Aftermath of the war

Well, here's my post-IVP post. pun unintended. Before I tell you about my match... I shall tell you about the team!

Hoirul: Silver for Male Class B
Hanan: Bronze for Male Class C
Wafi: Silver for Male Class E
Zul: Gold for Male Class E
Raiyan: Silver for Male Class F

Nadhirah: Gold for Female Class A
Nuraini (Nini): Bronze for Female Class F
Izzati: Gold for Female Class O

Faizal (Zola): Bronze for Male Tunggal
Farah and Faatihah: Bronze for Female Ganda
Zola and Hoirul: Bronze for Male Ganda

Alhamdulillah. Congratulations to all! Everyone, regardless you have medals or not, have made me proud to be part of the team. I believe we were the most happening team out there especially when we were cheering. C-kin, Petom, Doughnut, Joooke joke joke, Tumbuk jangan tak tumbuk, ...Rai...Yan... Rai... Raiyan, T-rex and much more. Another school even copied our Syukur cheer... Alhamdulillah. Hehe.
Training, fighting, playing, praying together... I'm really thankful to have you all in my team. Alhamdulillah.

Alrite, time for my match review. I came into the ring with some goals in mind:
- Do my best
- Don't disappoint the coaches
- Don't lose my stamina aka pancit
- Win

Alhamdulillah, I fulfilled the first 3 goals. And I achieved another... I had fun! I lost but I had no regrets. I was proud that I gave my all. I was proud that I did better than at NTU friendly. I was relieved that the coaches said I did a good job. Of course, there were alot that needs improving. So let's get to that:
- Speed
- Speed
- Speed
- Technique
- Aggression

I guess if I am going for speed, I have to further improve my stamina. I was thinking of training with weights to my ankles and wrists. For technique, I'll just keep polishing while asking seniors and coaches. For aggression... I seriously have no idea...

Anyone have any tips to improve myself? Especially for speed.

I believe I will come out stronger and better next time. I can say I did a good job for my first real match. It could be better but dwelling on the past goes nowhere. Look straight ahead to the future! Should I join silat outside of school?

Interesting quote for the day:
"The future depends on what we do in the present." - Mahatma Gandhi

"Wow, you can fit 4 in there!" - What you can say about a truck but not your girlfriend: Whose Line Is It Anyway. Scenes from a hat.

A Lover's Alibi

My music player ain't working on this blog...So I removed it. Just wanted to share a tune in my head.

OneRepublic - All We Are


I'm a "lyrics" person so here are the lyrics:

I tried to paint you a picture
The colours were all wrong
Black and white didn't fit you and all along you were shaded with patience
You're strokes of everything that I need just to make it and I believe that

Time can tear you apart
But it won't break anything that you are, you are

We won't say our goodbyes
You know it's better that way
We won't break
We won't die
It's just a moment of change
All we are
All we are is everything that's right
All we need
All we need
A lover's alibi
Oh oh

I walked a minute in your shoes
They never would've fit
I figured there's nothing to lose
I need to get some perspective on these words before I write them down
You're an island and my ship is running ground

Time can tear you apart
But it won't break anything that we are, we are

We won't say our goodbyes
You know it's better that way
We won't break
We won't die
It's just a moment of change
All we are
All we are is everything that's right
All we need
All we need
A lover's alibi
Oh
Oh
Oh

Every single day that I can breathe you change my philosophy
I'm never gonna let you pass me by

So don't say your goodbyes
You know its better that way
We won't break
We won't die
It's just a moment of change, yeah
Ooh
Ooh
Oh

So don't say your goodbyes
You know its better that way
We won't break
We won't die
It's just a moment of change
All we are
All we are is everything that's right
All we need
All we need
A lover's alibi
Yeah

Ooh
Ooh

So don't say our goodbyes
I know it's better
We won't break
We won't die
Ooh


Gonna find their album and buy it!

After the First War

Hmm... my music thingy like not working... nvm.

After one weekend of intense battles, we managed to clinch some victories. There were some loss but it was not without a fight! Alhamdulillah, everyone did great. I shall put in my best for my fight too! InsyaAllah I'll win till the end. Amin.

Seni
Tunggal
Zola - 3rd place
Nuraini - 4th place in Pool A

Ganda
Zola and Hoirul - 3rd place
Faatihah and Farah Natasya - 3rd place

Regu
Naufal, Hoirul and Zuraimi - 5th place
Izarina, Amirah, Izyana - 5th place

Tanding
Male
Class A: Na'im in Quarters (by-pass)
Class B: Hoirul in Semis
Class C: Hanan in Semis
Class E: Zul and Wafi both in Semis
Class F: Raiyan in Quarters

Female
Class A: Nadhirah in Semis
Class C: Syikin in Quarters
Class F: Nini in Semis
Class O: Izzati in Semis

Silat has 2 bronze... so for those who are in Semis effectively have a medal already! Congrats! 1 win and I get a medal. Pray for me. =)

I will update the timings as soon as I receive them. Come down and support us! We gladly welcome anyone!

