One of the reasons why babies learn fast the way they do is because of the nature of the exposure and the elasticity of their minds. Right? Neurologists please correct, basing this only on my own reasoning lol.
They are exposed to many beginner level, novice stage, simple stuff. So it's like a big thing when a baby takes his first steps. From crawling to walking, the improvement is so vast, and the knowledge gained so much, so wide, but it ain't deep.
Same for many things. It's easy to learn the beginner stage and simple stuff first because our mind picks it up quickly and learns faster by practice. On the contrary, for the difficult stuff, you need to practice more. It's definitely harder for Usain Bolt to shave a second off his PB, than it is for me to accomplish the same.
For bboying, learning the beginnings of a windmill, nike, 6 step, indian step, handstand, or even flare, is alot easier than perfecting a flare. It is partially because of the nature of the move and the elasticity of the mind. When we first started bboying, we explored our style, know nothing about knowledge, and just want to form the first set as quick as possible. But as our style develops, we construct better sentences for our sets and replies, and our dance starts to make sense.
Then comes the difficult part. This is when improvement will slow. It's no longer so easy to get a move in one day. Our styles and tendencies make us, but sometimes also limit us. It becomes hard to make more minisets. Sometimes creating new stuff requires brainstorming.
But when you watch videos, you suddenly gain inspiration and have new ideas. Not so much of biting ideas, but the movement of another person opens up a little channel in your mind. More often than not you go like "that's fresh! why haven't I explored it?!" than "wtf was that shit?". The fact that you responded well means that there is a certain thing in his movement that you can make sense of. And the sense you made turned up to be something beautiful. All these is because of an exposure to another movement or idea, thought, interpretation.
But that's not all. we can go deeper. What does that imply? What does being inspired by an external idea mean? What can we conclude from this in the end?
To be inspired means that your mind, or your soul is receptive enough to an external stimulus to be influenced positively. Why this happens is because of 2 reasons:
1. The external stimuli and the person himself have a somewhat understandable understanding field.
2. The person himself has enough brain elasticity to capture and understand the stimuli, even if the difference between the stimuli and the person's mind are very far apart.
Reason 1:
Let's say if I'm going to teach a stranger bboying. And I start by teaching him 1990s straight up by telling him to go on 1 hand and spin like a top. Compare that with breaking down the steps, teaching him to go to handstand in a circular motion, then followed by a whip, then the lean. Why teaching step by step is alot more helpful is this: I convey my information in a way that the student understands and can connect with. To a passer by, seeing Cico do 32 1990s is like "WTF JUST HAPPENED". But to Boy, it may be something like "Oh so he sat in for more spin, that's all I need to do to sqweeze 15 rounds more?". 2 totally different reactions, because of the extreme discrepancies in knowledge and understanding ability.
Reason 2:
There was a period of time earlier this year when I was trying rainbows. I could not understand and feel the motion of the hollowback cartwheel, although I can do it. I just.. couldn't feel it! Until one day I went esplanade and ask Gilbert from FTC. He gave me a tip to reach far out with my second hard for the ground. When I did it, he told me to reach a little more backwards. Boom here comes the rainbow. AND I CAN FEEL IT (Thanks Gilbert, again). This is how I got reverse halo in 2 days. I was thinking that if I grub and place my nonstabbing hand down, my body will unwind, so all I need to do is to pull my left hand to encourage the CCW spin (thanks XF for that inspiration), and boom i spun, but didn't catch. The next day I caught so I got it!. This is how many of you suddenly got a move you didn't know you can. Apart from natural body tendencies granted to you since the Sperm fused with the Egg, your style and movements outside of bboying play a big role in your natural tendencies too. The trick here is, keeping your mind open and mouldable to new ideas, knowledge, perspectives. Things get a little different when you rephrase the question. Instead of "How should I surprise my girlfriend", you can explore the possibilities of startling your mom. Ok that's poor. Sorry I'm thinking of dinner and bboying later...
So long as your mind is mouldable and receptive to new ideas, you are able, physically, to do something new, because you are mentally ready for it. Learning a backflip on matress and road are 2 different things not because the mattress is easier. (FYI the difficulty of a backflip is influenced by how high you jump and how fast you spin, so matress consperm more difficult) But that we are mentally prepared to fall, so that frees up a large part of the brain. Just like jumping off a building won't kill you. But the 100mph impact with solid ground probably will.
Keep it elastic, keep bending it. Im not talking about your dick. But your mind, the key to unlock likes in the receptiveness of ideas, perspectives and discovery of your own.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Start bboying
Hi guys, today i wanna pose an interesting question to all of you:
Have you 'Started bboying'?
Do think along the lines of, looking through a textbook before an exam and whether you consider that as 'really studying'.
Hope to have a nice chat with you guys on this topic next time (:
Cheers!
Xinfu
Have you 'Started bboying'?
