50K

It is not that hard to earn $50,000. But it is pretty hard to save that much.

Withdrawal

Fallen sick. Might be due to the sudden excessive exercise yesterday. Too long never gym-ed.

Anticipation

I have seen many encouraging signs that we are in for a great nationals next year.

Nobody remembers the runner-ups

What you have will definitely be duplicated or acquired by others in time to come. The only difference is if your were the 1ST entrant.


P.S: If you want to succeed, do something that no one has thought of or done before.

Gains and Losses

Consider this scenario: 600 people were infected with a deadly disease and there are 2 options that you can make. If you choose option A, you are guaranteed to be able to save 200 lives. If you choose option B, you will have a 1/3 chance to save all 600 lives and 2/3 chance that you will save none. Which choice will you make? A survey done found out that 72% of respondents choose option A.

Now consider the same scenario again with different options: Again 600 people were infected. If you choose option A, 400 people are guaranteed to die. If you choose option B, you will have a 1/3 chance to save all 600 lives and 2/3 chance that you will save none. Which choice will you make? A survey done found out that 78% of respondents choose option B this time.

You will realized that in both the scenario, option A’s actual outcome is no different (200 live means 400 die, 400 die means 200 live). However, due to the psychological difference between gains and losses, people make different choices.

In reality, in a similar fashion, people are more willing to take a chance with losses than not gains. That is why when stock prices rise, many investors will choose to sell and take profit. And when the stock prices fall, and money is lost, many investors will not be able to accept and deal with the losses, hence choosing to hold out and take the chance that the price will someday rebound.

As compared to the times when you gain; when face with loss, investors will subconsciously become more willing to take a gamble. This mentality in many cases will cause the investors to be too late to stop loss and result in even greater losses.

Therefore in all aspects of life, not only in investments, we should always warn and remind ourselves of the subconscious mistakes that we may make before we embark on any action or activity.

Life is just your perception of it.


P.S: It is an innate instinct in life to protect ourselves

7

I finally see a 7 as the first digit of my weight, after reaching 9 as the first digit few months back. 76 here I come...



You really need not be fat or have big tummy to be able to stunt well. I first hit my Full Around Cupie when I am at my lightest weight in 2 years. It's all about technique and form.


P.S: Do you only want to be able to stunt well but not look good in your uniform?

Dec 5th

It's 4 years and also 2 days for you... ;)

Has the time arrived?

KC asked this question on his last blog post months ago.

The answer is THE TIME HAS ARRIVED!; But a complete 180 degree turn from what he said then.


P.S: I just cannot stop smiling and giggling.

Dec 3rd

A day to remember...

Thursday Blues

It was a good get away trip, cum great new experience and exposure in cheer.

It's time to get things back on track; back to work later...

Greetings from Bremen

Germany here we go.

Celebration

1 more very important lesson I learnt in MMI, that is to celebrate. It is of upmost importance to recognize your efforts and achievements and then celebrate it. You have to give thanks to yourself, and reward yourself when you did good; if not you will lose sight of the reson why are you striving so hard for. There will always be someone "better" than you in some way or another, this is a fact that cannot change. But if you were to wait till you become "the best" before you recognise your own efforts and success; the probabilty is that you will never get to celebrate that thinking this way. Focus on yourself, you cannot control others. If you do not learn to celebrate small successes, you will never get to the point to celebrate something bigger. Celebration does not mean being light headed or resting on your laurels later, it just means to tell yourself:"you did great!, let's jiayou more!"

You know celebration comes in many forms, it need not be like a party kind, everyone gets drinks on the house and dance to the music etc. Celebration can also be just a quiet meal and sharing with some friends of yours, or even the joy and high fives all around (bubble tea works pretty well too) after you succeed in a new stunt is also a form of celebration. Success breeds success right, so does celebration - the more you celebrate, the more you attract celebration into your life.

There was once, during an NFL game, Team A was losing to Team B by a huge margin and there was only minutes left to play. Team A managed to score a try at the last minute, and ran around celebrating like they have won the title, even though they still lost. After the game, the captain was interviewed about his team's wild celebrations even though the try means nothing to the game final result. The captain simply said,"Because we want to win the next game!"

You see the point is to learn to celebrate when you achieve something, however small it may be, so as to build momemtum for the "next game". You do not want to end off a game or a session feeling down, you lose the momemtum. This is the reason why we always push for 1 final "all stunts up" or 1 good effort to end off the day; we all like to end with a high so we can start on a high again the next "game".

So celebration attracts celebration; if you do not learn to celebrate, you probably will not celebrate at all, and you are telling your life not to give you a reason to let you celebrate. So when you did something you feel proud of, show it, share it to the world, so that your friends can celebrate it with you, drawing all the positive energies into your life. Even a simple " great job", "nice one", or "you did great" comment from your friend encourages you, and they are celebrating with you. The people who celebrates with you too will feel the uplifting energy if they are truely happy for you; the same power will go to you when you celebrate and congratulate a friend sincerly for their success. When people got a breakthrough, "jump onto the bangwagon" with them; go with where the positive energy is, tap off from their successes, celebrate with them and soon you will find success knocking on your doors too.




P.S: If you have got it, show it; and there will always be those who will celebrate it with you.

Find that inner you

I was thinking and reviewing the 4 key steps that I brought up in the post Ultimate Dream. I came to a conclusion that the hardest point to achieve is probably no. 2) - Be aware of yourself; acknowledge and model the successes of others.

(1)To have a dream is probably easy and straight forward, and then to (3)believe in it and (4)acting it out is not too hard if you really want to achieve it. But (2), that is to be aware of yourself, and to accept and model the success of people is hard. I guess it all comes down to ego. How many people will dig up their true weakness and will go around telling people and admitting their weakness? Or even more, acknowledging and accepting other's people's success and learn? These are times we wonder how come our ego is so big.

I may not have the biggest ego around, I learn to at least acknowledge and respect the person ahead of me at least in my mind, though I may not say it out sometimes. However at times I do blog it out too, to reflect my inner thoughts.

I recognise and give thanks to my "roots" and mentor-
Calvin

I respect and model the successes before me - The Great

I paid tribute to and strive to emulate one of my model - 巅峰不过是开头

So ask yourself, how do you want to live out your life?


P.S: Please do not take my word or quote me for it, find out the way for yourself. All I can do is share what works for me.

My fellow Undergraduate

I believe that we should always go into a competition aimming to win it, no matter how much the odds seems to stack against you. So even if we did not win, we will not have regrets and we know that we will be that much closer in future (the future generation).

Win or lose, the process of getting there will never change; the fun and laughter, tears and pain. Let's us all cherish the moments with our teammates each and every training; they will be your memories for life, so why not make it happy memories...