Interesting quote for the day:
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt Disney
Give me strength and courage. Amin.

Silat IVP Matches!

Here are the fixtures for this weekend! Do come down and support us! The timing is uncertain but I try to arrange them in order to my estimation. And there seems to be some error... nvm.

6th June 2008 (Friday) starts at 6pm
Seni
- Ganda Female: Fatihah and Farah
- Ganda Male: Faizal (Zola) and Hoirul

7th June 2008 (Saturday) starts in the morning
Seni
- Tunggal Male: Faizal (Zola)
- Tunggal Female: Nuraini Bte Supaat
- Regu Female: Amirah, Izarina and Izyana
- Regu Male: Syed Naufal, Zuraimi and Hoirul
Tanding
- Class F: Fahmi VS Uzair (SP)
- Class C: Aidil VS Farhi (ITE)
- Class C: Hanan VS Fairzul (TP)
- Class D: Zola VS Khairul Anwar (TP)
- Class D: Yusri VS Khairul Ariffin (NYP)
- Class E: Wafi VS Syaheed (NYP)

8th June 2008 (Sunday) starts at 2pm
Tanding
- Class E: Zul VS Faizal (NP)
- Class A: Liyanna VS Muslimah (TP)
- Class A: Nadhirah VS Faradina (TP)
- Class B: Nurhanim VS Nur Aisyah (ITE)
- Class B: Farah VS Nur Aisyah (TP)
- Class C: Nur'Asyikin VS Nikmahtuszurah (ITE)
- Class F: Raiyan VS TBC
- Class B: Hoirul VS TBC

That's it from teamNUS this weekend.
What? Where's my name and other missing team members?
Our matches are next week! Will upload the fixtures when I get them.
Please come down and support us!

Interesting quote for the day:
"To be the ultimate team, you must use your body and your mind. Draw up on the resources of your teammates. Choose your steps wisely and you will win. Remember, only teams succeed" - Jose Mourinho

Awakening

The day is near...

Time to gear up and get myself prepared to fight... Here are the images that come to mind:

I shall channel my Rage

I shall gather The Dark Force within

I shall awaken my Hitokiri

I shall call forth my Bankai

I shall call upon my Hollow

I shall release my Curse Seal

I shall summon the Bijuu within

I shall realise my Avatar

I shall release my Devil Trigger

I shall unleash the Rage of the Titans

Haha, I think most people wouldn't get what the heck I'm saying here. But nvm. Pray for me... Finding strength in The Almighty.

Interesting quotes for the day:
"Fall seven times, Stand up eight!" - Japanese Proverb

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog" - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Some men succeed because they are destined to, but most men succeed because they are determined to" - Greame Clegg

Bond of Brotherhood

5 days to IVP. It's "Inter-Varsity-Polytechnics" as corrected by Fadhli.

Had a secret training with Ramli today. Hehe. We trained at NUS MPSH2. It was open on a Sunday... Didn't think it will but Alhamdulillah. Didn't have the key so we couldn't train with the training pads or protective vests. Initially, we wanted it to be an intensive training session but due to the restraints, it couldn't be as intensive as we wanted. In the end, we went through what we would do in the fight, shared some techniques and practised some combos. I learnt a new technique and I hope to be able to execute it during the competition.

Then, we had a pseudo-match. 3 rounds of 3-4 minutes. Couldn't be in full force as we weren't adequately protected and even if we were protected, we don't want any injuries. Ramli was very encouraging and pointed out my mistakes and how to correct them. Alhamdulillah, he said I made a tremendous improvement since NTU friendly. Haha, the improvement was that I could SEE since I now have contacts. I was worried that it wouldn't make a difference but his words and our training showed that there was. Alhamdulillah. And I hope that I will perform just as well if not better during the competition.

We talked alot. From our memories to our hopes. From Naruto to NS. I'm hoping to do ganda next sem and I was just joking that if me and him do ganda, it will make a good team. It can be like NUS-NTU combined gitu. Haha, of course it can't be done. Sadly, as he says, "We will always be rivals". And yet, there we were, training together and having fun.

It makes me realise how thankful I am to have met him. He is the best friend I can ever have. Alhamdulillah. I'm thankful for the first day in my secondary school when I turned around to him sitting two seats behind me. We were best friends ever since. But it always feels like I have another brother in my life. Although we were separated in NS and university and I don't get to see him often, there is this strong connection that we have that I really hope won't perish. Last time, we would be playing wrestling in the school hall. Now, we are sparring together to improve ourselves. So thank you so much, Ramli. For being there, again and always. Relighting my hope. And sorry for the bruises. Hehe.