Do think along the lines of, looking through a textbook before an exam and whether you consider that as 'really studying'.
Hope to have a nice chat with you guys on this topic next time (:
Cheers!
Xinfu
Monday, March 8, 2010
Motivation
Hi guys, i was just chatting with weijie moments ago and somehow we delve into the topic of motivation. And since i was privileged enough to have gone through some lessons about it during my pti course, i thought i might just share with you guys a little about what i've picked up myself.
So what is motivation about?
Motivation is defined as...
-the direction and intensity of one's effort (Sage, 1977)
-an individual's drive, desire, commitment and persistence to undertake a task (Singer, 1984)
So why learn about motivation?
Because motivation affects many of our decisions in life --- be it studies, relationships and even bboying! Having a good understanding of motivation can hopefully teach us to channel our drive and efforts effectively to our benefits and improve our lives in the days ahead.
So basically, there are a few views of motivation
1. Trait Centred View
- Motivation is seen as a function of individual characteristics
- Concept of the born winner or loser
- Ignores the contributory factors of environment and others
In layman's term, this view believes that some people just like to chiong and pia, even in the face of adversity, they will persist all the way til they succeed. Others on the other hand, are just bochap, no matter how you encourage them and help them, they will just heck care and are contented with what they've got.
2. Situation-Centred View
- A person is motivated primarily by the situation
- Ignores the contribution of internal factors
Ok, this is easy to explain. Lets say, there is a chiobu in class that you want to jio and it so happens that she like boys who can do well in mathematics. Facing that situation, the boy will actually focus all his effort and time in improving his mathematics with the hope that the girl will fall for him if he score full marks. And he will persist all the way, regardless of lousy mathematics teacher or something (Internal factors).
3. Interactional View
- Considers both traits and situation
- Concepts of Intrinsic and Extrinsic motives
Basically, the real world is filled with moderate human beings where our motivation levels can change through interaction with each other. Furthermore, personal reasons and external reasons will all affect our final decision and choice.
Alright thats all for now, shall continue another day. Hope this will help you guys (:
So what is motivation about?
Motivation is defined as...
-the direction and intensity of one's effort (Sage, 1977)
-an individual's drive, desire, commitment and persistence to undertake a task (Singer, 1984)
So why learn about motivation?
Because motivation affects many of our decisions in life --- be it studies, relationships and even bboying! Having a good understanding of motivation can hopefully teach us to channel our drive and efforts effectively to our benefits and improve our lives in the days ahead.
So basically, there are a few views of motivation
1. Trait Centred View
- Motivation is seen as a function of individual characteristics
- Concept of the born winner or loser
- Ignores the contributory factors of environment and others
In layman's term, this view believes that some people just like to chiong and pia, even in the face of adversity, they will persist all the way til they succeed. Others on the other hand, are just bochap, no matter how you encourage them and help them, they will just heck care and are contented with what they've got.
2. Situation-Centred View
- A person is motivated primarily by the situation
- Ignores the contribution of internal factors
Ok, this is easy to explain. Lets say, there is a chiobu in class that you want to jio and it so happens that she like boys who can do well in mathematics. Facing that situation, the boy will actually focus all his effort and time in improving his mathematics with the hope that the girl will fall for him if he score full marks. And he will persist all the way, regardless of lousy mathematics teacher or something (Internal factors).
3. Interactional View
- Considers both traits and situation
- Concepts of Intrinsic and Extrinsic motives
Basically, the real world is filled with moderate human beings where our motivation levels can change through interaction with each other. Furthermore, personal reasons and external reasons will all affect our final decision and choice.
Alright thats all for now, shall continue another day. Hope this will help you guys (:
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Passion
im real glad everyone back now, and that things are going well (:
we do have different reasons to break now, whether it is to really get somewhere, for the fellowship, for the fun of it.
but i just hope that we all can continue to come together, and squeeze out every bit of happiness we can get from breaking, be it from winning, or just doing nonsense, over the next few years. and when we finally stop, we can just look back, no matter how far we get in breaking, and say it was a good run, and we really lived life out in our youth.
cheers to kyensai 2010
and the years ahead
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Commitment
Hey guys,
I'm not sure if you guys still read the blog but I'm still going to type it down anyways. For those who read it, please spread it to the rest who probably hasnt. So anyway, here goes:
At the end of November 2008, where we all finished our A levels and IB exams, i thought to myself, 'Finally! We can restart our lives and direct energy into our dreams and make success out of it.' That is of course, with respect to our bboy lives. Unfortunately, for all my optimism and hope, i soon found myself alone in this endeavour while everyone seem to have drifted away and into a different path in their lives. Instead of the past 3-4 times session a week, it was reduced to twice, once and eventually none at all in a week. At that point of time, with the fire and passion still burning in me, i took the initiative to go esplanade, to singapore poly, to smu, etc, to expose myself and break with different people whilst doing my best to encourage you guys to join me. The rest of you would join me occasionally in these places to session with me and the other bboys there. All except for one. Eventually, as National Service calls upon some of us, it was really just left with me and weijie and sessioning as a crew session never looked like it was going to happened anymore. Nevertheless during this period, credits go out to weijie who stuck with me through all my sessions and spending all these time with me to keep my fire burning.