P.S: Falling down is painful, but when you know that you have great friends around to lift you up, it is all worth it.

Ultimate Dream

Watched the video made personally by my 徒弟few years back already? If you did I hope that you enjoyed it or had a good laugh at it.

Everyone starts from the beginning and slowly work their way to the top. The above mentioned video might be funny to some, especially to those that went through the road together with Kelvin Awesome right from the start; but at the same time, I think the main message that I am trying to bring across is that everyone starts the same, and then you write your own story from then on.

Another important message is that everyone should have your own "Ultimate Dream", and then work towards it. It is fundamental that you be humble, admit your weakness and acknowledge the success and abilities of those before you; model someone you know, and that goal you set out to achieve will be reached faster than you know it.


1. Dreams
2. Be aware of yourself; acknowledge and model the successes of others
3. Positive thoughts and Believe in your dreams
4. Actions

Achieve these step by step and you can be sure you can achieve and even exceed your "Ultimate Dream". If Kelvin Awesome can do it, so can you.




P.S: Something I learnt, "If you want to be rich, do what rich people do." So similarly, "If you want to be great, do what great people do."

Story of my 徒弟

Was talking about history just now, how each of us went through a long tough road in cheerleading. And then we remembered and brought back memories of a long lost video made by non other than our Cheerobics 2009 Partner Stunt Champion Base; who everyone come to know as Kelvin Awesome. It is a never seen before footage by the public (only certain fortunate people ever saw it), something like a "Leak xxx Tape".

Remember this post, Awesome WPSL? And the video below?



Would you all be interested to see the "self made home video" of my first 徒弟? Of how he began his cheerleading career?

How many of you would like to see the "Leak xxx Tape"? Haha. Ok the wait is finally over.

For the first time it shall go live to all!!

He was indeed very kind to be willing to share this video with everyone and given me the permission to do so. His hope is that it can inspire the young budding cheerleaders out there and to let all have a good laugh at the same time.

Ok without further a do...

Presenting to you the video taken out from the archives; from the olden times where video specifications were less than 1 megapixels.

Enjoy!



You surpassed your "Ultimate Dream" by miles and is still going on and on...



P.S: This guy has grown by leaps and bounds (so has his size literally, haha) since the first day I see him cheer; No doubt a Champion in everyone's eyes.

Millionaire Mind

I was wondering to myself:"How come I feel much better doing stunts these few days; I haven been training at all for almost the past half a year." I came to the conclusion that it comes down to 3 main reasons.

1. I lost weight
2. My knee hurts less now
3. My mindset changed

For the past almost half a year, from the time I came back from Taiwan, I had been losing weight. From 90kg when I just came back from Taiwan, to 84kg in 3 months. Then I started taking this nutrition supplement as a meal replacement, and for the next 2 months, I lost another 4 kg to 80kg. I lost a total of 10kg in 5 months.

My knee also hurts less now, I feel it may be because of the lesser weight on them and also because of the nutrition supplement that I am taking. It helps the body restore to a well balance state.

The last reason, which I felt was the main reason for feeling better, is the mind. In fact, it was my mental which drives me to lose weight and got introduced to the amazing product. What you want in life, you attract it to you.

A person's life is determined by 4 components, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual and Physical. Realise that 75% of it is in the head. And of that 75%, mental is the 1 that is the most within your control (it is much harder to control emotions, thats why people often emo). Consider this analogy, the fruits of the tree synonymies to your success; and if the fruit is rotten, where do you think is the problem? The problem is probably in the roots. And the roots synonymies to your mind. What you cannot see (the roots) is 75% of the equation to success.

I have been trying to work on myself the past 2 months, especially in the mental aspect. By a combination of a sequence of seemingly random events, I went for the Millionaire Mind Intensive (MMI) seminar held at Expo over the weekends. It was a seminar by T Harv Eker, author of the "Secrets of a millionaire mind". Objective of the seminar is to show people the minds and habits of rich people and help begin the process to condition everyone to think, believe and act like rich people, so that everyone can become rich and successful like the millionaires in the world.

Some people may have started saying that it is so corny, cheesy, stupid, scam or whatever negative. I do know and got to interact with such people with a very negative mindset to change and learning. I can understand them, and the reason for such a behaviour is because it is programmed deep down into their subconcious already. However if you have an open mind, I am very sure if you implement what you learnt(from the seminar), you will become very successful. In fact I was only half correct when I said "implement what you learnt"; it should be unlearning what was taught to you in the past that got you to the state you are in now. Ever heard of old habits die hard; this is what it is all about, "unlearning" your old habits that stops you from more successes. I cannot remember whose quote, but it goes someting like: "Failure is often not about what you do not know, it is about what you know that just ain't so"

MMI was fundamentally supposed to be a seminar on how to create wealth, how to become rich; but I thought that it goes much beyond just generating money, it gives alot of insights into life itself. I always mentioned in the past that to do cheerleading or any other sport to the highest level, you have to do it as your lifestyle. This is no difference when you want to attain high levels of success - you have to live success as your lifestlye. Success as with everything else can be trained.

My mother was telling me that she watched videos of T Harv Eker before almost 10 years ago, and that he looked slimmer and much healthier now. I guess success, health and your image are directly related. In fact they are as revealed in the seminar. If you want to change the world, start by changing yourself. It is also no wonder, that statistically, obese people are not as successful as those not. (Don't take my word for this; just go google on this topic and you can find lots of articles relating obesity with health and money.) This is not the same as saying fat people will not be successful; but just maybe not realising their full potential.

Henry Ford: "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're both right". Your life is basically made up of your thoughts, and then living in such a way to fulfill your thoughts. You manifest your thoughts, no matter positive or negative. The universe has infinite possibilities, it will give you what you asked for.

The last part to the puzzle would be then to receive. Receive what the universe is trying to give you, it may come in the form of signs or hints, in form of a person, or inspired thoughts. It may not always be something which you like, if you asked for help, but is still resistant to receive, then all the goodness will go to someone else. Your comfort zone is in direct proportion to your money zone; be willing to do what's uncomfortable and it will be the time you are growing.

So all in all, what is in a millionaire's mind? To sum it up: it is not just about making lots of money, but in a millionaire's mind, it is desire, the belief and the lifestyle to succeed. One cannot achieve complete success if one cannot become better from every single cell of one's body. Start to find improvment in your life, focus on the improvements, and improvements will come. The greatest hurdle often comes in the form of: "I know that".





P.S: Just when you think the road is going nowhere; just when you've almost gave up on your dreams...

80

The smaller I become, the better I get.


