The Renaissance Man

When we were little kids (actually kids are baby goats), ok when we were children, we would often play "police and thieves" and ran about but before that we have to decide who is to be in which team and we would go "apple or orange" so that the captain can make a guess and if you were captain and you get one whose performance is more like squeezed orange than orange, you feel a sense of defeat. Also what if Isaac Newton got hit by a durian or golf ball rather than an apple? So we learn early about apples but none of us founded Apple.
When I released the first of a seven-part series on Bruce Lee, I realized there are still a lot of Bruce Lee fans out there. Some could not contain their excitement and they rang me up or wrote to me telling me they enjoyed the articles tremendously and asked what else was coming up in the upcoming articles. I told them that what I will put forth will be things they never knew like what was Bruce like as a person, his fears, his body, training, the amazing strength he had and incredible things he could do, who were his friends, etc.

 I also let in a little about what I used to do imitating and adulating him as a hero. For example, Bruce could do push ups with only one hand and using only his thumb and a finger. I could do the same but with two hands which is no simple feat. Though I haven't done it for a long time, I feel I could still do it when thrown a challenge but just that without practice I might break a finger and this would affect my golf and the way I dig my nostrils. 

 I trained in developing my wings but half-way through he died so I was left with little chicken wings which fortunately is not extended to golf.I could easily bend down at the waist using my forehead to touch my knees with the legs all straight up or use my entire palms to touch the ground without bending the knees from a standing position. I could also raise a leg up resting on a bar at waist level and with both legs at 90 degrees arch forward to hold my foot and touch the knee with my head. You thought I was kidding. I manage to find some evidence digging out old files and photo albums from more than 30 years ago when I was still a rocker and before I was given a GI shave by the government!

Warning! Depending on your age and fitness level do not try these at home without proper supervision, warm up and must be with parental guidance.











Ataaaar!!













I also have an eye witness who took these shots for me on a Polaroid and he may be casting his eyes enviously at me if he were to see these now.











Don't pray pray (play play or playing the fool), I am on facetube these days. Eh no, Youbook. No? Ok maybe Youtube and Facebook. Check it out. Not easy to be a role model for old men. Was I trying to prove anything? No, I have nothing to prove but I hope to make sacrifices and be a role model and stand up for the silver hair and no hair generation. Watch these action of the Renaissance Man! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkKm0hHhMSw

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1TcQOWTqgo













Return of The Drag-on?

I used to do many types of sports but overtime I am left with golf. Now we have to keep fit to play golf and not play golf to keep fit but exercise takes discipline and it is something you have to keep going. You cannot stop. Once you stop, your engine cannot start. I am tired of feeling tired and people telling me sometimes that I looked tired so I tell them that the tired look is the new look. I have restarted my determination to feel alive again and re-engage myself to go on a regular exercise routine and hope to maintain it. No more returning to the dragging on.
My friends who are marathoners and triathletes may laugh reading this. The minimum I do is to walk a few km on a slower day then swim, cycle, weight train at the gym, run at least 2.4km, box and fool around with a punch bag and hopefully golf in between. I will give myself 2 days rest between slots. Boxing is not easy, just dancing and prancing around and punching for 5-10 minutes would leave you drenched and breathless. I did that a little during NS as it was popular in the Police and at the Academy we would have boxing matches at the Pavilion.













I admit, sometimes I do not wish to turn up for training. Some of us also do not wish to turn up for work but we do - that is commitment. I have been doing it for a month or so now and I hope to sustain it. Over time, the intensity should increase maybe with more running.












Endurance is a simple word ...









...to say or write.










I am regaining my fitness as I continue to take in more oxygen and stretch my limbs and could now do my back and front high kicks again.












http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdfChSQRzTc (Way of The Dragon)











Soar Like An Eagle

Did you know that eagles have the longest lives among all birds? They start to age by the time they reached 40 and everything else begins to lose its effectiveness like their claws and beak and the usual simple and yet powerful means of catching preys so magnificent in the past is now threatened. As eagles can live up to 70 years of age, they have to go through a very tough process to ensure their survival.