Initially, I failed to understand why you guys would have a change of heart just because of National Service. I mean, if anyone truly has fire and passion for bboying or anything in their lives, nothing would be able to stop them, definitely not National Service. So anyways, during this period, i saw very little potential in our crew making through this stage and i started making different plans for myself. I felt that, for me to satiate my desire to achieve and do well for bboying, i had to move on, just like the rest of you guys did without me. I confided in weijie alot about what i felt about the future ( I hope you guys do realise i always like to think ahead) and i even considered joining a different crew to further this passion and take it up another level.
But before i could take up any concrete action, the nation calls and i soon found myself serving the nation. Initially, it was laborious and demanding to the mind and the body. Each time i bookout, i just wanted to sleep and rest. Sessioning was totally out of the question as i hadnt any time at all. But SG bboy champ came and jonathan and song decided to join and we began to have sessions on saturdays again. During this period, most of us would make an effort to come and session and even support each other in the comp. All except for one.
After that period, weijie and i entered sispec and our sessions ceased to exist. Eventually, the fire of passion in me that used to burn so brightly had died and i no longer saw myself bboying in the future. This was even more so after i entered my PTI course. I realised that i've harmed my body too much and havent really gained much success afterall. i told myself, if there was a time to quit, this would be the right time. My knee is back to normal, no more bruises; all parts of my body had resumed proper functioning without any issue at all. I felt i've wasted too much time on bboying and sacrifice too much of my life and lost many opportunities and friendship because of it. Yet i failed to achieve anything at the end of the day. In any case, i never found it comfortable to tell people im a bboy because i felt that i dont suit that image anymore. Bboying is never a cool thing for me anymore and i dont feel 'hip' and 'happening' to tell people that i'm in the scene breaking it down and shiz like that. I remember Gonza telling me about the importance of dressing fresh and why bboys need to dress fresh which is because they are representing a culture which they believe in and are trying to 'live it up' everyday. Unfortunately, this isnt the kind of life that i want to 'live up'. I cant see myself trying to dress like some hip hop gangsta and roam about with a flashy get up. This is just not me.
So in any case, on top of trying to find 'myself' and a dying passion. I told myself that im going to quit bboying. The most i would go, would be to appreciate the dance and culture. But i shall never be part of it anymore. And this crew, shall remain a memory of me that represents my youth and energy while i continue to grow up and mature into an adult.
However, there was a twist somewhere down this path that i had wanted to take. The one who had been missing all the while, made a comeback, and invited all of us to session again. How interesting, i thought. Despite deciding not to break anymore a few months ago, i've decided to join in the session and see what this SPECIAL ONE has up his sleeves, and more importantly, try to understand why he even left us in the first place. Unfortunately i found nothing out except for the fact that he suddenly felt bored and started breaking again. Oh, how convenient eh. And the rest of us turned up (:
But if you guys had noticed, i wasnt much into it at first and only joined in the session once a while when i felt like it. The main reason behind that would actually be that i was trying to remain active and burn calories so as to keep fit for my upcoming PTI tests. And not because i reignited my passion for breaking. So anyways, after i posted out, i had more free time and started sessioning more regularly with you guys again and started talking to song. And we began talking about a future again and somehow or another, i started thinking that i DO have a future for bboying. So what did i do? I did what i used to do for the crew.
I made ALL my saturdays available and told every other friend that im not free on saturday coz i need to session.
So whats the problem with that?
The problem is, i seemed to be the only dumb asshole that skips all other appointments and class gathering to go for sessions and make it the BIGGEST PRIORITY in my life. And guess what? i just realised yesterday that i haven't learned from my lesson at all. I had too much faith and confidence that you guys have 'returned' and are burning with passion to break again. At the end of the day, i guess i was being too idealistic and ought to have realised that bboying IS just for fun and a means to 'da fa shi jian' ( Waste time on) for you guys. It was never going to be something serious and something that you guys hope to achieve something from.
Well you know what? To me, bboying IS not going to be something im going to WASTE my time on. If i'm not going to achieve something then i'm not going to bother risking an injury for it. I need to realise that I'm getting older each day ( 20 this year) and this comes with greater responsibilities and i have to be more realistic in what i invest my time in. And this applies to the rest of us as well. Its not fun to me to get injured at all and achieve nothing at the end. Because this is what a 'loser' is about. No achievement to name, a body full of injuries, a dream broken, hopes dashed and TIME WASTED. No thanks man. That is not what i have in my mind. i rather spend this year learning computer programming, real estate and stocks than getting injured and achieving nothing.