P.S: Going to see 7 soon.

1 more week

To build up momentum for the coming World Championship next week...



P.S: Will be even better in 2010

Success breeds success

Below is an article based on a study done in MIT. When people tell you it is ok to fail and learn from your mistake, they are probably half right. It is ok to fail, but you do not "learn" till you succeed.


If you've ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory may have explained why: Brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail.

In the July 30 issue of the journal Neuron, Earl K. Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience, and MIT colleagues Mark Histed and Anitha Pasupathy have created for the first time a unique snapshot of the learning process that shows how single cells change their responses in real time as a result of information about what is the right action and what is the wrong one.

"We have shown that brain cells keep track of whether recent behaviors were successful or not," Miller said. Furthermore, when a behavior was successful, cells became more finely tuned to what the animal was learning. After a failure, there was little or no change in the brain - nor was there any improvement in behavior.

The study sheds light on the neural mechanisms linking environmental feedback to neural plasticity - the brain's ability to change in response to experience. It has implications for understanding how we learn, and understanding and treating learning disorders.


Rewarding success

Monkeys were given the task of looking at two alternating images on a computer screen. For one picture, the animal was rewarded when it shifted its gaze to the right; for another picture it was supposed to look left. The monkeys used trial and error to figure out which images cued which movements.

The researchers found that whether the animals' answers were right or wrong, signals within certain parts of their brains "resonated" with the repercussions of their answers for several seconds. The neural activity following a correct answer and a reward helped the monkeys do better on the trial that popped up a few seconds later.

"If the monkey just got a correct answer, a signal lingered in its brain that said, 'You did the right thing.' Right after a correct answer, neurons processed information more sharply and effectively, and the monkey was more likely to get the next answer correct as well," Miller said, "But after an error there was no improvement. In other words, only after successes, not failures, did brain processing and the monkeys' behavior improve."

1 Week+ to Germany

It's now about 1 week more to the IFC world championship in Germany. We will be competing in the group stunt international category.

Today training was the best so far, manage to get all stunts up(without the "icing on the cake" yet though).

OK, for those who want to take a look at the sneak preview video, leave me an email with your name to request for it.

Thanks for all the support.

Leverage

"Give me a lever and a point of support,"said Archimedes,"and I will lift the world."

Bearish

The real threats are not those you can see, but those which you cannot see...

Perservere

Defeat doesn't finish a man – QUIT does.
A man is not finished when he's defeated.
He's FINISHED when he quits

Richard Milhous Nixon (1913 – 94) U.S. president


TIP:

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming of it.
To overcome, one must either find a way, or make one.

Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure. In other words, many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

4 years seemed to pass so quickly...

many more to come.

Never try never know

Just as I was trying to find means and ways to achieve success, I came across a pretty cool website as I was doing my research. Heard of Binaural Beats? Basically it works by helping you to lower your brain frequency to a desired state, such as the state of meditation etc, that are beneficial to you.

One of the beats that got me to the site, and that I interests me most is "Manifestation". It aids LOA by by eliminating the brain's natural blockages which helps you rid yourself of doubt and negative feelings. One more benefit - it is said to very fast. (Speeds up the LOA process = Full up Cupie sooner)

The site has alot of other very interesting ones too.

For more info and free samples go Check it out


P.S: To have something you've never had, Do something you've never done.

Your state of mind determines everything.

I believe everyone heard of the law of attraction before. That is asking for it, and believing that you will get it, then accepting it. It applies to everything you do; for example if you want to do a toss cupie, the first thing to do is just believe that you can do it. When you believe in something and your body is in tune with it, the steps to achieving it will follow naturally.

I first heard about the LOA sometime back in 2007. I started to apply what it means. At that point of time, I still cannot do Full-ups, or Tick tocks, but I tried to believe that 1 day I will do it. Well and as we all know now, that I did it. From the time I started thinking about it, to the time I first execute it, it was more than half a year. LOA does not work like a "miracle thought", that immediately thinking about it and it will happen. However in that half a year's time, I had to constantly tell myself and believe that I can do it, because if ever I stop believing during that half a year's time, I would not have been able to succeed.

For me the LOA technique was still quite effective. However, at my current point in life, there are just too many things for me to handle, to think about; too much things to do and too little time. I am starting to lose some focus here, but I still want to improve my skills in cheerleading. That is when I knew that I had to be financially independant to achieve that. In simple words, I need to earn money at my own convenience, and not be tied to a desk for 8 hours a day. For me now, the relation is very simple: Financial Independence = Better Skills.

Now I shall try to implement LOA to earning more money, but on top of the LOA method, I went to research more different techniques, which includes meditation, yoga, hynosis, etc. I was hoping that using a combination of techniques can help speed up the process (Half a year is too long to wait sometimes). Below is an extract from 1 of the articles I had researched.

"We want to help you to do that -- to find your personal rhythm of money. Lanphear suggests a simple exercise to help us to tune in to our Money Rhythm. O'Donnell teaches us to tune in to the vibrations being experienced by our Higher Mind. The meditation practice is almost the same. It takes 40 minutes.

1. Pay attention to your breathing, making sure that one breath leads to the next with no space between breaths. Take 10 minutes.
2. Let your breathing take a comfortable pace, and pay attention to your heart region. Find the rhythmic/vibrational pulse that is not your heart beat. This is your money rhythm. Take 10 minutes.
3. Look for your physical rhythm, whether a swaying, movement of your head or legs or hands. You might see patterns of light or hear a sound. This your physical money rhythm.
4. Rest for 10 minutes. Stretch and come out of the relaxation slowly.

This will attune you to the vibrations of your money rhythm. It is recommended to do this at least twice a day, before breakfast and before dinner for at least 10 to 20 minutes. You will find with practice that the first 10 minutes can be dropped as you will be able to tune in quickly to your money rhythm. It only requires that you ask your higher power to help you to attune to your money rhythm."

Click here to see full article.


P.S: Some things I am doing now may seemed crazy, but I am willing to explore. Need a faster solution.

“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.” - Kahlil Gibran

Criteria for The World's Healthiest Foods

Among the thousands of different foods our world provides, the majority contain at least several of the nutrients our bodies need but to be included as one of the World's Healthiest Foods they had to meet the criteria listed below.

The criteria we used will also help you understand why some of your favorite (and also nutritious) foods may not be included on our list. For example, Readers have asked why pomegranate, a very nutritious food, is not included on our website. While pomegranates taste great and are rich in vitamins and flavonoid phytonutrients, they are still rather expensive which makes them not as widely available to many people.