At this point, an eagle's beak becomes too curvy and long and its full span of wings have become thickened feathers which makes them heavy and clumsy. The eagle has only two choices - to do nothing and wait for death to come or to go through a very painful process of renewal and transformation. For more than a hundred days, the eagle trains itself to fly beyond the highest mountains and then build and live in its nest ceasing all activities of flying. It will then start knocking its beak against some rocks till its beak is completely removed. The eagle then awaits a new beak to grow and use the new beak to peck at and remove its claws.

When this is over, it waits patiently for new claws to be fully grown, it will use them to remove its thickened feathers - one at a time. When new feathers are fully grown the entire process may take up to some five months. A magnificent bird emerged from its nest with new beak, claws and feathers. It will now soar the skies again with great and renewed strength for the rest of its entire life span.
We can learn so much from the eagle. Life is like that too whether you are talking about a business, an individual, country or an organisation. We have to take painful decisions sometimes with changes for renewal. How can we soar like eagles when we are working with turkeys? Oops!

We can only soar again if we can let go. Letting go of old wounds, old and bad habits, etc. Forget the past glory, the old life and baggage, old shame, failures or successes. Be prepared to be zero altogether, have nothing and be nothing. We shall await patiently like an eagle after hacking away the bad stuffs. We will discover new perspective, regain confidence, renew strength in many other aspects of life.
The journey can be painful. Be like a postage stamp which is stuck to the envelope till its destination. No pain, no gain. But you must be willing. Be strong and bold and soar like the magnificent eagle.

...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31

I love Green Day, 21 Guns salute for bravery -

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00ikilDxW4

(Carlos Santana - Winning) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNeXJg0Sh1Q

Losing is not an option. So now you know why countries or clubs and organisations called their teams "Eagles" and not Chickens or Turkeys. Come on eagles!!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uncle Choo

Image
Preface It has really been awhile since I have last written and published an article on my blog with the last being in October last year. Before that I have been writing and publishing non-stop for 15 years since 2008.  I was not suffering from writer's block. They say running water never grows stale. So I have to move on to other things since the pandemic has ravaged and torn all asunder. No matter how passionate you are about anything, you will find that after an absence for sometime, the engine gets cold and you find it harder to start.  Just too darned busy and being too busy with one thing means one becomes lazy with the others. The law of compensation. A hiatus if you must.  Covid made it worse as there was no more travelling since borders were closed and eating locally and overseas were curtailed. So I could not write about these things. In fact, I laid out my travel luggage, sat down and spoke to them - "We are not gonna travel for a few years". They have since be
Read more

The Kallang Roar! (Part Three)

Image
Back in the good old days, we have four other national teams. Besides the National Team (The Lions), we also have a B team (The Cubs). Then we also competed in the Sultan's Gold Cup fielding a team called Singapore Malays. We have the Singapore Indians playing in the Bardhan Cup and the other being the Singapore Chinese team also competing aga inst Malaysian state teams in the same format and also the Ho Ho Cup triangular among Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In 1976, Englishman Trevor Hartley became responsible for the Singapore team at age 28. I can't remember which year Singapore beat Malacca 6-2 and Lee Bee Seng was sent off for punching an opponent who must have trampled on him. Here is Bee Seng with Brian Rozario. In the same match Quah Kim Song was sent off too for fighting. And I said wow! Malaysia Cup is like that? I like! (Pix - Lee Bee Seng with Brian Rozario). And can you believe this? Before all these we have Mike Walker who played Kim Song a
Read more

The Hainanese

The Hainanese are people from Hainan who originated from Hainan Island - the smallest province of China at the Southern most tip. They were originally fishermen from Fujian and Guandong and later settled over there. The Hainanese, part of the Chinese dispora migrated to different South East Asian countries including late comers to Singapore worked in ships as sailors, opened their own coffee shops or restaurants, bakeries or bars and worked as cooks and chefs and others at local hotels.  Hainanese in Singapore made up 7% of the Chinese population. The Hainanese came to Singapore much later than the Hokkiens and Teochews who are already well entrenched in trade and commerce. Originally they also have problems communicating with other dialect groups as their language seems unintelligible to the others but they began to carve out a name for themselves working for wealthy Europeans including as canteen operators for military bases.  Hainanese are especially with food and beverage.
Read more