Make That Connection

In a quaint al fresco corner of Dempsey, the sun's golden rays casts a soft shadow on my pastel casual. Sipping on my sparkling and refreshing lemonade, I hear the distant clattering of voices, communications.

There were the dronal murmurs of the recent Boston Marathon bombing discussion, a colleague's birthday celebration and a new acquaintance chat between a lady and a gentleman. Wonder if new romantic sparks will fly? Love chemistry or not, everyone in the cafe was trying to make a connection with one another.

I've been very fortunate to meet many incredible people in my life. And, to have the opportunity to chat with them is an even more enriching experience than one can ask for. 

Richard Bok, former Head coach of Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC), now known as Warriors FC, has led SAFFC to winning the S. League title four times, from 2006 to 2009, as well as the Singapore Cup in 2007, 2008 and 2012, and was also the S. League's Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He also lead the team to two Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup quarter finals in 2007 and 2008; and made history in 2009 by leading the team to the highest club competition in Asia, the AFC Champions League, where his team won a crucial match to finish 3rd in the group. 

Richard Bok, winning the Singapore Cup 2012, with his team

His journey in coaching can be likened to a soldier injured on a battlefield, but makes a heroic comeback for the army. Is this a fictional war story that we only find in a forgotten section of a bookshelf?

This is a life path of a local coach who pursued his dreams for the last 17 years--to train his professional footballers to become stronger, quicker and more creative with their passes and footwork, and to build team players that cohesively support one another and overcome challenges together. 

Coach Bok not only has a bird's eye view of the team, but also an eye for details. He goes beyond his job scope to answer his calling: new team recruitment, taking upon himself to understand all his team members to enhance his coaching on them. Individual players from different walks of life, some had it better, some tougher situations, but any dischord in their daily routines would affect their training preparation, competitive mindset and recuperation. Our bodies run on limited resources; we can potentially hope to achieve near Superman power, performance that surpass our expectations. However, we need enough physical and mental rest, to claim that athletic prowess. A bridge of connection, of trust and faith, has been painstakingly and successfully built overtime.

In the mini television series, Band of Brothers, which depicts the epic journey of a paratrooper unit from their training camp in Georgia to the D-Day triumph, war veteran, Richard Winters quoted a passage from a letter he received from Sergeant Mike Ranney, "I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said 'No...but I served in a company of heroes.' " (reference from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Winters) The band of brothers established a connection with one another through their difficult battles during World War II; coach Bok has, not only developed groups of team players, but made individual connections with, and amongst the teammates.

Zachary, a very young violin student has been making steady progress in his playing. Like anyone who is starting to learn a new skill, we make mistakes but continue to find alternative ways to do it better each time we try. His concentration has shown improvement, he thinks through what he is going to play and make good attempts to focus on areas that require more attention. Student showing an interest in the instrument is wonderful, making a connection with a student is definitely a plus--a happy and enriching lesson will go a long way for the child. Teach a life, for life.

Making a connection with young violinist, Zachary

A new live loop, "Tribute" played on my rig, with electric violin and vocals.

YouTube: http://youtu.be/zSlwn_sRrfo

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-chai/tribute

~ Teach a Life, for Life ~

If you are interested in taking violin lessons, or know someone who would like to learn the violin, kindly see below and share. Thank you:

For violin lesson information, please click below,
Blog: http://microviola.blogspot.sg/2013/03/acoustic-electric-violin-lessons-for.html 
Website: www.e-alternatif.net

For violin lessons, please contact me @ 
+65 9396 5354 
eileen@e-alternatif.net
https://www.facebook.com/eileen.chai.927


Check out Singapore Blog Awards 2013 and vote!
http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/2013/category/?cat=music

Nadia Comaneci

Looking into the reflection in the waters of Bintan island, I see a little girl dancing and twirling high on her toes, and smiling ever so sweetly to the music of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"; it reminds you of the ballerina that you find in a beautiful music box, turning gracefully on one slender leg with her aesthetic image captured on all the mirrors.

My curly locks @ 7-years-old, donning the national colours

Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian gymnast who scored the first perfect 10.0 in the history of gymnastics, pirouetted across the floor ever so daintily, wowed the crowd with her beauty, confidence and charisma, and her superb technicality in the sport which she performed with ease; she was adored by everyone around the world. 

Although I lived miles away from her, I felt like I was in one with her: dreamed and imagined that I was Nadia--somersaulting gently in the air, moving my flexible body rhythmically in gymnastic routines, yet having the strength of a lion. It was an arduous journey for her to achieve that elite level of mind, body and soul; it required 100% commitment, dedication and passion from such a young girl. I was inspired by her--Nadia was the gymnast I looked up to when I was a child.

On a Balance Beam, home-made by my mom, 

practicing at home @ 4-years-old

Every morning, I wake up early to watch my favourite video, "Nadia." The 1.5hr movie documented her life from a normal school-going kid to an international gymnast. Like any other Hollywood movies, it showed glimpses of her love life, including friendship and relationship with her father. Watching the movie sets the tone for the day: the sight of her body movement and sound of her voice, send warm pulses to my heart that tinkle my fingers and toes, bringing a smile to my face--I was ready for my daily gymnastics training. 