Interesting quote for the day:
The whole song of "Shoulder to Cry On" by Tommy Page.
It's our song.

As the day draws near

A week to IVP! I think IVP means Inter-Varsity Playoffs.

Silat IVP will be held at Republic Polytechnic on 6,7,8,14,15 June. I'm not sure if outside people can come down to support. Hehe, if people come and I don't do well, it'll be abit embarassing. But I don't mind the support!

Or... make a trip to Taman Warisan and witness a battle of a different kind. A battle of wit, creativity and words... Pesta Pantun! The competition begins on the 7th and 8th June.

So, how do you feel when IVP is so near?
Well, I am confident I'll do better than NTU friendly. Yet, I think the fear may overcome me in the ring. Come on, Na'im! Be confident and half the battle is won! I just hope and pray that I won't lose in the first round. I'm aiming for a medal!

Any problems you foresee?
The people in my weight class are fast and agile.... REALLY fast and agile. I hope to have the speed also. All the techniques I learnt, I will try my best to apply them. And I pray my stamina lasts the whole match.

To the team:
We have trained hard. I know we could have trained harder but sometimes things just don't go as planned. So right now, let's just maximise what we have done. I believe we can achieve greatness. Just need the confidence. Whatever they say, ignore and turn it into something to drive you. Achieve and throw the words back at them. Haha, sometimes I just like to prove people wrong. Alrite! Let's do it for the team!
*huddle* PESILAT.... NUS!

And don't forget to do'a. It works. Cos, how can you expect something to be given to you if you don't ask for it? We can win! Amin!

Interesting quote for the day:
"Back off, I'll take you on!
Headstrong, to take on anyone!
I know that you are wrong,
Headstrong, we're headstrong!"
- lyrics from "Headstrong" by Trapt
Hehe, the song kinda drives my fighting spirit.

Phoenix

Guess why this post is titled as such

Yeap, it's been long since i posted an entry... let's just say my May schedule is packed. It is more packed than a pack of wolves playing with a pack of cards while smoking a pack of cigarettes each. Okay, kinda lame attempt but nvm.

So, once again, here is my life, bite-sized:

10 - 13 May: teamNUS Summit
Here's when I went to Malaysia for a leadership camp. Went to Gopeng... somewhere in Perak. Stood on the back of a small lorry with 30 people likening illegal immigrants. Did white-water rafting for the first time: Level 3 waters, so not so bad. Went caving at Gua Tempurung: Had to crawl in shallow water with stalactites just above your head - FUN! Rock-climbing at KL. Speed shopping at Malacca: we were only given 1.5 hours to shop... I had planned to buy some stuff but alas, unfounded. Made many new friends. Had alot of fun.

I call this pic: The Official Silat Exco Pic. taken at MyGopeng ResortMy group A4! Great bunch of people! Thank you all.

16 - 18 May: Silat Training Camp aka "Camp Make It 2008"
Barely had time to recover, and I was off to another camp. This time, I was one of the organisers, along with Yusri and Farah Natasya. Well, the program is mostly decided by the coach and we had a friendly with NTU on the Saturday so we needed to only prepare logistically mostly. Stayed at Raffles Hall. Yes, with the famous Hart Coort! Training was tough but fun cos you have friends around. I was trashed in my first ever match... I fought Yazid from NTU who was the Class B champion of IVP. Lost partly due to fear and mostly cos I was blind... wasn't allowed to wear specs and hadn't gotten my contact lenses. I was hitting air most of the time. Ah nvm. Shall do better! Fadzli (chong) broke his left arm again... Really feel sorry for him. Will no longer be active in silat in NUS... there goes a talent in our team... Get well soon! The game "Whose line can make it anyway" was superb. Everyone was sporting and very humourous... I have videos which can be used as blackmail... Muahahaha. The team had a run from school to Bukit Timah and back... My injured knee couldn't bear it any longer when I reached SIM. Was running like Terry Fox before that. So I got back along with some other injured people and we made Milo for everyone! The camp was a success. Though there were some hiccups... tapi yang penting happy! Many jokes and phrases such as "Hart Coort" and "Where is this from?"
Many thanks to everyone! The coaches, the seniors and especially Yusri and Farah Natasya!

Just some pics of the team. Let's achieve greatness this IVP! Amin.

21 May
This is when I wore contact lenses for the first time! Haha. Special ones for Astigmatism. The bi-weekly kind cos daily ones were too expensive to me. Took one hour to wear them! I find I can see clearer with my specs... So I shall only wear contacts for silat... And I've invested quite a lot in my specs. My mom say I look more 'handsome' wearing contacts while I think it's the opposite. For the record, I'm the only myopic one in the family.

