Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Outing with me cuzzies







I heart my cousins, and they heart me :)

Monday, November 06, 2006

Raya Pics

Hi all!

Lazy to write as usual, so this is gonna be short and sweet. Summary of Raya in pics.

Enjoy!

Brothers...



Cousins...





Friends...




Some bunga api...



Treats...





Woooo duit raya! (So happy, still got some this year woohoo!)



And finally, back to this... yeay!!



Selamat Hari Raya everyone!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Kendo: Beginnings




A short but informative piece on Kendo. Classes have been good so far, learning basic swings, kata, and footwork. Good news is my gi and hakama (see picture below) have arrived woohoo! Can't wait to put it on. I dunno, wearing a t-shirt and loose pants reminds me I'm a beginner, seems to take the fun a bit out of things hehehe.

Gi and Hakama


Hmm, I guess I better learn to put it on. This will come in handy.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Aikido: International Shudokan Aikido Gasshuku



I had the privilege of attending the International Shudokan Aikido Gasshuku the whole of last week. International not in location (Seremban, KL then Port Dickson), rather, international in that the participants came from Australia, UK, Indonesia, and some from Iran, Vietnam and Libya.

The programme itself was rather simple, training hard everyday, morning and evening, under amazing Senseis or Masters of Aikido, especially Sensei Joe Thambu who I have mentioned before in an earlier piece. Had to work extra hard as I was the only representative from Seremban Dojo (Birthplace of Shudokan Aikido), and me only a white belt! Woooo pressure.

Met loads of people, who were all very nice, and not all from our style of Aikido. Aikikai students from Singapore and Phillipines also attended.

In between training there were demonstrations in Seremban, KL and Port Dickson. During the whole thing, I had to MC a dinner (of 200!), sell t-shirts (what the??), take a midnight stroll on the beach (nice), roti canai at 1am (yum), and loads of other stuff.

Anyway learnt a lot, met people, had fun. Nuff said. I'll update this piece with pictures once I've got them all from various sources.

Update: Photos added

Seremban Dojo


1. Enrica, Nicole, Me
2. Sensei Thamby Rajah with Aikidoka from all over
3. Phew, training's over!



Tiara Beach Resort Training


Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!



1. Aikido Chicks
2. Indon Crew
3. The 5 Roommates



Port Dickson

The Senseis


1. Senseis from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, and UK
2. Sensei Gerard doing what he does best
3. Sensei Mark, Sensei Damon, and Sensei Jeremy



The Amazing Kids



1. Seremban Dojo kids woohoo!
2. Dhuha the Amazing
3. Awang the Awesome



Misc




1. Syuhada and Salihah
2. Salihah kicking ass!
3. Sensei Joe Thambu
4. Sensei Mark, me! (The one pulling his stomach in mwahahahaha)

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Merdeka!

Happy Merdeka!

Have passion. Strive to be the best, to constantly learn, to constantly improve and to keep pushing beyond your comfort zone. Ultimately, be a leader among men (and women).

Being a great Malaysian will lead to a great Malaysia.

Have a good one!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Aikido: Short Piece on Yoshinkan Aikido

Sensei Joe Thambu (Nephew of Sensei Thamby from Shudokan Seremban) - 6th Dan Black Belt in Yoshinkan Aikido features in this story from Body & Soul

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Kendo


October's sooo far away. Soon my babies... soon. Sigh!

Friday, August 11, 2006

A Session with Tajuddin Ismail

Strong pieces of art need no hype, they are able to stand on their own, and need no aid in telling their story

I had the privilege and honour of meeting Tajuddin Ismail for a chit chat today at his art gallery. The wonderful thing about meeting someone of such high accomplishment, is that even the briefest of meetings leave you refreshed, inspired and totally motivated.

Listening to him speak, while surrounded by his art, gave me a lasting impression. To go off the beaten path requires courage, and drive, but above all, a healthy dose of self-belief and conviction. Do something because you believe in it, remain honest and true to yourself throughout, and the rest will pretty much take care of itself.

"Success is when I wake up and still feel like painting". An easy statement to dismiss, except for the fact that he has been painting for over 40 years!

Surely if we inculcate this drive and passion within ourselves, to constantly push and explore, to expand our boundaries, will we break the shackles of mediocrity, to achieve our dreams, and ultimately... to find ourselves.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Aikido: 1000 Flips

Oh my achin' back! Really need to work on my rolls and flips. Just got to keep at it. Training is the key, do it enough times earnestly, and something's gotta improve, no shortcuts to it. 1,000 flips, 1,000 rolls. Did a lot of them in class today, which I'm happy about.

