Dyanna is growing up fast!

After hearing the wonderful news that DD is teething and sitting up I decided to pay a visit to mommy and baby.

Lo and behold..Chin's beautiful princess!

I was very impressed as she is not even 6 months old when she started sitting up. I thought that usually sitting up is preceded by rolling over on the tummy but Chin told me that both sort of happened simultaneously!

DD is also teething so she's biting anything and everything that she grabs her hands on.

Some tender moments with mommy

I had a great time playing with DD and catching up with Chin about things that have bebn happening. I would go all soft when she coos and speaks her baby talk. Chin, it's been while since we got together and we should go out for drinks soon.

The journey begins.

After having been sufficiently rested and my mind in a balanced state, I think I am ready to write about what happened last weekend.

Last weekend was one of sorts, there was good and bad, happy and sad and many others in between. That weekend also marked the fateful upgrading for a few of us. Sensei will be tested for nidan, whilst myself and 2 others will be tested for shodan. The RenRen brothers went for their 8th kyu upgrading and did well. We have been briefed and discussed about the requirements for shodan and I've also helped myself to articles concerning the road to that stage.

Shodan, as it is written in kanji, is - "初段". As someone who is reasonably proficient in the Chinese language, I read that term literally as "the beginning stage". As often being told, attaining shodan is the actual beginning in the learning of aikido. Before that it was sort of kindy aiki as my friend would put it. So by the time you reach the stage of shodan you should have a good basic understanding of aikido and its techniques. It is from here that you start "doing" aikido, for lack of a better term. That also means that you should be able to take ukemi where the technique involves a higher level of difficulty. In other words, you should be ready to take ukemi. Full stop. Some people are of the view that attaining shodan automatically means you can teach, but I hold a different opinion on that, partly based on the what I've said above.

So with that in mind, I constantly question whether I have what it takes to go for grading. I am slow in learning sometimes and can get very analytical, which paralyzes my training sometimes. It comes with some responsibility and possibly more given the situation we are in. So I kept telling myself that I am not ready for this. But what is the worst that could happen? I fail laa.. It's not the success of failure that I am concern with, I was just in the mood of escapism. Anyway, I readied myself for the time. I was also very comforted and encouraged by a show of friendship and support of a good friend who flew in from Singapore to join the seminar and support our grading. 

It was all good until the time sensei announced that the grading will now begin. We started with the kyu grading which involved 6 candidates. Chin came with DD to watch the grading and that put a big smile on my face. Then are we moved to the ikkyu grading I started to feel nervous. Sweaty palms, butterflies in stomach and restlessness. And sure enough, out of the 3 I was the first to be called for the shodan grading. I bowed and shikko towards the examiners with my uke Charles. I emptied my mind and told myself to just do what I always do during training. No big deal.

We started of with katatori locks. Sensei's voice was loud and commanding and he kept saying, "continue! continue!" I knew that he wanted to see whether I would move to his pace under pressure. But I deliberately took my time. I was did not move very fast but made sure that it was a continous flowing move. Maai, hanmi, irimi tenkan, kuzushi, zanshin. I made sure that it was there for each and every technique I executed. I couldn't remember what I was tested on before after the first command it was just me and Charles. During locking I took my time, giving myself time to calm my mind and for my uke to have enough rest. But deep down I felt really nervous, although I tried my best to look calm. Keep to regular breathing and a good long exhale as I finish my lock.

The grading seemed neverending and all I heard was "Next technique! Continue!" I felt that I was moving around in the circles and next thing I know it was  "jiyuwaza!" on different attacks that ended with a nikkyo ura lock. Finally "suwariwaza kokyuho!". Ahhhhh yukata...its over! As I bowed to the senseis who graded me, I heard a loud round of clapping at the background. Happy with the encouragement, I am just glad that it is over.