So here's the question:
1.Are you guys in this to 'da fa shi jian'?
If so, please stop inviting me to sessions, i dont want to waste my time on it.
2.Are you guys in this for fellowship? for the old times we had?
If so, i'm cool with it. i mean, i started going for sessions again coz i missed you guys and want to spend time with you all. if you guys remembered, i even went rp for jaime's birthday but didnt break coz i didnt feel like it. But seriously, im cool with hanging out and chilling. but lets do something else other than breaking. such as eating a nice meal or playing lan.
3.Are you guys in it for real? Do you all want to achieve something as well?
If so, we can have a nice chat on the direction that we want to head to and start taking sessions seriously from there. We don't really have much time left and i hope you guys think carefully and let me know by Feb 15.
And most importantly, if you guys are in it for real. i really want to see one thing from you guys. One that i've always given to you guys and the crew when i'm in this for real. One that you will understand after reading and deciding to take up the 3rd path.
Thank you,
Xinfu
I'm not sure if you guys still read the blog but I'm still going to type it down anyways. For those who read it, please spread it to the rest who probably hasnt. So anyway, here goes:
At the end of November 2008, where we all finished our A levels and IB exams, i thought to myself, 'Finally! We can restart our lives and direct energy into our dreams and make success out of it.' That is of course, with respect to our bboy lives. Unfortunately, for all my optimism and hope, i soon found myself alone in this endeavour while everyone seem to have drifted away and into a different path in their lives. Instead of the past 3-4 times session a week, it was reduced to twice, once and eventually none at all in a week. At that point of time, with the fire and passion still burning in me, i took the initiative to go esplanade, to singapore poly, to smu, etc, to expose myself and break with different people whilst doing my best to encourage you guys to join me. The rest of you would join me occasionally in these places to session with me and the other bboys there. All except for one. Eventually, as National Service calls upon some of us, it was really just left with me and weijie and sessioning as a crew session never looked like it was going to happened anymore. Nevertheless during this period, credits go out to weijie who stuck with me through all my sessions and spending all these time with me to keep my fire burning.
Initially, I failed to understand why you guys would have a change of heart just because of National Service. I mean, if anyone truly has fire and passion for bboying or anything in their lives, nothing would be able to stop them, definitely not National Service. So anyways, during this period, i saw very little potential in our crew making through this stage and i started making different plans for myself. I felt that, for me to satiate my desire to achieve and do well for bboying, i had to move on, just like the rest of you guys did without me. I confided in weijie alot about what i felt about the future ( I hope you guys do realise i always like to think ahead) and i even considered joining a different crew to further this passion and take it up another level.
But before i could take up any concrete action, the nation calls and i soon found myself serving the nation. Initially, it was laborious and demanding to the mind and the body. Each time i bookout, i just wanted to sleep and rest. Sessioning was totally out of the question as i hadnt any time at all. But SG bboy champ came and jonathan and song decided to join and we began to have sessions on saturdays again. During this period, most of us would make an effort to come and session and even support each other in the comp. All except for one.
After that period, weijie and i entered sispec and our sessions ceased to exist. Eventually, the fire of passion in me that used to burn so brightly had died and i no longer saw myself bboying in the future. This was even more so after i entered my PTI course. I realised that i've harmed my body too much and havent really gained much success afterall. i told myself, if there was a time to quit, this would be the right time. My knee is back to normal, no more bruises; all parts of my body had resumed proper functioning without any issue at all. I felt i've wasted too much time on bboying and sacrifice too much of my life and lost many opportunities and friendship because of it. Yet i failed to achieve anything at the end of the day. In any case, i never found it comfortable to tell people im a bboy because i felt that i dont suit that image anymore. Bboying is never a cool thing for me anymore and i dont feel 'hip' and 'happening' to tell people that i'm in the scene breaking it down and shiz like that. I remember Gonza telling me about the importance of dressing fresh and why bboys need to dress fresh which is because they are representing a culture which they believe in and are trying to 'live it up' everyday. Unfortunately, this isnt the kind of life that i want to 'live up'. I cant see myself trying to dress like some hip hop gangsta and roam about with a flashy get up. This is just not me.
So in any case, on top of trying to find 'myself' and a dying passion. I told myself that im going to quit bboying. The most i would go, would be to appreciate the dance and culture. But i shall never be part of it anymore. And this crew, shall remain a memory of me that represents my youth and energy while i continue to grow up and mature into an adult.