1. The World's Healthiest Foods are the Most Nutrient Dense

The World's Healthiest Foods have been selected because they are among the richest sources of many of the essential nutrients needed for optimal health. We used a concept called nutrient density to determine which foods have the highest nutritional value.

Nutrient density is a measure of the amount of nutrients a food contains in comparison to the number of calories. A food is more nutrient dense when the level of nutrients is high in relationship to the number of calories the food contains. By eating the World's Healthiest Foods, you'll get all the essential nutrients that you need for excellent health, including vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, fiber and more for the least number of calories. Read more about Our Food and Recipe Rating System.

2. The World's Healthiest Foods are Whole Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are also whole foods complete with all their rich natural endowment of nutrients. They have not been highly processed nor do they contain synthetic, artificial or irradiated ingredients. And whenever possible, The Healthier Way of Eating recommends purchasing "Organically Grown" foods, since they not only promote your health, but also the health of our planet.

3. The World's Healthiest Foods are Familiar Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are common "everyday" foods. These include the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish, olive oil, herbs and spices that are familiar to most people.

4. The World's Healthiest Foods are Readily Available

Although there are many foods that are exceptionally nutritious, many of them are not readily available in different areas of the country. The World's Healthiest Foods are foods that the majority people can easily find at their local market.

5. The World's Healthiest Foods are Affordable

We have selected foods that are not only familiar and available, but also affordable, especially if you purchase them locally and in season. This is also the time when they are the freshest and of the best quality.

6. The World's Healthiest Foods Taste Good

The World's Healthiest Foods are also some of the world's best tasting foods. We have created recipes using the World's Healthiest Foods that do not overpower, but enhance, the unique flavor of each food. Each recipe provides a flavor adventure so you can discover new ways to experience and enjoy the great natural tastes of these foods.


Taken from: whfoods.com

A thousand words

Many unspoken ones too...

The next level

The only way to making money is if you are selling something. So why sell yourself to your company when you can be selling to everybody.

Give me some time, and I will do my part.

P.S: The only difference in all sales is in the conscience.

This is tough

If given the chance to be young again would you take it?

Double Edge

Sometimes pride and ego can keep a person going, but it can also impede the person as well.

Huat

How many of you have heard of Michael Phelps before 2008?

I believe 90% of you do not know who he is before Beijing Olympics.

Anyone know which is the first Olympics he participted in?

It is the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
8 years? Have anyone of you even cheer for 8 years already? I have only cheered for a full 5 years.

So you may be a nobody for many years, but if you work hard and live your dreams, you will be somebody one day. Even the best does not have it easy.


P.S: Successful people make a habit of doing things that unsucessful people don't like to do.

VivoCheer

I dun usually advertise on my blog, but since it is Yod; this is for you.

http://vivocheerfashion.blogspot.com/

Find the best cheerleading fashion here. =)

Not everyone is born talented

"Every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them."

---Wise Man---

Motivation Vs Discipline

“We make a distinction between motivation and discipline: Motivation is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, when we want to do it. Discipline is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, when we don’t want to do it.”

-Bobbi DePorter-


Bottom line is, what needed to be done had to be done; no matter what.


P.S: When you lose your motivation, you can still have your discipline.

Look a little further

They say that life is what you make of your own choices. Every desicion you make will get you ended up in a different scenario, situation. The bigger the choice is, the bigger will be the difference in the impact of decision.

Some people like to make decisions, some people like others to make decisions for them. We all belong somewhere in between the 2 extreme ends of the spectrum. We make some decisions and also allow others to decide for us at times. (The all too familiar "shui bian, anything, or up to you comes to mind")

Some people may be better off without a choice than with a choice; as they tend to make the "wrong choices" when they get to choose. For example in my JC days, when I am still studying triple science in year 1, I have very little free time in school, and I am given no choice but to cherish those times more and use it to study. But when I dropped 1 subject, hoping to get more time to cope with the others during school hours; instead of using my spare time to study, I make the "wrong" choice of playing soccer or go out of school. End up, I am better off with "less time" than with more.

There are also those who can really make full use of their choices and try to make their lives better. These are the people with aims, who know what they want; they usually know how to make the "right choices". Actually in my opinion, there are no right or wrong choices, just choices that get you to different scenarios and situations. You probably won't know if the decision is good for you, or if the other choice would have been be better, even till the day you die.

Ok, now regardless of whether you like to make decisions or not, and regardless of whether you make the right ones or not; are you indeed "controlling your own life"?

Usually in life you are presented with choices or decisions for you to make. But to what extend are we really "choosing" or "making the decision"? We often can only see what is placed in front of our eyes and not further. A diagram showing the chain of choices made:



Above is a very simplified choice diagram to illustrate my views. As you can see, my choice is very straight forward, just to go or not to go Thailand to support ACES. It was pretty much presented in front of me for me to make a decision. But am I really making a decision? my own decision? Of course I am making my own decision; that is what it seems. But do I really have a choice?

The answer is NO. In a very much simplified way to explain; My choice was actually presented to me because of a decision that NTU ACES made:- that is to go compete. And even NTU ACES choice was presented to them because of the decision by Thailand Cheer Association made:- that is to invite international teams. We shall just stop at 3 tier to illustrate my point. From a very layman view, I did make my own choice; but did I really had the choice of deciding the choice I want to make? (Starting to get confused?) Another diagram to sum it up:


(I am not too sure of all the party in charge for the selection of venue or renovation, but 1 thing for sure; they must be pretty big F***.)

So for example; for myself or ACES members, there is no training as there is no venue due to renovation. We have a choice of whether we want to go to the gym together or to train ourselves, or to do something else. Let's say we make the very wise choice of going to gym together for training, are we really "making that choice"? I think by now you do get my point.

The choices we have to make are often thrown to us in the face. But who is to decide why I need to make these choices. (Analogy: It can be something like a kidnapper asking you to make a choice between eating shit and drinking urine. Why do I even have to make this choice in the first place?) So to sum it up, it is not about whether you like to make decisions, or whether you make the right decisions; it is about whether you can create or decide your own choices to make.

Have you noticed that the higher up you are in the chain of decision, the more you can affect others. Now let's forget about the rationales and just assume some scenario. If you become the director of NTU board and you decide not to renovate SRC, NTU ACES Committee will not have to make the decision to stop training nor will the members be presented with a choice to make, it all ends when you decide not to renovate. If you look higher up the chain; if you become the president of IOC, and you decide not to have YOG, non of those down the chain will have to make a single decision.

So to sum it up, we should not always be only making decisions based on choices presented to us, instead try to climb up the chain, 1 level up at a time, and make the decisions that will present you with the choice that you want to make. For example if you are a member of ACES, try to get in the committee, be involved in the decision making process to cancel training, then make the decision to go train in the gym. In a similar way, try to climb the "tree" as high up as possible, and then even 1 fart you make will affect many.

