saints Family (SAJC)
Army Daze (NS)
Stressful University Days (NTU)
Memoirs of an Officer (SJAB)