However, there was a twist somewhere down this path that i had wanted to take. The one who had been missing all the while, made a comeback, and invited all of us to session again. How interesting, i thought. Despite deciding not to break anymore a few months ago, i've decided to join in the session and see what this SPECIAL ONE has up his sleeves, and more importantly, try to understand why he even left us in the first place. Unfortunately i found nothing out except for the fact that he suddenly felt bored and started breaking again. Oh, how convenient eh. And the rest of us turned up (:
But if you guys had noticed, i wasnt much into it at first and only joined in the session once a while when i felt like it. The main reason behind that would actually be that i was trying to remain active and burn calories so as to keep fit for my upcoming PTI tests. And not because i reignited my passion for breaking. So anyways, after i posted out, i had more free time and started sessioning more regularly with you guys again and started talking to song. And we began talking about a future again and somehow or another, i started thinking that i DO have a future for bboying. So what did i do? I did what i used to do for the crew.
I made ALL my saturdays available and told every other friend that im not free on saturday coz i need to session.
So whats the problem with that?
The problem is, i seemed to be the only dumb asshole that skips all other appointments and class gathering to go for sessions and make it the BIGGEST PRIORITY in my life. And guess what? i just realised yesterday that i haven't learned from my lesson at all. I had too much faith and confidence that you guys have 'returned' and are burning with passion to break again. At the end of the day, i guess i was being too idealistic and ought to have realised that bboying IS just for fun and a means to 'da fa shi jian' ( Waste time on) for you guys. It was never going to be something serious and something that you guys hope to achieve something from.
Well you know what? To me, bboying IS not going to be something im going to WASTE my time on. If i'm not going to achieve something then i'm not going to bother risking an injury for it. I need to realise that I'm getting older each day ( 20 this year) and this comes with greater responsibilities and i have to be more realistic in what i invest my time in. And this applies to the rest of us as well. Its not fun to me to get injured at all and achieve nothing at the end. Because this is what a 'loser' is about. No achievement to name, a body full of injuries, a dream broken, hopes dashed and TIME WASTED. No thanks man. That is not what i have in my mind. i rather spend this year learning computer programming, real estate and stocks than getting injured and achieving nothing.
So here's the question:
1.Are you guys in this to 'da fa shi jian'?
If so, please stop inviting me to sessions, i dont want to waste my time on it.
2.Are you guys in this for fellowship? for the old times we had?
If so, i'm cool with it. i mean, i started going for sessions again coz i missed you guys and want to spend time with you all. if you guys remembered, i even went rp for jaime's birthday but didnt break coz i didnt feel like it. But seriously, im cool with hanging out and chilling. but lets do something else other than breaking. such as eating a nice meal or playing lan.
3.Are you guys in it for real? Do you all want to achieve something as well?
If so, we can have a nice chat on the direction that we want to head to and start taking sessions seriously from there. We don't really have much time left and i hope you guys think carefully and let me know by Feb 15.
And most importantly, if you guys are in it for real. i really want to see one thing from you guys. One that i've always given to you guys and the crew when i'm in this for real. One that you will understand after reading and deciding to take up the 3rd path.
Thank you,
Xinfu
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
To not lose sight
Afternoon, it is me, YH. Its only last week we met, but it was ages since this site was updated.
The year 2009 was a testing year, even more testing for us than 2008. We saw that coming very long ago. Ever since this crew is formed, the question of distance never failed to bother me, or us. That was the time KYSC had only 4, when we are classrooms apart, merely levels apart. A 105DB “cluck” sound from my class could easily had caught your attention.
As months fly, we are then separated by schools. With addition of Dwayne (and his annihilation), we start to have a taste of a bigger physical separation from each other. With the addition of JT, we found out what it was like to break with someone from a different school. But that was not anything like what we are going to expect.
NS was the ultimate bomb, the one which took out all our time. Suddenly with new circles of friends and being separated for 5 to 6 days a week, it is so hard to meet up, let alone make time for bboying. Our schedule was packed to the max, and I had little idea, then, how am I supposed to continue bboying. What’s better: those 5 days include 12km SAR runs, getting harassed by the chief clerk, getting occupied by girlfriend, staying up till 4am in the morning, reducing 2.4 timings from 10.20 to the eventual 8.45. Weekends could not be worse when you are doing duty, falling sick, getting burnt by lessons, getting burnt by assignments, attachments, and antibiotics.
This period of time had been the most trying time which I had encountered. I think you NS dudes feel the same. I was concerned about the future of the crew, giving me sleepless nights, lonely evenings, and thousands of words in my journal. I had little idea on how we are supposed to progress, because during that time, a certain point mid-year, was when I felt things had hit rock bottom. I felt that I had lost so many great friends, I felt that I had not done enough to prevent such predicament from taking place, things look like they are just going to get worse. It may be conceivable, at that time, that we stop breaking, but it was extremely difficult to accept that I may just lose my closest friends if that were to continue. I prayed hard, that we will never ever dissolve.
