Taekwondo Reflection (2)

So Taekwondo was cancelled for the last few weeks due to the coronavirus which is really a shame. But also, I twisted my knee so I wouldn’t have been able to participate anyways. I have to say, it makes me quite sad as we were preparing for the grading and I was ready to get a new belt before I left the school. We had already learnt the pattern and the kick but things just didn’t add up in the end which is quite saddening.

However, I am glad I decided to join in Grade 11 as it was a completely new experience for me even though I see similarities between it and dance with the choreography-like patterns. There is more of a conviction and power that you have to show during Taekwondo compared to the softness of dancing. I really enjoyed it and I think I’ve learnt more discipline as there were a lot of little kids running around and the teachers were shouting a lot of the time which could be scary. To have control over your body to perform certain acts really brings me more confidence as well as giving me the exercise I need. One of the proudest moments was during candle training when we have to ‘blow’ out a candle by just punching at it which is a bizarre thing to describe but it’s an effective way to train our accuracy, speed and power. I didn’t succeed in Grade 11 but I was able to do it this year and I was incredibly proud of myself even though I might have singed of some of my finger hairs.

I think I will definitely continue this sport when I leave off for university because my goal is to become a black belt which I don’t see happening soon but it is in my future agenda.

Kahaani #1

I’ve decided to do Kahaani this year since I did not have the chance to do it last year. Let’s say I really want to garner the full UWC experience before leaving. So Kahaani involves Indian dance which I have never done before so this will be a new experience but I think that I can use my previous dance experience as a foundation to build upon. The steps are so far are pretty easy which makes sense since it’s open for everyone. My leaders place a very strong emphasis on rehearsal and being serious which makes sense since our dance is a representative of their abilities to lead but they’re being a little aggressive about it. But that’s only my opinion.

I think it will be exciting even though we are pretty pressed for time, especially with a 3 week break in between.

Culturama Reflection (2)

So Culturama is over and it’s really quite sad knowing that it is my last one. But I just want to take some time to reflect in regards of course to CAS.

Firstly I had to work collaboratively with my partner to face something neither of us have done before which was a big challenge in itself but I think with the guidelines and the whole load of documents the committee created for us to get organised really gave us a direction in which way we should steer our dance. I honestly a lot of the other dances were super organised whereas we were struggling. But the realisation that this was not the case and that everyone were struggling really reassured me. As I stated in my previous reflections, sometimes me and my partner clashed because of opposing ideas but we’re both really civil. We never ended a conversation in screaming or hair pulling even though there were times where I kept my mouth shut to avoid any conflict which made me quite mad on the inside but when her idea turns out better than anything I could have imagined, I calm down. It’s a learning process and I think I learnt throughout this process that not everything goes your way, sometimes you can change it but most of the time it’s acceptance that comes out.

Secondly, I had to plan and initiate a whole experience for a group of people which carries importance in itself. I was quite stressed because there are other people relying on you especially since I have never done it before and was assured that I did not have the courage to do it either. But having partner who knew how to talk to a group of people was good. I did more background stuff: filling out the forms from the committee, ordering costumes, getting everyone’s measurements and those fun things that is a part of it. There were a LOT of things to do but I’m glad there was, otherwise honestly I would have left things to the very last minute. Also, there were some last minute things that were stressful like returning the costumes to get the money which turned out to be not a huge issue (I got the money back) and collecting money from the dancers since there was an excess. But I sorted it all out in the end through the support of others and trying to organise my time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience even though I probably would not do it again. I’m really glad about how it turned out and got chocolate in the end so extra bonus!

Culturama #5

So we have dancers! I originally thought no one would audition since we never promoted much of it and Germany is a new country so you never know what to expect. Normally people want to get into more popular countries because they do more modern styles but people did audition and I’m glad for that.

Since we have to choreograph this and neither of us know anything about German dance or choreographing for that matter, we turn to Youtube for inspiration. Most of the steps are taken from existing dances which I am a little guilty about because it could be called out for plagiarising but once the whole thing is put together, hopefully it won’t look like any of the dances on Youtube. Also, I have ideas and my partner has ideas and sometimes they clash. I mean I am a little conflict avoidant so I don’t like saying ‘no’ to people but I don’t like people telling me ‘no’ either. I knew having to work with someone else on something neither of us have done before will be a challenge but we work it out and hopefully our combined efforts won’t be put to shame.

Also, I’m in charge of the costumes. I’m getting it from Taobao because my mom has an account and it’s just generally cheaper to get it from there. There might actually not be enough time to get it shipped here from China but my mom is good at online shopping and I think we’ve sorted it out. Hopefully they turn out to look good on stage.

Culturama #4

Culturama is back and this year I’ve decided to lead a dance with my friend instead of just purely dancing in it. Ever I came to this school, I’ve wanted to do it because the opportunity came up and it’s never before. The theme is “unexplored” so essentially the committee is “banning” dances that have been done over and over again. I originally wanted to do Chinese dance because I have been studying it for over ten years recreationally but I still wanted to share that. China however was on the list of over-used dances so I thought maybe Korea or Mongolia because it is technically also encased within Chinese Dance. After conversing with my fellow choreographer, we decided to go with something else, something neither of us have done before.

