Weekly update again…



1. I’ll be graduating with 1 extra credit point (cp). Haiz…. Sounds good, but actually it’s not. Cos it means I have to do more work than most of my classmates. As if normal work is not hectic enough. *bangs head on the wall* Here’s what happened. We are all supposed to select an elective module out of a list to complete this semester. The module is supposed to be a 3 cp module. However, at the 1st week of the sem, we were told that the module we originally selected was not running and we had to choose another one instead. Fair enough…. My 2 classmates n I decided to choose this module called Stress & Disability. Since it’s in the list of modules for us to choose from and all the other modules in that list are 3 cp, we presumed that we would be doing a 3 cp module too. It was only on Thur that we realized that it was not the case! This module is a 4 cp module!!! *faints* And it was too late to change module as it is already week 5 of the semester. So silly rite? And it wasn’t specifically stated in the list that this module will be a 4 cp module. Learnt a lesson. Never assume. Haiz…. Luckily the module is quite interesting and the lecturer is nice. But the down side is more assignments. Will be busy busy busy…


2. Had weapons training on Thur’s night aikido training. Learnt some Jo techniques. Mainly defending and attacking. Hehe.. and I realize I don’t know how to coordinate my hands, body and legs movements. Felt like they were all going in many different directions at the same time.


3. Had an Australian style lunch time BBQ by the beach on Sat.


4. And, I’M GOING HOME ON 5 DEC!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!! So so so excited…..

Aikido!

Some things that I learnt from my 3 sessions of aikido in Sydney:

1. It v nice and comfortable to train in winter. The hall we are using for training is indoors but with windows that can be opened for ventilation. So when the wind blows in, it leaves you feeling cool and when you perspire during training, it dries up very fast. Very 爽！


2. Tatami mats are very nice to train on. Cos they are quite smooth on the surface, thus won’t give you friction burns. And they are firm yet absorb impact very well, so not painful when you fall.


3. Aussies are very ‘onz’ during training. They’ll repeat every movement continuously and at a relatively fast speed. And even when the sensei demonstrates the move, it’s accelerated cos he usually only shows the moves 3 times and tells us to try it already.


4. Locks in Oz are not meant to hurt (or at least so during training). They are meant to just pin the uke down so that he’s unable to attack again.


5. Yi-kyo practiced in Oz is very different from Yi-kyo practiced in Spore. In Oz, yi-kyo does not involve the ‘1st gear’ movement at all. It is just putting one knee on the ribs and the other pushing the forearm of the uke, placing the held arm flat on the ground slightly above the uke’s head and then pressing down on the wrist and elbow of the uke.


6. If someone suddenly grabs you from behind, lift up your forearms so that they are away from the attacker so that the attacker cannot grab you completely and crush your sternum. After that, lead the person to the front or the side of you and throw the person down.


7. No matter how tight the person is grabbing you, once you lower your centre of gravity (CG) the person will either lose his grip or has to fall. Therefore, if nothing else works, lead the uke to the side of you, and then lower your CG so much till you are sprawl flat on the ground. The uke definitely has to fall. Can either do it fast or slowly (like bowing). Both ways works. Tried and tested by me to be v effective. :)


8. The proper way to hold a weapon is really an art. The way to use the weapon to strike someone is an even more difficult to master art. It requires precision as well as grace in holding the weapon and coordinating the footwork. And you really need lots of concentration and practice to be able to follow the person you want to attack no matter in which direction he moves.


9. I can actually lift and drag an ang moh man across the length of the mats with him hanging behind me pretending to want to crush my sternum. All the while maintaining the slightly open forearm position to keep him away from my sternum. (Ok lah, the ang moh is not v big sized. But still.... )


The result of these 3 sessions of training is, a partially broken toe nail, a huge blue-black on one of my shoulders, a slightly pulled leg muscle, but lots of fun and lots of interesting things learnt.