3 years ago, things were different, we felt that we could achieve. We trained hard, and we fought hard. I could never forget the time I was there to witness ACS(I) win the 2nd place in inter-school floorskillz. It was hopeful, and it was a time when we had a common aim, and somehow believed that we could do it. It was a time when we are willing to session. It was the time when I was excited to break as my new move set kept on growing and growing. That was 3 years ago, when we had this goal to achieve, when it was great fun, and easy to get started. The times when we battled and bboyed was filled with cheers and disbelief that each other pulled something virtually impossible off.
This post is not a reminiscence of how good the old times were. Why should we turn the pages and look at the past? This is 3 years later. We are no longer so innocent. We, perhaps, did become more jaded after being well-tested by NS and our commitments. We, perhaps, found a chance to really evaluate that aim of qualifying for BOTY. We, surely, knew much better, how difficult, really, it is to achieve something that big. We, without a flicker of doubt, are finally tested.
But what I have to say is this: we should not let these things bring us down. These are external factors which have to be here in our lives. We cannot somehow chao geng and escape stuff like NS. Why should we give it a chance to burn our spirits? Why were we so motivated in the past? It was because we believed that we can do it, that surely, we could make it. And it was right, in all rationality, it was possible, and is still possible. We improved at a blistering pace if we trained properly. We surpassed our own expectations if we put in the effort. Then why, suddenly, did we stop?
Could it be, that we simply, lack the time to bboy? Could it be, that we suddenly have girlfriends to take care of? Or could it be, that we are too tired to break? Or would we ponder on this: if someone here were to tell you that you would be a champion tomorrow, if you were to train, surely, you would train. But if you were not to believe what he said, it would have really much harder. Aside the external circumstances which surely did make life tougher, is that flame in you dying, the moment you stop believing? If you were so inspired by the videos that you could one day pull something off like they do, why would you suddenly stop?
3 years ago was a time when we felt that we could qualify for BOTY, or whatever ultimate goal we set for ourselves. It is much because that we believed in it. It was something that drove us, the vision of us doing new moves, accomplishing things we once thought was impossible for us, winning thunderous roars from the audience, pwning your opponent. Right now, 3 years later is a time when we look at the mirror and ask ourselves: do we now believe? You may be daunted by the impossibility of this mission, you may just have lost hope in yourself. But do you believe that these things will come to pass if you put your heart into it? Or are we going to let time, and other factors weigh us down and extinguish that flame forever?
It is not a matter of living in the past. I wanted to say that we should never give up hope unless it is truly impossible. We have five years ahead of us, from today onwards. And five years is a lot, I mean a freaking lot of time. Let us not take time for granted, but take it as a God-given blessing for us to achieve something for Him, or for anything for that matter. Bboying through these tough times is a chance for me to prove to myself that I can survive even if times are unforgiving. Bboying is something that gave me an aim, and something which made me feel proud. Proud, not stemming from the fact that I can do stuff billions of people cannot, but from the fact that I had challenged myself and fulfilled my goals, and proved to myself that I am capable of achieving something really hard. These 2 things: belief and pride, ultimately is not something that comes from external influence. Do not let your pride be fuelled by flatter, for that will make you arrogant and insecure. Do not let your belief be shaken by talk and time, for that will make us flicker-minded, aimless and rootless. Let us not let praise be the driving factor of our passion. I feel that pride is the value you put into your work, and the content you find in the results. Belief is the commitment you put in something else which you have or have no control over. It is independent of all other people’s beliefs (that’s very important to know that). You could stand alone in your belief even if no one shares your views.
We do not live by bread alone. We need more than that. I cannot imagine living the life of extremely boring routine, doing the same thing over and over and over again. I cannot find an aim, a purpose in doing any of those things. Why do I talk about pride and belief? It is because it is the driving force behind so many things we put our heart and soul in. Remember when we truly believed that we could achieve something great? That was a time when we felt that it was possible; it is when we really believed we can do it. Let us not forget how we felt. Remember how you feel, and should a situation when your belief was tested again, do not go down the normal path of giving up, do not let your vision and your dreams be shrouded, striken, or sold. When the time comes when you cannot get a move even if you tried very hard, do not be downcast. Remember that you had really been fast in your improvement, and bring yourself to hit the next beat even if you did not want to. When you are defeated by your rival, remember your goal and remember how you believed that you could do it, and bring yourself to train that little bit harder. I am not talking about living in denial, but I am saying that we should not step to the wrong side of the fine line between being realistic, and learning from experience. It is not about living in the past, it is not about being not being extremely stubborn about your abilities. I am not exploring an option of being unreceptive towards others' and things which happen to you, but holding on tight to your belief and goal is about staying rooted, focused, and not let yourself get wavered easily by circumstances. Too many times, we have seen people who are discouraged and who later easily let go of the dreams and vision they once had the moment they are challenged. Too many times had we seen potential winner and achievers get their talents washed down the drain, never to get them back again.