Do not think making the choice; think creating your own choice to make.


P.S: We need to get more people up there. You think the people up there can do a cupie? Nah, but they can decide if more will.

A good site to recommend (confidentcheerleadingblog.com)

Which are you?

Thoughts

Fatter but not Taller

Just read an article on Yahoo news about Singapore soccer.

SINGAPORE : Singapore football captain Noh Alam Shah has slammed Singapore football, saying it is stagnant.

The 29 year old said he has had enough of Singapore football, citing a lack of motivation due to poor attendances at S.League matches.

So has cheerleading in Singapore reached a stagnant point too? In my opinion, it is not stagnant yet to some extent. Why do I only say to some extent? This is because, it is still expanding slowly, albeit only horizontally; more teams are sprouting and more people are joining cheer. However, it is not growing vertically, the skills level and competition standards at the top are not getting better. For example, we may be able to see 7-8 liberties/cupies in a routine from more teams, but we are not seeing even 4-5 toss cupies/fullup liberties in a routine. We are having more teams with round off back tucks, but not more 3 element passes or more advance element like round off twist layouts.

So are we stuck at the current level due to a lack of motivation too? Due to the lack of people or sponsors who appreciate the sport of cheerleading?

In my opinion, Noh Alam Shah was only half right. Did he question himself why are there poor attendances at S.League matches? As a soccer supporter myself and from my point of view, people stop turning up to watch because of poor performaces put up in the soccer matches; the standard of play did not improve "vertically" over the past 10 years.

Soccer is a far more matured sport in Singapore compared to cheerleading. Is Singapore cheer going to become like Singapore soccer one day, when it is no longer even expanding horizontally? So how to solve the issue of lack of motivation and support to improve, and/or to improve in order to get support and motivation? This is a chicken and egg problem; that we all will just have to do our part to solve.

I just hope that down the road, Cheerleading in Singapore need not have to face the same fate as Singapore soccer. If something has to be done, it has to be done now.


P.S: Support/Motivation and Standard of Cheerleading; which comes first? It is just like Technique and Strength; which comes first?

“扮猪吃老虎”

蓝球火Episode 8...

霹雳烽火狼队were having a meeting after watching a video match of their next opponents. They were discussing about the strength and weakness of the other team.

元大鹰：“以我一个不是很资深的球员来看这个赫翼骑兵的比赛，我觉得好普通喔。不懂他们为什麽可以拿省冠军。”
.
.
.
W: “不准你们轻敌哦！赫翼队看似普通，但是告诉你们越是这样的球队越要小心。”
W: “越是平凡的球队越要紧张。”

What this tells us is that the more the team looks ordinary, or normal, the more you have to be wary and cautious about them.

Sometimes a team may consist all of unknown or unheard of players, they may have no publicity, but this batch of humble players when put together into a team; and with their tireless, industrious productivity, is capable to defeat any all-star team out there.


P.S: 元大鹰：“你们不要瞧不起后捕板凳球员哦；通常他们才是真正的秘密武器。”

That's what you get for burning the candle from both ends...

76

Fold or Call?

It is always easier to let go, but harder to strive on.


P.S: Will you give up or work harder?

Karoshi

I don't understand why would anyone engage in "Furoshiki overtime"


P.S: I am dying little by little, day by day.

"I believe everyone has the capacity to go one step beyond their percieved limits and often the biggest limits in life are the ones we impose on ourselves."

Chris Moon

Just 1 will do

Yes that's right, Snow always seems to be 1 step ahead of me; full up cupie, full around cupie & 1 arm tick tock. These are what I am going to do in 1 year's time and she had already done it. Wait for me ok?


P.S: A flyer can only do what a base can do.

Lucky number 3

In a flash, its 5th of August again, it is now 3 years. (The first 2 years can be sumed up here: http://x-wonder.blogspot.com/2008/08/2-years-of-journey.html) So back then, our 2nd year of journey ended with experimenting with Tick tocks, Pop overs etc. Now 1 more year into it, we finally could do it all; what I considered the 4 basic elements of partner stunting - Full ups, Tick Tocks, Full Arounds, Pop Overs.

It seems the higher we climb, the harder it is to move even higher, but nevertheless we will do it. Some targets that we set for the new year ahead; they still revolve around the 4 basic elements, just variations of it, such as Full up to Cupie, Tick Tock Stretches, Full Around to Cupie, Low Pop Overs. At the same time, we aim to master and link up the 4 basic elements together and do it all in one go. Ok enough of goal setting, it is time to let actions speak louder. Jiayou!


Past... An old video of the first 2 years of journey:


Present... Video of the 4 basic elements of stunting we achieved in the past 1 year:


Future... Video of what we aim to achieve; how we want to link the 4 basic elements together:




P.S: I was right when I said last year that we are going to see many more tick tocks and pop overs in less than 2 years.

MP

"80% of swimmers like to win
20% hate to lose
and 95% of the Olympic team comes from the hate-to-lose group."

Eddie Reese U.S men's swim coach 2004-2008 Olympics

29July

Happy Birthday to Snow. (Finally turn 18 this year... again. haha.)

Some photos of her convocation last Friday.






















Wishing Snow a very happy birthday once again and to have a bright future ahead.

P.S: Happy Birthday to OWC and Jasmine too =)

78

Now that I have tried and tested myself the benefits of handstands, I am going to try to bust another myth:- "Having a tummy will improve your stunting abilities". The myth has it that the bigger your tummy, the better you stunt.

I think that after handstand, the next important thing that one can do to try to improve their stunting abilities is to have nice and strong abs. Well this might take some time for me, just like when I just started out training my handstand 2 years ago, but I shall once again test and try to see the benefits it brings.


P.S: Strength in the right place and the right time is what matters, not just brute strength.

Everyone's doing it

If you are thinking how your team can improve their stunting abilities but have no idea where to start from, see below...

Nothing can depict the importance of handstand as much as this picture (Can your whole team do this?)

(This is the spot where am I contest, winner wins an I-phone. Haha, just kidding.)
These are students of Vanung University doing mass handstands, every single 1 of their bases can hold their own handstand very stably.

P.S: Now do you still wonder why their stunting are that good, or why yours is not?

24 more to go...

I used to think this was insane...

