National Inter-school Wushu Championships- Day 4

After a long week of competition we reach the end of the week. Today we have Lloyd Teo from Sec 2A competiting in the C-Div 5-Duan Nanquan Routine:


Despite showing improvement, Llody missed out some movements in his routine and was penalised 0.2 points.

Next up were our Taiji boys. When the taiji events were first introduced into the wushu competition, there were relatively few competitors. Now, the level of competition in the taiji events has gone up tremendously and the 24-step Taiji Quan, 42-step Taiji Quan, 42-step Taiji Sword are all hotly contested events:


Here we see our B-Div boys Tan Yu Da from Sec 4I and John Png from Sec 3E competeting in the 42-Step Taiji:





Although our B-Boys were not able to place in top 4 in the Taiji events, our C-Boys did us proud and achieved 2 more medals for the C-Div

First up, we had Samuel Tan from 2B representing the C-Boys in the 24-Step Taiji:

Samuel has been training intensively since last year and his hard work really paid off. His improvement in his flexibility and strength comes from his willingness to listen to the advice the coaches and I give him. Samuel gave the C-Div it's first Gold medal of the season.

Next up, we had Ho Mun Yong, also from 2B. Munyong represented the C-Boys in the 42-Step Taiji.

Munyong's smooth delivery of his polished routine gave the C-Div its second Gold Medal.

It has been a tough week and it's still not over yet. We can see the boys competition getting closer each year and the hard work put in by our competitors.
Tomorrow, will be an intensive practice session again in school and we must push through and perservere through to the end.

Push on boys!

So Cute...

While updating the blog on the current Wushu Competition, I was trawling the net and guess what I saw...



Guess who the cute boy in glasses is... (the one in the centre)

Wah, so cute...

National Inter-school Wushu Championships- Day 3

In Day 3 of the National Inter-school Wushu Championships, we saw our B-Boys taking part in the Nan Dao event.

Here we have Darren Tan from 3I:


Darren had a good opening segment and maintained his poise, however a shortage of one advancing step caused a penalty of 0.1 and that proved to be a costly deduction for him.

Next up, was Kong Wei Chung from 4D:


Wei Chung's earth shattering roars reverberated around the entire hall and managed to garner him an 8.05. It allow him to maintain 4th position for a brief moment. However, with several veteran athletes still to take this place on the carpet, Wei Chung was eventually relegated beyond the top 4.

In the B-Boys Broadsword 1st International Routine, we had Bernie Ang from 3G:

Last year, Bernie competed in the Formulated Events in C-Div. This year, moving up to B-Div, the challenge of learning 2 new International Routines indeed made it clear that the stakes were much higher in B-Div. After reviewing the footage and assessing the shortfalls, I was impressed with maturity when Bernie was able to analyse how he needed to step up his training to make up for the time lost last year while recuperating from an injury. In fact, the set back in this event seems to have allowed him to have the determination to push for full participation in the 3 Individual events next year. Bernie told me, "Don't worry, Sir- I still got next year!"
The way Bernie said it, I could hear that it wasn't to console me and the team; but rather it was his determination to overcome his personal barriers.
Bernie, for that, I am proud of you and proud of your amazing come-back to the team.
That is the champion spirit that I wish for all of you.

Despite our various set-backs, we didn't leave empty-handed- our gentle giant, Jeconiah from Sec 1F blazed his way through the C-Boys Nan Quan 1st Intl routine to emerge with a 2nd place Silver for VS

National Inter-school Wushu Championships- Day 2

Today, is Day 2 of the Inter-school Wushu Championships.

First up, we had Ryan Goh (Sec 4A) and Darren Tan (Sec 3I)in the B-Div Nan Gun event:




It was great to see our out-going Sec 4 Team Captain, Ryan Goh, competeting side-by-side with our incoming Sec 3 Team Captain, Darren Tan. It was a tough event with many season competitors and to be honest, the boys and I knew that our hopes were not high in this event. Nevertheless, they gave it their best and sometime after the event we received clarification from the officials that Darren Tan had actually managed to achieve a tie for Bronze in 4th place after all the moderation of scores!

Next for the B-Boys, we had Bernie Ang from Sec 3G in the B-Div Broadsword 1st International Routine:

With 40 over competitors, it was a tough fight for Bernie. He gave it his best but was unable to place in the event.

Next we had the C-Div Boys Changquan 1st International Routine.
First up, we had Leonard Tan from 1F:

Despite a few fumbles, Leonard was in high spirits and is looking forward to pushing himself in next year's competition.

In this even, we also had Lee Jingwei from 2H:

Jingwei gave a good and stable performance- however, the competition for this event was overwhelming and Jingwei was not able to place within the top 4.

As I shared with the boys and their parents, in life there will be people whom you surpass and they will also be others who surpass you.
Do not be arrogant when you have triumphed over your opponent- for only a worthy opponent can bring out the best in you.
Also, do not be dismayed when the efforts of others surpass your own- it does not diminish your own capabilities; rather it gives you a target for your future endeavours.
It may seem to be a profound concept, but when I looked into the faces of the 2 boys I spoke to, I was confident that they understood my expectations and philosophy in training.

The highlight of the day came from Fung Jin Jie from Sec 4E in the B-Div Changquan
2nd International Routine:

'Jingo' as he is affectionately known, put on a stella performance and delivered VS with our first Gold of the season. It was a tough and close fight as all the competitors were seasoned veterans and Jingo narrowly edged his way into first place with a lead of 0.03 pts to get a total of 8.66.

Tomorrow is a new day! Rest well boys, for a new day brings us a new challenge!