23 - 28 May: GoStong-Royong
I won't be going to Mount Stong. But I will be the 'anchorman' here... any emergencies will be informed to me and I report to the respective parties as necessary. Enjoy the the trip, you guys! I pray you have a safe journey and come back home safely. Amin.

30 May
Exam results........... gonna have to brace myself...

Interesting quote for the day:
"You're alive. So live!" - seen on a t-shirt.

Just a post

Checks the date... Oh wow, it's been two weeks since I last updated this thing. I am bored of studying...

This entry goes out to anyone who happens to be taking a break from revision or bored of studying and just happen to read my blog...

ALL THE BEST! GANBATTE! JIA YOU! YOU CAN DO IT!

Maybe you're feeling you can't finish studying on time. Maybe you're feeling you don't think you can achieve that CAP that you want. Well...

NO FEAR!

Follow these simple steps:
1) Do'a. It works. If you don't ask for it, then how can you expect it to be given to you. And, it corrects your niat in all that you pursue.
2) Usaha and Ikhtiar. Well, you can't just ask and hope for a miracle rite? You gotta work on it! Do what you can and do your best! Then, for those you can't manage to do? How? Which brings us to the next point...
3) Tawakkal. Have faith in Allah that the best will turn out. Of course, you can't just do this step and ignore the first two steps... it just wouldn't work. Have faith in what you have tried your best doing!

Haha, just sharing some thoughts. Actually, I'm more telling this to myself than anyone else... Once again, all the best, everyone! I pray that you all will achieve what you want in life. =)
After this small test in life, we can all enjoy!
And I look forward to spending quality and blissful times with you.
Interesting quote for the day:
"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending" - Maria Robinson

Having some sense knocked into me

"Okay, one person will be in front. The other two will kick. Only one time; a quick one. The one in front will try to catch and buat bantingan or sapuan (throw or sweep). If you kick and don't pull back quick enough and get caught, try to resist. The one that catch but cannot banting, will then counter."

Everyone was stunned. Oh okay, that's something new. Well, I need to practise striking fast and pulling back my leg anyway. Then there was laughter, cos I was grouped with Raiyan and Jason. The two heavy-weights and me being relatively close-to-nothing weight... a difference of at least 5 classes. Could it get any worse than this?

Raiyan was in front first. My lightweight is apparent from being easily thrown. I could be made like a rag doll if he wanted to. At least I could get some kicks in.

Then, it was Jason. First few was okay. Then it happened. He caught my leg. And in a blur, he did a very high 'Nike' throw, almost likening the 'sandwich' throw Abang Azmi did on Fahmi. I think I flew... Then I landed... HARD... on the side of my head first on the edge of the mat... a few inches from the hard floor... A flash of white... A moment of numbness... Then, a throbbing pain. I was dizzy in pain. The impact on the left side of my body was overcome by the pain in my head. I opened my eyes and the room was spinning. The first words I heard, besides the "You okay?"s, were from Hanan:

"Ah kan... siapa nak buat mathematical equations dia sekarang..."

I wanted to laugh. But I couldn't. I sat up and held my face/head. It felt like it swelled up but of course, it didn't. Pain screws your perception. I stood up and my vision was veered to my right... Like there's a something blocking my left eye. They asked me to sit down and get a drink. In a trance-like state, I did. I was like, is there something wrong with my specs? Cos really, my vision was veered to my right... laid it down...macam okay. After some adjustments, it felt better. Came back and Raiyan now tells Jason to control his strength. Jason apologised. I forgave him. I don't think it's so much his fault. I'm so light that you can really throw me without much effort. He didn't throw me after that.

I was dazed for the whole night... even until I got home. I never thought my weight would be such a problem. Heck, I got thrown so much by Zul, durng King training, that it was embarassing. Well, I can learn to be less reckless in my attacks and pull back faster. Haha, but when you're tiny and try to resist the metaphorical giant, it's just plain demoralising.

And yes, I got some sense knocked into me. A slap back to reality. I always remember that any hardship one face is probably a test from Allah or a reminder cos you've been straying away from the true path. I've been slacking in my work... like seriously... wasted time alot... a sin I'm guilty of. I needed the push to focus. Coincidentally, I wanted to start from today. So the hardship and pain I got from that throw is like a reminder for me.
WAKE UP!

I still feel kinda dazed now. Hopefully my memory not affected. Haha. All the best to everyone! Selamat berjuang! Strive on!

Interesting quote for the day:
"Snap back to reality...Oh, there goes gravity"
-lyrics from 'Lose Yourself' by Eminem
Well, for me, gravity went off first, I 'flew' and then, I got that smack of reality.