Made a list and everything and eventually decided to go with Germany because why not. The dresses look cute, the steps are simple so it was a good choice. We had to fill in a lot of documents for costumes and choreography. Mind you this was in Grade 11 so a whole 3 months before auditions. There is also an option with live music since the Music Department wanted to be more involved in these artistic ventures. So we want to consider that but nothing is set in stone.

This is something new I’m trying out since I’ve never done it before and I’m actually quite terrified that it will turn out to be a mess. I’m glad I’m doing it with someone and we will hopefully make quite a good piece out of this.

Taekwondo #4

Continuing on from Grade 11, I wanted to resume with Taekwondo because I thought it’d be a waste to throw what I had already learned previously away. There is a grading coming up soon and we are preparing for that. I hope I can get a double grading but I will have to remember the pattern better. I think not being on the lowest level in the class anymore is nice since most of the class consists of primary school kids and I think that takes a toll on my confidence. There aren’t many higher level belts in our class and I have my friend with me so I think I will continue focusing on developing my skills and building on what I have already learnt.

Taekwondo is an individual sport so there is no teamwork involved. But the teachers like the incorporate group activities to have that respect mentality that exists quite prominently in martial arts. To be able to learn discipline and respect for other is not something foreign to me as it is also bound into our school’s principles.

Taekwondo reflection

So I did my grading for Taekwondo and guess what? We got a double promotion which is what happens when you skip a grade which we did! So I am know officially a yellow belt which is incredible. Even though I am still lower in grade than many of the smaller kids, I’m just really I have gotten to experience something like this. I am actually quite late in starting Taekwondo because a lot of kids start at the ripe age of 3 while I am 16 but I really wanted to try it and stepped out of my comfort zone to achieve what I did. I’ll definitely join again next season because of how much fun lessons are (thanks to all the kids who make it hilarious) but also that I’ve met and made friends even though if they’re not in the same grade. That’s what I love about these activities, meeting more people because there’s always so much to learn even if it’s from a kid. The enthusiasm they bring to everything they do is perhaps some excitement I’ve lost throughout the years of stressing but their laughter reminds me of the good times. The teachers are great as well. They are professionals and do Taekwondo for a living so I definitely have a lot of respect for them for being able to be physically challenged everyday. Two of the teachers are also Korean so sometimes I have a little trouble understanding but that doesn’t really affect a lot when a lot of the movement learnt is through copying.

So I’ve never done Taekwondo before so this activity is one where I acquired a new skill. Thanks to the teachers, each lesson is filled with laughter but gravity at the same time. Of course some of the exercises are hard especially push ups. I honestly can not do a single push up but I guess it makes you stronger which is important. I’m happy about going up a grade but I think the main benefit is not knowing a pattern and knowing how to perform it but feeling safer within my own body. Being able to rely on yourself to protect yourself physically boosts your confidence mentally and I really benefit from such boosts. We learn a bit of self defence here and there and I don’t think I’ll be able to beat up someone if I get attacked but at least I know where to hit and that I have a pretty strong kick that could do some serious damage. Taekwondo is not an attacking martial art, so it is really only used in self-defence.

Yoga with meditation reflection

So Yoga is coming to an end. Yoga isn’t just about being able to do the poses but to be able to be completely present in the moment while doing them because our mind wanders very easily. One trick we learned to do this is to focus on our breathes. That brings your attention back to what you’re doing at the current moment and not what happened in class or how you embarrassed yourself during the day. I think since I do keep to myself quite a lot, I am prone to just think too much and repeatedly revisit certain moments during the day. The more I do so, the more I distort the memory into something that is quite unrealistic. I tend to intensify a feeling or moment just by focusing it too much but without meaning to. To be able to bring the attention upon the present moment helps to ease the mind. Sometimes after yoga, I notice things that I normally wouldn’t such as how bright the green of the trees are and all the colours of green around just because I sit in my head.

Yoga was something new to me, I had not done it before so it was interesting to try it and challenge myself. I have been dancing since I was young so I think the flexibility I had helped me in some of the poses but I was a person that lacked balance physically (and possibly in general) so doing poses that required that was a little more challenging. Sure I’d be able to stand on one leg and hold the other above my head but am I able to twist myself into a position that looks completely unnatural which is called the “eagle” – no. But it was fun to try and I think that was one of the main goals of this activity. To have some fun and to relax because there honestly is too much stress and complications that we have to face in our daily lives so it’s really nice to stop, reflect and just take a break. Especially just to let your mind take a moment to chill. Sometimes I think I overuse my brain a little too much and it overheats and it’s killing all my brain cells and that is why I can’t achieve much and not because I am too lazy. But anyways here are some pictures of me doing some very basic yoga, there’s is still a lot to learn but I’m really glad to have done this.