No Boundaries

Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want but how long can you wait
Every moment last forever
If you feel you've lost your way

What if your chances are already gone
Started believing that I could be wrong
But you give me one good reason
To fight and never walk away
Cause here I am still holding on

Every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Whether the hurricanes
To get to that one thing
So you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you've almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand
And show you that you can
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

I fought to the end to stand on the edge
What if today is as good it gets
Don't know where the future's headed
Nothing's gonna bring me down

I've jumped every bridge and I've run every line
I've risked being saved but I always knew why
I always knew why
So here I am still holding on

Every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Whether the hurricanes
To get to that one thing
So you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you've almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand
And show you that you can

You can go higher, you can go deeper
There are no boundaries above and beneath you
Break every rule cause there's nothing between you
and your dreams

Every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe

Yeah, there are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Whether the hurricanes
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

There are no boundaries

No Boundaries - Kris Allen

So now we have seen Kentucky, then what's next?

Set your sights further

It's the time of the year again where it is supposedly the "lull" period in SG Cheer; time to next year's Nationals is still quite long to go. This is the period teams are regrouping themselves, getting new members, and re-training up their teams. Exchanges between teams are also during this period, this also includes getting overseas cheerleaders down to teach us, and also going overseas ourselves to join their camps or just have some training sessions with them. Basically everyone are trying their best to improve their skills and techniques during this period to better prepare for Nationals next year.

I myself have been no exception to these and no stranger to interacting with cheerleaders from other countries during this period. For the 5 years I have been in cheer, in this very same period, I have always had help from overseas cheerleaders 1 way or another . In 2004, I went for JCA 2 days workshop in SG and for the first time in my life saw a cupie live. In 2005, I went over to RSU in Thailand and really brush up my basics and then our Thai friends also came to help us for our annual cheer camp. In 2006, I went over to Thailand again and got my first single liberty with Xuewei right after I came back. In 2007, we had the privilege to invite our Taiwan friends down, I was impressed once again and totally had a new insight into stunting and changed my techniques totally from scratch again. In 2008, Xuewei and I went over to Taiwan and I got to learn my first ever full around with a Taiwanese flyer. In 2009, I recently just came back from Taiwan and now got a chance to learn from Kentucky, my all time idol team. So you see, every year around this period is pretty exciting for me.

It is true that each time I learnt something new and different and all these interactions are very valuable. However there is also 1 thing that I know from all these experience, that is you do not improve over night just because you get to breathe the same air or eat the same food as them. You do not just go for a 1 week overseas training and come back doing what they can do already; most of the times you come back at the same level as before you went. If you are physically and technically not at that level yet, it will not change overnight. You will only master what your body is ready to do, meaning learning something that you probably already "can" do, but just that you did not realise it, or your mind did not think you can do it. So think of such overseas exchanges only more as a "mind opener" or "mind training", it does not actually train you physically.

For example, before my recent trip to Taiwan, I could not do tick tock low tick tock, but over there, after a few tries, I got it. What this means is that probably I already had the potential and capability to do it, only that I did not actually had the mind to do it yet back in SG. The opposite is also true with rewind, I am not ready yet, and it will not change over night. This led me to come up with, "what you can do - you can do, what you cannot do - you cannot do". This applies for your present phyical and technical abilities. Of course, with training physically and technically, you will get it 1 day, but as of the present moment, if your ability is not of that level yet, you will not master what is beyond you. Personal training long after the overseas coaches are gone is the key to improvement, not the few days spent with them. See as much, listen as much and absorb as much as you can in these few days, then take them and apply to your training, only then you can really improve.

Currently, as I am typing this now, we have argubly the world's top coaches and players from the eastern and western worlds on our little island shores. There is no doubt, and not a surprize that everyone is trying to get a piece of them, as they all want to learn and improve. They can teach you everything, from shoulder sits, to elevators, to hands, to extensions, to cupies, to rewinds and anything there is on the market. But ask yourself, are you ready for all they have to offer? And also different techniques and methods of the east and west may be provided, but which is correct? Nothing is wrong, as long as it works for you. Different methods and techniques may work better for individuals at different levels, so learn to listen, absorb, discern and take whatever works for you and then make it your own; do not only blindly follow and not understand the underlying principles.

Someday, I hope that Singapore cheer will develop to the stage where people from overseas are inviting us down to help them, and not always us inviting people down. We already do have many coaches in various teams in Singapore who are very good, who have more than sufficient knowledge to impart and bring the overall local standard of cheerleading up. At the current average level of cheerleading in Singapore, this is sufficient and not an overkill. Listen to what your coaches have to offer after our overseas friends have gone, they are the ones who will make more impact on your trainings; do not rebute them with statements like:"I could do that with so and so from US or Taiwan, I am not wrong, you are wrong etc". Even harbouring such thoughts will only impede you from improving and progressing.

Utimately in many years to come, we want to create our own local style of cheerleading and be as good as our overseas friends, and not only always to be living in their shadows. We do not always want to depend on them. Afterall, as the chinese saying goes:"yuan shui jiu bu liao jing huo" (Water from far cannot save you from a fire that is near you). In times of real need, help always come from a source near to you.

No hands

2 years of training handstand is showing some results...

Trip to Taiwan

My trip to Taiwan again proves me 1 thing again: That is my techniques and will are not strong enough.

Good Old Days

The answer is...

This is the first time I did BT outside of crash mats or cushion. Jumped back so far but I still managed to land; must be a miracle.


P.S: I will probably pass my standing board jump with this.

My post are becoming so short and sketchy these days, but its all the time I have. Still stuck at work now, taking a short break. Hai~!

Holiday mood still haven set in yet, though we are leaving this weekend.

The years becoming shorter as I get older. It is going July soon, half the year has past in a flash.

21 days straight already.

Evolution takes a leap every now and then.

It has been 2 years. And now it is coming back at us again.

Won't it ever give me break?!

Insight into Decision Making

A passage I read before and recently happen to read it again.
-------------------------------------------------------------

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.
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A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........
........

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..

If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular..... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils

Working Vs Training

Been working 12 days in a row already, and each day for almost 18 hours. I miss trainings.

Let's overcome all our obstacles to get to where we want to be. Jiayou.

If you cannot tumble and you also cannot stunt, either buck up or go join a cheer dance team (assuming you can at least dance)...

Well I know that by claiming that all bases are weak was quite hard on all; it was purely down to my own frustrations at my own incapability and I just had to get something off my chest.

After reading the post through again, it kind of felt like I was imposing my dreams and beliefs. I was wrong to do that. Being harsh on myself will do just fine.

Females the stronger gender?

Did some training last night. I trained till I could not even do a proper toss to hands, and my entire shirt was drenched with my sweat from top to bottom. However, Snow's shirt was still completely dry, and she told me this: "She got nothing from the training at all, except hurting knees and ankles from all the pop down; she did not felt that she had trained at all."