Forward roll

Ukemi (Receiving the throw/attack) is almost as important as the actual defense techniques in Aikido. Kinda satisfying when you do a roll, and you give the mat that loud thwack as you land.



I wanna do this! (Nope, not the guy on the right, the other one, on the left, hehehe)

That does it! Extra practice after the next class. Can't wait!

Illustration 1: http://www.aikidofaq.com/bilder/drawings/or_mae-ukemi.jpg.html
Illustration 2:
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~aikido/

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Aikido: Sunday Demo

Sunday was great. Our dojo participated in a demo in Seremban, for Hari Kecergasan Kanak-Kanak.

I came to help out, as the performance was done by the kids. First up was a dance routine, followed by a Judo performance. Then came our turn, followed by wushu and a lion dance.

After Judo, came my performance. I was simply amazing. Such grace, and power in my movements. Actually, I was just the mat layer, better known as stage kuli hehehe. Still you can't blame one for taking pride in his job :)

Anyway, after the mats were laid, the real heroes came out. Our juniors came out and started their performance. What a show! Kudos to them for giving 100% and impressing the crowd.

Whoa! Sometimes in Aikido if you wanna see how something should be done, go and look at how kids do it. Now I know who to go to when I want to correct my flip rolls. Don't be fooled, these kids can teach any adult a thing or two.

They performed Kihon Dosa, which is a basic kata or movement in Yoshinkan Aikido. This was followed by some rolls, flips, and even somersaults! Next, came some techniques performed in slow motion, then at normal speed. The crowd was very appreciative, and gave tremendous applause.

Next, Dayang came up. Phwoarrr! She performed Jiyu Waza (closest to freestyle sparring in Aikido) on Noveen Sensei, and man did it looked brutal from where I was standing. I think I heard some gasps from the audience, looking in amazement. Very impressive. Dayang is only 14, which is probably why hehe. Jealous! I want to be a Shodan too! Patience Imran, patience! Arrghh!

Anyway, took some photos with my camera phone. Waiting for some other photos, and a stunning video of Dayang and Noveen Sensei in action. Oo also I just started using Tabblo, this new photo service. Click below to see the pictures, comments and criticism are welcome. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Aikido: Sensei Francis Klyne

Sensei Francis Klyne, Aikido teacher of my childhood days was highlighted in The Star yesterday. I had just woken up when my dad came in and gave me the papers, showing the article.


Sensei Francis Klyne

My early teacher of Aikido

Sensei Francis taught me, as well as my brothers as children. Back then he was a towering figure to us kids, but somehow we were never intimidated, as he had a very gentle and kind demeanour about him.

What I remember most was how he made classes fun for us kids, and how he put up with our antics in the dojo (Used to always go for the weapons, and hurt ourselves, or fight with my brothers heh heh).

Still going strong

He would train alongside the kids, and take amazing falls, with the most amazingly loud slams on the mat I ever heard. I really believed I was this powerful kid, being able to throw a person of his size, which I guess led me to learning to love Aikido, heh heh.

Thank you Sensei Francis, and hope to see you soon.

Here's the article from The Star:

A guru’s kick in life

At first glance, Francis Klyne may look like any other senior citizen. But don’t be quick to judge this martial arts guru as he can still take on younger opponents with just a twist of his hand before hurling them into the air. The 65-year-old has almost five decades’ experience as an Aikido practitioner and received his early training at the martial art’s headquarters in Japan. Despite his credentials, Klyne has always maintained a low profile until recently when his disciples “coaxed” him to agree to some publicity. The father of two was the first student of illustrious Aikido master K.Thambirajah who was the first Malaysian to be graded the rank of “Shodan” (1st dan) in June 1957 by the Japanese Government. Thambirajah, 82, has also been endorsed as the Oldest Practising Aikido Instructor in the country by Malaysia Book Of Records. Klyne repeatedly praised Thambirajah for teaching him the martial art. “I am indebted to him for parting with his skills that eventually moulded me into what I am today,” he said. Born in Seremban, Klyne devoted most of his life to martial arts including Judo, but was intrigued with Aikido because of the pain inflicted on opponents by the locks and grips. In the late 1970s, he had received several awards from the Negri Sembilan Government for thwarting crime in Seremban. Klyne has also formed his own martial arts centre in Taman Bukit Blossom, Seremban, where he trains almost 50 students. “My soul is devoted to martial arts and I will continue to teach until my last breath,” he added.