I wrote this post so that at the end of it, that you, reading the post, would not let your belief die, would not lose pride in your life, and would one day stand up for whatever you believed in. I am not asking you to qualify for BOTY, for you have different goals than I, or we, once had. I really hope that after reading this that we, every single one of us, a year later, and for many years to come, could look at the mirror, and be proud of our decisions in life concerning our goals and expectations of ourselves. I want to be answerable to all around me, including myself, for the decisions I make in my life, for the pride I held in believing in myself and KYSC. What would you do? Would you look at the photo of yourself doing nutcrackers, and live in pride of what you could do, and your former glory? Are you going to let your dream be daunted by external factors, before you could really believe that you could not achieve it? Would you continue to do the things you love, and not let small talk bring down your passion?
We do not live by bread alone. If we had, it would just be existence. It takes time for a seed to bear fruit, let us not chop it down even before it gets pollinated. It is to have a dream that makes you driven, to take pride in something which makes you a little more human.
The year 2009 was a testing year, even more testing for us than 2008. We saw that coming very long ago. Ever since this crew is formed, the question of distance never failed to bother me, or us. That was the time KYSC had only 4, when we are classrooms apart, merely levels apart. A 105DB “cluck” sound from my class could easily had caught your attention.
As months fly, we are then separated by schools. With addition of Dwayne (and his annihilation), we start to have a taste of a bigger physical separation from each other. With the addition of JT, we found out what it was like to break with someone from a different school. But that was not anything like what we are going to expect.
NS was the ultimate bomb, the one which took out all our time. Suddenly with new circles of friends and being separated for 5 to 6 days a week, it is so hard to meet up, let alone make time for bboying. Our schedule was packed to the max, and I had little idea, then, how am I supposed to continue bboying. What’s better: those 5 days include 12km SAR runs, getting harassed by the chief clerk, getting occupied by girlfriend, staying up till 4am in the morning, reducing 2.4 timings from 10.20 to the eventual 8.45. Weekends could not be worse when you are doing duty, falling sick, getting burnt by lessons, getting burnt by assignments, attachments, and antibiotics.
This period of time had been the most trying time which I had encountered. I think you NS dudes feel the same. I was concerned about the future of the crew, giving me sleepless nights, lonely evenings, and thousands of words in my journal. I had little idea on how we are supposed to progress, because during that time, a certain point mid-year, was when I felt things had hit rock bottom. I felt that I had lost so many great friends, I felt that I had not done enough to prevent such predicament from taking place, things look like they are just going to get worse. It may be conceivable, at that time, that we stop breaking, but it was extremely difficult to accept that I may just lose my closest friends if that were to continue. I prayed hard, that we will never ever dissolve.
3 years ago, things were different, we felt that we could achieve. We trained hard, and we fought hard. I could never forget the time I was there to witness ACS(I) win the 2nd place in inter-school floorskillz. It was hopeful, and it was a time when we had a common aim, and somehow believed that we could do it. It was a time when we are willing to session. It was the time when I was excited to break as my new move set kept on growing and growing. That was 3 years ago, when we had this goal to achieve, when it was great fun, and easy to get started. The times when we battled and bboyed was filled with cheers and disbelief that each other pulled something virtually impossible off.
This post is not a reminiscence of how good the old times were. Why should we turn the pages and look at the past? This is 3 years later. We are no longer so innocent. We, perhaps, did become more jaded after being well-tested by NS and our commitments. We, perhaps, found a chance to really evaluate that aim of qualifying for BOTY. We, surely, knew much better, how difficult, really, it is to achieve something that big. We, without a flicker of doubt, are finally tested.
But what I have to say is this: we should not let these things bring us down. These are external factors which have to be here in our lives. We cannot somehow chao geng and escape stuff like NS. Why should we give it a chance to burn our spirits? Why were we so motivated in the past? It was because we believed that we can do it, that surely, we could make it. And it was right, in all rationality, it was possible, and is still possible. We improved at a blistering pace if we trained properly. We surpassed our own expectations if we put in the effort. Then why, suddenly, did we stop?
Could it be, that we simply, lack the time to bboy? Could it be, that we suddenly have girlfriends to take care of? Or could it be, that we are too tired to break? Or would we ponder on this: if someone here were to tell you that you would be a champion tomorrow, if you were to train, surely, you would train. But if you were not to believe what he said, it would have really much harder. Aside the external circumstances which surely did make life tougher, is that flame in you dying, the moment you stop believing? If you were so inspired by the videos that you could one day pull something off like they do, why would you suddenly stop?