Today on my way to work, as usual I would take a copy of My Paper and read. I read this article from the chinese section about "我国体坛为何女强男弱?" This article makes me go into deep thoughts.



In summary, the article explores reasons why females are dominating Singapore sports scene at the moment; with the victory of our female table tennis in the 2008 Olympics as the most notable example. The article also mentions for the first time, since the establishment of Singapore National Olympic Committee(SNOC) Awards in 1967, the "Best Male Athelete of the year award" has zero nomination because no single male is deserving of that award and hence not awarded.

As reported on the paper, some reasons given that may be attributing to the senario now is due to the lower international standards for females as compared to males and also the higher participation of males in competitions. Another reason stated is the disruption of training for males due to NS commitments. Another reason that I picked out is the fact that females can receive more help in training from males but not vice-versus; for example a female table tennis player can spar with a male player to maximise and bring out her potential by playing with the quicker and stronger male player. The paper also said that this phenomenon may just be a temporary one, with more male atheletes up and coming.

After some thoughts from reading the article, coupled with last night's training, I start to seriously agree with the statement: "我国体坛女强男弱" Are the reasons given by My Paper a true reflection or are they just excuses for our under-performing male atheletes? To me, I start to think that they are all but excuses, it is either you succeed or you fail. Don't tell me that the female atheletes mentioned in the paper did not train hard for their competition? They may be where they are now because they put in so much more efforts than their male counterparts. And please do not take the credit away from them by saying stuff like there is less competition and lower international standards for females, they deserved to be right where they are now.

I resoundingly think that for the cheer scene in Singapore, the guys are much weaker than the girls in general, maybe with few and far between exceptions. Let me talk in terms of partner stunting, if the guy is not good and strong enough to base the flyer, there is no way the flyer can do her stunts or try any new tricks. Now I know why Snow did not even break a sweat last night; the stunts that we were doing are so "elementary" to her. It is not like she was doing something new, it was stuff that she had done 2 years ago when the Taiwanese came down. Then all the Taiwanese bases had to do was to mention and explain to her a few details of the stunt and there you have it, she did it on the first or next couple of tries with them; stuff like full up, full around, tick tocks, pop overs (It can all be seen from her videos). It took me 2 years to be doing what they had been doing back then, and still I am less consistent. People sometimes are amazed or wonder how come Snow can take a 1 year break without training and yet come back and do all the stuff as if she had been training hard and that she had not been away. The reason is that it is all very simple stunts for her, which I must elaborate again that she already did it 2 YEARS AGO and the only variable comes from the base that is me.

The point I am trying to make is that all, every single one of the bases in Singapore are weak, if not they are strong but have no techniques! In the My Paper article, they mentioned about the male table tennis players playing and helping the female players reach a higher standard. To me, this does not apply at all to the males in cheerleading, we do not help the females of our sport to reach higher standards or maximise their potential, instead we are actually impeding them. In all my years of experience, from what I see from all the different trainings at different places in Singapore, it is always the bases who said lets take a break, or complained about having no strength; yes when I say this it includes myself. When is the time we as bases in Singapore want to start to buck up? If we know that we are way off the mark, shouldn't we be working doubly hard? or much harder than the girls?

So is this phenomenon really a temporary one, with more male atheletes up and coming, like what My Paper says? I think not in 1 or 2 years time. In cheer, what I can see from the new generation of bases is promising in general at the moment, but to say, for example, that we are going to have even 10 sets of flyers and bases doing Pop Overs together, I think we are still way off the mark, unless all bases have a radical change in their mindset. Bases who felt wronged and aggrieved by my stinging accusations, that we are all below standards, feel free to prove me otherwise, I will be more than happy to be able to eat my words one day. Myself as a base, I will like to make myself eat my own words too, no matter how much I do not like the feeling, I have to accept it. Improvements only starts after acceptance.


P.S: Maybe this is why there is only 1 base nomination compared to several flyers nomination in Chaang's top 20 - There are just no base deserving of that accolade.

Being Satisfied

I mentioned in my earlier post last week: Life is full of paradox; one reason why, in my opinion, is because humans are never satisfied.

So is never being satisfied something good or bad? I believed that this is one of the very important traits of human beings; it got us from being a cave man to where we are now. If humans are always satisfied, records will not be broken, innovation will not happen, and life will not be changed.

We should all always strive to be better, not get satisfied with what we already achieved. Being never satisfied indeed can bring us further, but only if it is still in your own control.


P.S: The difference is to be able to acknowledge, appreciate and give thanks to whatever you had achieved; before you continue to strive for more. If you cannot enjoy and appreciate the moment when you achieved something, that is when this trait has gone overboard.

岚蝶划云游身步

When 元大鹰 was young, his grandma never allowed him to play basketball or even get near a ball. Her only wish and hope was for him to master 岚蝶划云游身步 in future.

岚蝶划云游身步 is a very powerful skill of dribbling a basketball, that you can defend and attack at the same time with zero loophole.

“就好像练高超极限的武功招式，最适合的人选就是不懂武功之人”This was what the master said.

To be truely magnificent, to master great skills, it is best to start with zero knowledge, an empty mind.

So when the time is ripe, when the right teaching comes your way or when it is time to learn the 绝世武功; only then with a "mind of a newborn", is it possible to absorb every minor little details without any rejection from your mind because of what you learnt and experienced before.


P.S: Forget what you learnt about toss to hands...

Make a guess

Was going through some random videos and found this; and I realised I was quite daring back then. A video screen shot image of me doing "backtuck" midway when I just started learning.



The distance of my head to the ground seems pretty little (~<50cm?). Do you think I made it standing at the end?

No Limits

Started reading this book on Michael Phelps. He is just like any other guy on the streets, just with a bit more imagination.

TGIF

Everytime when it comes to goodbyes with my collegues on Fridays, they would always say,"Enjoy your weekends".

As the saying goes, time passes quickly when you are enjoying yourself; so why will I want to enjoy my weekend for? If I enjoy it, time flies and my weekend will be over fast and before I know it I will be back in office.

So to all people working,"Lets not enjoy our weekends so we can turn it into a long weekend!"


P.S: Life is full of paradox; one reason why, in my opinion, is because humans are never satisfied.

Today marks a New Beginning

Calvin

I consider myself still very young in life's long road ahead of me. Although 27 years is not considered a very long time, there were still many big decisions that I had make along the way. Every such decisions are life changing; you will never know what will become of you if you had made a different choice back then. For example, what will happen if you had chosen a different secondary school, or a different JC/Poly, or a different Uni. The different friends that you may meet, and the different activities that you will engage in.

