Beginner

I love gazing at beautiful skies, especially skies that look like the one above - crystal clear and vivid blue, high and breath-taking. I heard that the skies in other countries where there are mountains are even higher than what we can see here. The sky is so wide and limitless, and I just want to defy gravity and fall into them. But sometimes there's the bitter aftertaste, when you know that things like beautiful skies don't last, and that you can't do anything about it because you can't control or you don't own the skies. You can only watch, and do nothing else about the feelings you have.

Skies like these are so refreshing to look at, and it empowers you so much. I need the strength to press on because now is only the beginning. I have a long road ahead of me, places to see, people to meet, emotions to discover.

Yesterday, I went to the SPH Scholarship talk with Iggy from high school, and I kinda cleared my growing doubts about trying out for the scholarship. These few weeks I had been thinking really hard whether I should still go ahead and apply because I'm also looking for jobs and most of the openings require at least 3 months of working with them. The scholarship selection process includes about 3-4 months of internship with the SPH, and thus I was caught in a dilemma of whether I should just stick to the plan of applying and interning or just wait to apply for the mid-term scholarship and get other jobs instead.

The talk gave me more insight into the job scope, and the editor Ignatius Low who was the speaker for the talk was really candid and informative. The job of a journalist doesn't reap much income compared to most jobs in the corporate or civil sector, but it is very rewarding in other ways. It won't be easy, but there's always the first steps of a beginner and from there on things can only get better. It's the perfect avenue for me to experience as many things as possible by going out there and observing and gathering stories. So yeap, I guess I would send in my application after all.

Iggy and I went to City Hall to get some llao llao for lunch after, and we had a lot of fun talking, mostly sharing and recommending good movies. It's really awesome because Iggy and I share the same interests in movie genres like indie and those arty farty types, and even Disney and Pixar movies! There's only a few friends whom I'd discuss movies with, so it's great that there's another who shares the same passion as myself.

I reached home around 3 to nap and then prepare to go to Tanglin Community Centre after dinner for a trial class of Jiujitsu. Last Saturday I had a class outing with my primary school friends, and I talked to Berlin about being interested in learning a type of martial art so he invited me to follow him yesterday to the dojo he practices at. Tanglin CC has all kinds of martial arts - Kendo, Aikido and wrestling etc. So I turned up in tracks because I don't have a Gi, and started my very first experience in the art of Jiujitsu.

We started off with a really really long and thorough warm-up session, followed by techniques in countering a grab and throwing or pinning your opponent down. It was really strenuous and halfway through I started seeing stars and becoming dazed hahaha. The biggest disappointment I felt was my inability to do a forward roll. I really couldn't bring myself to flip forward because I was afraid of going upside down even for a brief moment. Berlin was really nice and helped by manually lifting my legs and flipping me over (because I am horrible and I can't use my legs to propel myself forward).

Berlin's friend, Yuan Ning, was my partner for trying out the countering techniques, and she was really nice and cool as well. During the break I watched as Yuan Ning and Berlin practiced throwing each other and I was just stupefied in awe. I want to be as cool as that girl, I thought.
We ended the approximately 2 hour- long session with a Randori, which is a free sparring session where you and your opponent kneel back to back, and at the cue of the instructor, you turn around and try to pin your opponent down using groundwork techniques.

There were three rounds, and I was up against a boy way younger than me, a younger girl named Deborah and lastly Yuan Ning. I got mercilessly pinned by the younger boy after he countered my grab. Surprisingly for his small build he was pretty strong. The subsequent matches I was determined not to be pinned myself so I used all my strength and kept my female opponents down because I knew if they countered it would be hard for me to get out of a lock or pin. I attribute it to my lack of a gi and maybe my comparatively bigger build that I managed not to get pinned, because the collar and the sleeves of the gi makes it easier for the opponent to grab you and perform a counter.

Despite the intense session (mind you, this is just the beginner's class), I really had a lot of fun because I don't think I ever had the chance to be allowed to get physical with people, throwing and pinning them. The techniques taught are extremely useful in self-defense, so if I ever get attacked in future I would have a higher chance of escaping. I took a form from the instructor, but I'm still reconsidering if I should sign up for regular classes because I'm still pretty dazed from yesterday and still really bummed that I can't do a forward roll. Berlin said I would get better with practice, and should work hard on my own by doing cardio. I guess that means I've to put in more effort in the daily jogs as well. And practicing forward rolls on my bed. Ugh.

I've a long way to go in everything, and as a beginner I should be filled to the brim with motivation and energy. I hope the fighting spirit won't die down so easily.