Here are the highlights of VS Wushu Team's performances during this year's National Interschool Wushu Championships 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
National Interschool Wushu Competition- Group Events Final Day
After close to 3 weeks of gruelling competition, we reach the final day for group events.
At lot was at stake for VS. For C-Boys, we were leading the table with 31 points, followed closely by Beatty Sec with 30 points. With such a close margin, the fight for division title could swing anyway.
Alas, a costly mistake cost us the Group Quan. Although the general movements and timing were good, we messed up one sequence of the routine and it was obvious to all who saw it:
It was an unforced error and it cost us dearly, we probably lost 0.2 or 0.3 points and based on our final score of 7.96, it would have meant that without the mistake, we might bave placed 2nd or 3rd for the event.
This is a team effort boys, so there are no individual mistakes here. You need to work harder to gel yourself as a team so that we can push on to greater heights next year.
The B-Boys tried their best to regain our pride- it was obvious that their Group Quan was much tighter and focused than the C-boys.
Unfortunately, the competition levels from the other team was intense and the B-Div also failed to place within top 4 in this event, even though they gave a good showing.
By now, we knew that our fellow competitors in the C-Div had accumulated enough points and that from leading the table at 31, we were now laggin behind in 3rd or 4th placing. If we failed to place in the Group Weapon, we ran the risk of being eliminated from top 4 in the division placing.
The boys' morale was low at this point but I told them this:
If we can't fight for 1st place, then we fight for 2nd.
If we can't fight for 2nd place, then we fight for 3rd
If we can't fight for 3rd place, then we fight for 4th
If we can't fight for 4th place, then we fight to do our school, parents and team mates proud.
There is always something to fight for and at the end of the day, it is not the medal you get that determines the value of your fight but rather the strength of your fighting spirit that determines the value of your medal
So we rallied the C-boys together and urged them to lift up their spirits and give it their all:
Personally, I felt it was one of their best attempts at the group weapon event.
However, competition was tough and many of our opponents had more complicated sequences as well as technical sequences which we lacked.
So again, we were not able to place in top four for this event. With this result, our chances for remaining in top 4 for the division title seemed very slim.
But there was still one more event to go- the B-boys Group Weapon.
The B-boys have really matured this year and spent a lot of time working on their group weapon routine. I was really proud and pleased to see their progress and hard work all the way from last year, through the Mar training trip in China till now.
You can see the results of their blood, sweat and tears here:
Unfortunately, our esteemed opponents had slick moves of their own and their choreography and timing was no less tight and incorporated more technical and acrobatic moves. So no placing even for our most confident event, the B-Boys Weapons.
With such a series of set-back for us, morale was indeed low as we stayed back for the end of the competition. However, a quick check with friends and fellow competitors from other schools indicated that we might stil have a glimmer of hope for the C-Div.
And lo and behold, our C-Div boys edged their way into 3rd Position for C-Division.
Even without any further additions, our 31 points was just barely enough to secure a place for us in division top 4.
It was a small triumph in a day of set backs, but that is what martial arts is all about. Perservering through your obstacles and coming back the better man.
You are always my champions, boys. Not because of the medals and not because of your skills but because I know that I have groomed you all to be something more.
Your values and character will be what sets you apart.
So for VS, for your parents, for your team-mates and for yourself...争气吧！
At lot was at stake for VS. For C-Boys, we were leading the table with 31 points, followed closely by Beatty Sec with 30 points. With such a close margin, the fight for division title could swing anyway.
Alas, a costly mistake cost us the Group Quan. Although the general movements and timing were good, we messed up one sequence of the routine and it was obvious to all who saw it:
It was an unforced error and it cost us dearly, we probably lost 0.2 or 0.3 points and based on our final score of 7.96, it would have meant that without the mistake, we might bave placed 2nd or 3rd for the event.
This is a team effort boys, so there are no individual mistakes here. You need to work harder to gel yourself as a team so that we can push on to greater heights next year.
The B-Boys tried their best to regain our pride- it was obvious that their Group Quan was much tighter and focused than the C-boys.
Unfortunately, the competition levels from the other team was intense and the B-Div also failed to place within top 4 in this event, even though they gave a good showing.
By now, we knew that our fellow competitors in the C-Div had accumulated enough points and that from leading the table at 31, we were now laggin behind in 3rd or 4th placing. If we failed to place in the Group Weapon, we ran the risk of being eliminated from top 4 in the division placing.
The boys' morale was low at this point but I told them this:
If we can't fight for 1st place, then we fight for 2nd.
If we can't fight for 2nd place, then we fight for 3rd
If we can't fight for 3rd place, then we fight for 4th
If we can't fight for 4th place, then we fight to do our school, parents and team mates proud.
There is always something to fight for and at the end of the day, it is not the medal you get that determines the value of your fight but rather the strength of your fighting spirit that determines the value of your medal
So we rallied the C-boys together and urged them to lift up their spirits and give it their all:
Personally, I felt it was one of their best attempts at the group weapon event.
However, competition was tough and many of our opponents had more complicated sequences as well as technical sequences which we lacked.
So again, we were not able to place in top four for this event. With this result, our chances for remaining in top 4 for the division title seemed very slim.
But there was still one more event to go- the B-boys Group Weapon.