The next to follow were N and C. I recorded their grading and felt proud of them, as they executed one technique after the other, as a showing of the dedication, time and effort that Saturday sensei spent on us, as well as the training that we put in all these years.

PH was happy with my grading and said that I did quite well, but to be honest I haven't a clue what happened during the grading. I will find out when B passes me the cd of my recorded grading. Hehehe.

I had my first training session last night and it feels like any other session. If anything I feel the responsibility to train that much harder and to help in anyway I can, towards the training of my junior. Alot of things are on my mind now but I am going to just take it one step at the time. Train train and train.

At the end of the day, I went home and took out the kuro obi that I bought a few months earlier and reflect on  what had happened since I started training 3 1/2 years ago. I trained steadfastly, quietly and obediently in what I think is a martial art that encompasses the ideals that I grew up with and held onto. I thought of my late grandfather and what a great man he was. Attaining shodan is merely the beginning but it is also a significant milestone in my life. I want to be able to do this for as long as I can. It will be wonderful journey with alot of ah-ha! moments.

This one is for you grandpa. I love you.

A Bento Story

Some of you may not know, I have a thing for lunchboxes. I look at lunchboxes so often my mom will sigh at the sight, just as how I would sigh when she looks at the pots and pans. Hehehe.

Anyway, I have now have a decent collection of lunchboxes and use them as often as I can. I even have a lunch jar gifted by my colleagues because that is the only thing they are sure I would want. That lunch jar will feature in another post, hopefully.

My lastest lunchbox is Lock N Lock set from Hua Ho. There were 2 types of lunchboxes but I choose this because the top layer has 3 compartments which I thought would be more useful than the other with 2 compartments (don't ask me why...). They didn't have white so I chose my next favoured colour, red. I had used it a few times and I am surprised that the volume of food contained in this small lunchbox set is actually sufficient for my diet. It looks very small compared to the lunch jars and other lunchboxes that I use but then again...like I said, its size is good enough for my stomach.

I did a fair bit of research on the effects of plastics on food and finally decided that PP5 plastic is reasonably safe to use.

Chin said that she wants to see what food I put in it so here it goes.

Fridays are days of abstinence for me so no meat will be featured in my lunchbox. I can eat fish but sometimes I go vegetarian altogether. I like to eat my meals cooked on the day so you RARELY see overnight food in my lunchbox. I was quite rushed today so this meal is very simple. Calrose rice, beaked beans, stir fried broccoli and tuna chunks seasoned with olive oil, lemon and spring onion. So I have my carbohydrates, protein and oils.

 The lunchbox set comes with a keep warm zip bag and a set of plastic spoon and fork.

It is really a very small set. I should have put my hand next to it as a comparison of size. All in all I am very please with my purchase. Hopefully as I make my bentos I will remember to take pictures of them.

A rainy Sunday

I wasn't thinking of doing some housekeeping today but then I got a call early in the morning from sensei to say that he can't conduct class at Seria because he is having dizzy spells. He might have to cancel class if there is no substitute. So I contacted T and we went down together. T is going to take the class and I would be his uke.

T and I had a good chat on our way down to Seria. We arrived half an hour earlier and I did my own stretching. The class consisted of drills for ukemi. What T stressed on is not far from what sensei has benentalking about, but the difference is in the manner and articulation in delivery. With the choice of words and the way they are spoken, the impact can be QUITE different.

I was given 30 minutes of alone time with P to practice techniques for his Ikkyu grading at the end of this month. P wanted to do some tantowaza. As far as I remembered we did yokomenuchi irimingage, shihonage, kaitenage, kotegaeshi and gokyo. We repeated the same techniques with tsuki attack.

After suwariwaza kokyuho everyone lined up after sorting out his/her dogi. T then went to each and every member to adjust seiza position. Opening of the chest, straightening the back, lowering the shoulder. There is a big piece of mirror in front of us and everyone can see the difference after the adjustment. I was the only one that did not need adjustment. I know, there is no humility here. Hehehehe.