3 years ago was a time when we felt that we could qualify for BOTY, or whatever ultimate goal we set for ourselves. It is much because that we believed in it. It was something that drove us, the vision of us doing new moves, accomplishing things we once thought was impossible for us, winning thunderous roars from the audience, pwning your opponent. Right now, 3 years later is a time when we look at the mirror and ask ourselves: do we now believe? You may be daunted by the impossibility of this mission, you may just have lost hope in yourself. But do you believe that these things will come to pass if you put your heart into it? Or are we going to let time, and other factors weigh us down and extinguish that flame forever?
It is not a matter of living in the past. I wanted to say that we should never give up hope unless it is truly impossible. We have five years ahead of us, from today onwards. And five years is a lot, I mean a freaking lot of time. Let us not take time for granted, but take it as a God-given blessing for us to achieve something for Him, or for anything for that matter. Bboying through these tough times is a chance for me to prove to myself that I can survive even if times are unforgiving. Bboying is something that gave me an aim, and something which made me feel proud. Proud, not stemming from the fact that I can do stuff billions of people cannot, but from the fact that I had challenged myself and fulfilled my goals, and proved to myself that I am capable of achieving something really hard. These 2 things: belief and pride, ultimately is not something that comes from external influence. Do not let your pride be fuelled by flatter, for that will make you arrogant and insecure. Do not let your belief be shaken by talk and time, for that will make us flicker-minded, aimless and rootless. Let us not let praise be the driving factor of our passion. I feel that pride is the value you put into your work, and the content you find in the results. Belief is the commitment you put in something else which you have or have no control over. It is independent of all other people’s beliefs (that’s very important to know that). You could stand alone in your belief even if no one shares your views.
We do not live by bread alone. We need more than that. I cannot imagine living the life of extremely boring routine, doing the same thing over and over and over again. I cannot find an aim, a purpose in doing any of those things. Why do I talk about pride and belief? It is because it is the driving force behind so many things we put our heart and soul in. Remember when we truly believed that we could achieve something great? That was a time when we felt that it was possible; it is when we really believed we can do it. Let us not forget how we felt. Remember how you feel, and should a situation when your belief was tested again, do not go down the normal path of giving up, do not let your vision and your dreams be shrouded, striken, or sold. When the time comes when you cannot get a move even if you tried very hard, do not be downcast. Remember that you had really been fast in your improvement, and bring yourself to hit the next beat even if you did not want to. When you are defeated by your rival, remember your goal and remember how you believed that you could do it, and bring yourself to train that little bit harder. I am not talking about living in denial, but I am saying that we should not step to the wrong side of the fine line between being realistic, and learning from experience. It is not about living in the past, it is not about being not being extremely stubborn about your abilities. I am not exploring an option of being unreceptive towards others' and things which happen to you, but holding on tight to your belief and goal is about staying rooted, focused, and not let yourself get wavered easily by circumstances. Too many times, we have seen people who are discouraged and who later easily let go of the dreams and vision they once had the moment they are challenged. Too many times had we seen potential winner and achievers get their talents washed down the drain, never to get them back again.
I wrote this post so that at the end of it, that you, reading the post, would not let your belief die, would not lose pride in your life, and would one day stand up for whatever you believed in. I am not asking you to qualify for BOTY, for you have different goals than I, or we, once had. I really hope that after reading this that we, every single one of us, a year later, and for many years to come, could look at the mirror, and be proud of our decisions in life concerning our goals and expectations of ourselves. I want to be answerable to all around me, including myself, for the decisions I make in my life, for the pride I held in believing in myself and KYSC. What would you do? Would you look at the photo of yourself doing nutcrackers, and live in pride of what you could do, and your former glory? Are you going to let your dream be daunted by external factors, before you could really believe that you could not achieve it? Would you continue to do the things you love, and not let small talk bring down your passion?
We do not live by bread alone. If we had, it would just be existence. It takes time for a seed to bear fruit, let us not chop it down even before it gets pollinated. It is to have a dream that makes you driven, to take pride in something which makes you a little more human.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Good friday
This friday is good friday. Jesus died on good friday... awwww!
So go church okay.
Ok after that. It's good friday ALSO ONLY IF U GUYS MAKE IT GOOD by coming to the SESSION in the afternoon to night.
Venue: dome
Time: 2pm - unlimited ( no leeway given to late comers - punishment will be meted out accordingly) *that time i say can late but come den all so late... tis TIME DUN B LATE!)*
Activity: bboy, chilling...getting our act together. congratulating yh. also if u guys wanna do anything together besides bboying just post them under comments here. :)
So go church okay.
Ok after that. It's good friday ALSO ONLY IF U GUYS MAKE IT GOOD by coming to the SESSION in the afternoon to night.
Venue: dome
Time: 2pm - unlimited ( no leeway given to late comers - punishment will be meted out accordingly) *that time i say can late but come den all so late... tis TIME DUN B LATE!)*
Activity: bboy, chilling...getting our act together. congratulating yh. also if u guys wanna do anything together besides bboying just post them under comments here. :)
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