When it comes to big decisions, one may consult in their family and friends before making the final decision. But what are big decisions? For me, I feel that decisions which you had to stick with for a substantial period of your life constitute to a big decision. Back in school days, those decisions included which schools you want to join, because once you chosen it, it will be where you will be spending most of your time for the next 4 years for Sec, 2-3 years for high school, and another 3-4 years for Uni. And now in my career, big decisions include which line of work to choose, which company to join, which jobs to do, etc.

For us, such big decisions are key milestones in our lives and many more are waiting to made. These are the kind of typical, traditional "big decisions"; such as school, work, house, marriage, kids and so on. We sort of already knew when the time comes, we have to make such a decision. However, have you thought about the smaller decisions in life, those that does not fall within the so called "big decisions", those that you never knew would become a part of a bigger picture?

Some decisions may seemed small, that you thought probably will be a one time thing, but such decisions can actually end up becoming a large part of your life inadvertently. When you make a decision, sometimes it takes years, maybe decades for you to realise the full magnitude of that "small decision". For me I had made one such decision before in my life, and that "small decision" leads on to another and then another and then snowballed into one unforgettable, major part of my life now.

That small little decision that I had made was to follow my friend, my senior, then later my mentor, to take a look at Hall 4 HO cheerleading training in 2003. It probably also took alot of fate to bring us together into NTU out of 3 University in Singapore, and then into that 1 hall out of 15 halls in NTU and then into the same block and same level out of 6 different blocks. However, after that nothing was fated, it was all his hard work that pushed Hall 4 to join HO cheerleading that year, after they almost decide to pull out, and it was also his efforts in getting people to join.

His name is Calvin Teo. He would always come to my room, or we would go out for supper, and we became friends. It was through our friendship, and his psyching and persuading, that I decided to go down to take a look after my exams. After the first session, where he taught me a few basics, such as elevator and shoulder sit, I got a clearer picture of the situation our hall was in; if we do not have enough people, we will have to pull out, which would be a very big thing then as all halls always participated. Well I made another decision and that is to help them for the HO performance.

Calvin Teo, the guy I owe my cheerleading career to.

We trained hard for 1 week, yes just 1 week, no more or no less, to put up our HO Cheerleading 2004 performance. You can take a look at the video below; for those younger ones, you probably will laugh(saying you can train that in a few minutes)and for those older ones, it will probably bring back some memories of the good old days. Well we all had fun, even though we got last, but the main thing is at least we tried and did not pull out.

Team Hall 4 in HO Cheerleading 2004. (Me at the extreme right standing)

My first ever performance.

Hall 4 HO Cheerleading 2004 (probably the one and only you can ever find on the web)

After HO 2004, Calvin continued to pass on his passion for cheerleading to me. He asked me if I was interested to join Cheerobics 2004. Calvin Teo was one of the important pioneers for NTU ACES, the unsung heroes behind all the glamour NTU ACES is receiving now. After HO, I got a taste of what cheerleading is about, but I would not say that I had developed a passion for it. I liked more about the interaction amongst the team, the fun that we had together during training. So when Calvin asked me to join Cheerobics 2004 with NTU ACES, I was not so sure still. However after some persuading, telling me it is a good oportunity to get more hall allocation points and to know more people, especially more girls(haha), I made another "small decision" to follow him.

Together with another friend of mine from Hall 4, Weipin, we went with Calvin to join Cheerobics 2004. To me then it was more of just joining Cheerobics and not joining ACES; ACES was just a name to me then. But as if it was fated, one small decision leads to another, and before I know or even think about it, I am in NTU ACES for more than 5 years; the only place I can call home, the best team in Singapore currently.

Training with ACES for Cheerobics 2004 was fun, and I got to try alot of new things as compared to HO Cheerleading (can tell from the above HO video), and that was also when I met Ian & Zhaoming, the only few still around till now. In ACES, we were all new to the cheer scene, we do not know about teams like Magnum, Vespers, Denvers, etc, who were in the business for very long already. The prelims were a eye opener, Magnum was superb and we were like noobs. In the end, the finals we manage to get 2nd after Magnum. We were all very happy, like one big family.

My journey in cheerleading then carried on from the moment we lift that trophy, one small decision at a time. Without going to see HO training, I would not have joined, without joining HO, I would not have joined Cheerobics 2004, Without joining Cheerobics with ACES, I would not have seen the other magnificent teams out there, without seeing those teams, I would not have a bigger picture and understanding of cheerleading, and without that understanding, I would not be inspired to carry on... I would not have won my first Cheerobics... I would not have did my first cupie... so and so on.

Cheerobics 2004 Prelims. Simple but nice.

The Finals.

Final pyramid in my first competition.

1st Runner Up trophy. (Lets hope not to see the "Runner Up" word ever again)

It all starts with that small decision I made that change my whole life now, I cannot imagine what kind of life I would be leading now if cheerleading is not in the picture. Ever since 2003, cheerleading had been part of my life, and for the last 5 years, each day will not pass without cheerleading stuff running through my mind. Cheerleading has given me so much that it is not possible to list out everything. That small decision had to be the best decision I ever made up to now.

I would like to thank Calvin so much, for being the man that made so much difference to my life than he can imagine. I guess my increase in passion for cheerleading is such a gradual thing, and had I not stop and look back now, I would not have realised that if I had to pick the one single person that is responsible for it, Calvin is the man.

I really want to take this opportunity to thank Calvin, and also share with everyone about my friend, mentor and Shifu. In his time as a cheerleader, he is a very fit and strong base with a very nice temper; always putting the team before self. A very nice and helpful friend, always never rejects anyone in need. He is one of the lesser known early pioneer of ACES Cheerleading; someone who had done so much for cheer, than he was ever known and acknowledged for.

The man.

To Calvin:

(Dun think you visit this blog, but if you ever read it...) I thank you for showing me what cheerleading is all about, and for bringing me into the sport. You are my first teacher and will be always. I learnt my first ever cheerleading skill from you, without that, I will not have been able to do the stunts I am doing now. Thank you. Although we did not contact for quite some time, I will not forget the times we break into SRC together and "borrowed" mats, and also all the stupid things that we did, etc, etc. You really did made a very big impact in my life, much more than you know it. Really thank you, so much more than the words have to say.

Xingwei

Calvin, Weipin (as mentioned above, my earliest comrade in cheer) , Myself.

Calvin on elevator. The first stunt he taught me.

Calvin with BU flyer during Cheerobics 2004

Calvin, with all the early pioneers of ACES taking photo with me after Cheerobics 2007.

(Also the last time I saw you.)

P.S: You once thanked me for helping out in Hall 4 HO Cheer '04. Now I have this to say back to you,"No, do not thank me. I thank you so much for that."