After class there was some sharing on aikido techniques and T and I had dinner before going back to BSB. Looking forward to training tomorrow.

Good night!

Happy birthday Charles!

May the Happy Force be with you always!

Change is a constant in life

I find it hard to believe but it's that time again - grading. I have never like doing it. Maybe because ..of few reasons. When I first started Aikido one of the things that attracted me to it is the "no competition" training. I like to think of it as training for self improvement and to resolve confrontation. Putting things back in its place as the saying goes. So I thought I can just come, train, make some friends, work out a sweat and go home feeling good that I am just bit by bit closer to becoming a "martial artist".

Then there was some change.

I started to travel for seminars. I made new friends. I shared my experiences with my fellow members of what's I have experienced training in a dojo from Bangkok to Manchester. I made more friends. 

It didn't stop there. 

My deepening passion for aikido became ostensible to many and it attracted some attention. I was given the opportunity to contribute by being involved in administrative affairs. Because I desire very much to see Aikido progress in my homeland, my involvement in administration became alot heavier. In a couple of days' time, I shall retire my term as the Secretary General of the BAF.

I said to myself, I wish I could go back to the time when I am just an ordinary member, training and enjoy the company of my friends. Now I have responsibilites.

As the change continues, my master tells me he feels that it is time for me to take my shodan test. Hmmmm (read it as - alot of reservation and reluctance). I had a good talk with him about it, as well as my STI. Bottomline, I guess I can't continue to just receive and not give. As much as I hate to admit it, in terms of rank I cannot stay where I am forever ( the issue of rank is another topic altogether which I may revisit in due course). So I must embrace that change and prepare myself as best as I can.

My fellow member who is also due for shodan grading at the same time is worried about his perfomance as a change in the job position made it very difficult for him to train as our usual times. I told him that we train whenever we can and see where that will take us. Last night, he committed himself to a training session with me. It was just the 2 of us and we trained for about 90 minutes before calling it a night. We agreed on a training pattern and offered feedback on the other's perfomance during training. I really enjoyed the training. 

And yes, we have changed. We have come a long way since our days as a newbie on the mat. I am reminded myself of that everytime I see S training at the beginner's section. I wish her many years of good training ahead.

In 3 weeks' time it will mark another change in my life. There will be many more to come. 

Whatever happens, change will always be there. Life is beautiful, isn't it?

A night out for music

Arrival of the Guest of Honour Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah binti Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman

Her Royal Highness presenting a mock cheque to representative of Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam

Città di Firenze

Performance by Leonardo Melani, Tenor

I had a great time.

Chin decided to have dinner at Topaz for her birthday. I arrived at a quite restaurant. It was clean and tidy looking. The restaurant had been in business for nearly a year and I was wondering whether the lack of dining crowd was due to the quality of its food or simply because it was the "dry" part of the month for most locals.

 

My mock Sangria. It tasted something like a toned down version of san suan ping.

 

DD was feeling a little grumpy. She had her jab during the day.

The lamb shank was not too bad but was a bit dry.

H was reasonably satisfied with the pasta pesto.

Unfortunately, there was only one dessert available at Topaz so we swung over to Saffron for its delicious desserts.

 My favourite! Warm chocolate pudding!

The heavenly pavlova

 

Chin liked this alot. Sticky date pudding.

Banana crepes. Thumbs up.

You're being too nice

Can I change that? Do I want to?

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"

Familiarity breeds contempt. Normally we tend to take things or persons for granted after getting comfortable or close. We cease to extend grace and courtesies to each other. Sometimes that may extend to failing to carry out responsibilites or obligations altogether. No man is an island. Our acts, whether we know it or not,  does have an effect on those surrounding us. Take some time to think about your acts, omissions or neglect and ask yourself whether you would have done the same thing to yourself. or allow the same to be done to you.

People remember you most for how you treated them. Relationships count alot in life.