The B-boys have really matured this year and spent a lot of time working on their group weapon routine. I was really proud and pleased to see their progress and hard work all the way from last year, through the Mar training trip in China till now.
You can see the results of their blood, sweat and tears here:
Unfortunately, our esteemed opponents had slick moves of their own and their choreography and timing was no less tight and incorporated more technical and acrobatic moves. So no placing even for our most confident event, the B-Boys Weapons.
With such a series of set-back for us, morale was indeed low as we stayed back for the end of the competition. However, a quick check with friends and fellow competitors from other schools indicated that we might stil have a glimmer of hope for the C-Div.
And lo and behold, our C-Div boys edged their way into 3rd Position for C-Division.
Even without any further additions, our 31 points was just barely enough to secure a place for us in division top 4.
It was a small triumph in a day of set backs, but that is what martial arts is all about. Perservering through your obstacles and coming back the better man.
You are always my champions, boys. Not because of the medals and not because of your skills but because I know that I have groomed you all to be something more.
Your values and character will be what sets you apart.
So for VS, for your parents, for your team-mates and for yourself...争气吧！
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
National Interschool Wushu Competition- Day 6
Today was Day 6 of the Wushu Competition, our final 2 competitors did well in the events.
First up was Darren Tan in the C-Div Nan Gun:
Darren did well and after an agonising tie at 8.26 for 3rd and 4th, results came out with Darren in 3rd place for another bronze medal for VS C-Div
Our final competitor in the individual events was Fung Jin Jie in the Cudgel 2nd International Routine:
Despite facing stiff competition and the usual variance in scoring, Jin Jie did very well and scored 8.81, narrowly missing the Gold by 0.08 only
Well done boys!
We now have the important Group Events to train for.
We have a fighting chance in both divisions and in order to achieve our goal, you know that the next week will be tough.
But I believe in you- because I know you will fight, not for fame; and you will fight, not for reward; but you fight for your pride and belief in who you are.
维中武术，争气吧！
First up was Darren Tan in the C-Div Nan Gun:
Darren did well and after an agonising tie at 8.26 for 3rd and 4th, results came out with Darren in 3rd place for another bronze medal for VS C-Div
Our final competitor in the individual events was Fung Jin Jie in the Cudgel 2nd International Routine:
Despite facing stiff competition and the usual variance in scoring, Jin Jie did very well and scored 8.81, narrowly missing the Gold by 0.08 only
Well done boys!
We now have the important Group Events to train for.
We have a fighting chance in both divisions and in order to achieve our goal, you know that the next week will be tough.
But I believe in you- because I know you will fight, not for fame; and you will fight, not for reward; but you fight for your pride and belief in who you are.
维中武术，争气吧！
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
National Interschool Wushu Competition- Day 5
Today is Day 5 and we only had one competitor- Ryan Goh competiting in the B-Boys Nan Gun event.
There were a lot of strong opponents in this category, with some of them every from the National Youth Squad! Honestly, Ryan spent about just a month or so learning this routine!
When we first talked about it and I asked Ryan if he was willing to stretch himself and just try and see how much he could absorb. Ryan told me, "Why not?"
So Ryan spent the next weeks training hard with Darren- it was good to see our boys helping each other out. I tried my best to help since I learnt this routine before, but the current interpretation is very different from the way I was taught and I've not actively practiced it in a long, long time, so I wasn't able to be of much help to Ryan. But Ryan perservered and learnt the routine from our coaches, got Darren to help him fine-tune the lessons and still gave a pretty good performance.
Not bad right? Not in contention for Top 4, perhaps, but definitely not bad for less than 2 months work.
Now some may ask,"Eh Mr Siow, your athlete haven't even start learning the routine, you sign him up for the event? Liddat how to win?"
Well, it is my belief and philosophy here in the VS Team to send my students for competitions in order to make them better athletes and not to have good athletes in order to win competitions.
Ultimately, it is all about personal growth.
Did Ryan win a medal? No.
Did Ryan grow and achieve a breakthrough under the challenge I set for him?
Definitely.
And that is what the martial arts are all about :)
There were a lot of strong opponents in this category, with some of them every from the National Youth Squad! Honestly, Ryan spent about just a month or so learning this routine!
When we first talked about it and I asked Ryan if he was willing to stretch himself and just try and see how much he could absorb. Ryan told me, "Why not?"
So Ryan spent the next weeks training hard with Darren- it was good to see our boys helping each other out. I tried my best to help since I learnt this routine before, but the current interpretation is very different from the way I was taught and I've not actively practiced it in a long, long time, so I wasn't able to be of much help to Ryan. But Ryan perservered and learnt the routine from our coaches, got Darren to help him fine-tune the lessons and still gave a pretty good performance.
Not bad right? Not in contention for Top 4, perhaps, but definitely not bad for less than 2 months work.
Now some may ask,"Eh Mr Siow, your athlete haven't even start learning the routine, you sign him up for the event? Liddat how to win?"
Well, it is my belief and philosophy here in the VS Team to send my students for competitions in order to make them better athletes and not to have good athletes in order to win competitions.
Ultimately, it is all about personal growth.
Did Ryan win a medal? No.
Did Ryan grow and achieve a breakthrough under the challenge I set for him?
Definitely.
And that is what the martial arts are all about :)
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