Landing on a crash mat while performing at Bras Basah @ 4-years-old

Training was fun as a young kid, performing outdoor gymnastics with teammates, participating in friendly competitions and gatherings with club friends at the then newly-opened Pizza Hut at the Tanglin Shopping Centre. After my second South-East-Asian Games which was held in Jarkarta, Indonesia, I knew I had to seek for higher level of coaching expertise; found the network and began my training stints in China--the start of my own arduous journey at nine-years-old. Never once, did Nadia leave my mind: her soft silhouette remained etched in my mind vividly, spurring me on to continue what I did best and striving to become even better; when my hands bled from the friction against the bars, when my ankles hurt from the constant landing impact, when my heart seemed like it was going to explode, I continued to push myself, beyond my limits to reach greater heights in my sport--if Nadia could do it, so can I.

Flexing my limbs at home @ 5-years-old

Neil Gaiman, an English author, said in his Commencement Speech at the University of the Arts graduating class 2012, "Do the stuff that only you can do. The urge starting out is to copy, and that's not a very bad thing. Most of us only find our own voices after we sounded a lot like other people. But the one thing that you have that nobody else has, is you--your voice, your mind, your story, your vision." We find someone who motivates us, draw inspiration from him and imitate his ways. Slowly, in whatever discipline we are in, whether it's the arts, music or sport, we will find our own style, voice and concept of play. Nadia was my model, over the years, I've integrated her into my life. 

Last week, my student, Caroline Mikaella Soo, a marketing consultant, surprised me with her quick-learning in playing legato. Generally, I try to find alternative ways to facilitate my students to achieve a playing style or technique, through imagination, listening or drills. I asked her what went through her mind as she played "Long Long Ago" on her violin. She said something that inspired me to write this blog, which has never occurred to me but it made me realise again how important an educator is to another life. 

She replied,"I simply tried to imagine myself playing like you." 

Caroline playing "Long Long Ago" on her violin

A new loop song, "Sparkling Diamond" played on my rig, with electric violin and vocals.

YouTube: http://youtu.be/pjDI8UcPPl8

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-chai/sparkling-diamond

~ Teach a Life, for Life ~

If you are interested in taking violin lessons, or know someone who would like to learn the violin, kindly see below and share. Thank you:

For violin lesson information, please click below,
Blog: http://microviola.blogspot.sg/2013/03/acoustic-electric-violin-lessons-for.html 
Website: www.e-alternatif.net

For violin lessons, please contact me @ 
+65 9396 5354 
eileen@e-alternatif.net 
https://www.facebook.com/eileen.chai.927

Possible for a little girl to fly?

Gymnastics club team with Coach Joe at the then Extra-Curricular Activity Centre (ECAC)

"Hi Joe, have you seen my daughter?" my mom asked coach, Joe Leighton. "Look up there in the sky, she is flying!" Joe happily replied. :D

Childhood gymnastics was fun especially with Joe around. He's great with kids, with a great sense of humour that children love. He made training warm-ups enjoyable, a breakaway from the mundane stretching and drills. His cheerful-self made a hard workout fun and memorable that would otherwise been tough and painful. Joe is your everyday best friend who sprinkled positive dust around you and make you feel good about yourself.

Left: Coach Joe, with his young gymnasts attending another coach's wedding at St. Andrew's Cathedral (Eileen, 4th from the left);
Right: Coach Joe celebrated our Birthdays every year (Eileen, 4th from the left)

Like all great coaches, he wants the best for all his gymnasts. He set targets and goals, and made sure we stay focus and achieve what we've promised ourselves. Step-by-step, we began to jump higher, flip better, twist tighter and learnt all the new tricks and somersaults that we once dreamt of. We were motivated to reach greater heights, push our boundaries and keep improving. 

Being the mischievous and active kid then, I treated the gymnasium like my playground-climbed up and down the Uneven Bars like a monkey, play-acted Robin Hood saving a damsel in distress on the Balance Beam, flew over the blue floor exercise mat like a dragonfly over calm waters. My energy was in abundance; after training, I had enough body fuel to do another round of practice.

1985, Pesta Sukan @ the Singapore Badminton Hall - Mischievous me @ 7-years-old with Coach Joe on my right

Play-acting on gymnastic apparatuses in 1982 in a gymnasium at Bras Basah

I would try anything that my supple body could handle as I yearned to feel my body fly in the air ('Possible for a little girl to fly?' @ 1:05) like a butterfly spreading its beautiful wings in the wind, to experience independence, freedom and spontaneity.

Joe helped to uncover this vivacious, gusto and zest in me. I was free-spirited, and liked to perform and make people happy. Nothing could hold me back once I had set my mind to do something. A good friend once used the analogy that I'm like Thomas the Train, the children toy train, in a single track of constant locomotion spreading happiness to people he meets.

Back in the late 1980s, we trained at the top floor of the Delta Sports Complex along Alexandra Road. The venue used to be a school with low ceilings, which was a problem for training as it did not allow us to fully stretch our legs up into the air while we did handstands on the upper bar of the asymmetrical apparatus. We needed an approval to create a gap in the ceiling for us to do Giant Swings. Mr S Dhanabalan, the Minister for National Development at that time, visited the gymnasium for an event. All gymnasts performed short routines for the Guest-of-Honour, I was last up and did mine on the Uneven Bars: Kip mount, Handstand, Free Hip Circle, Straddle Swing to the high bars, Kip, Handstand (Oops! Two feet to the ceiling), Giant Swing (Oops again!), Layout Dismount, and finished with a huge grin on my face. :D Yes, we got the approval to dig a hole in the ceiling!

Coach Joe and I on the Uneven Bars, then and now

I believe everyone has talents. It is how we as coaches, educators and friends, help identify and bring out the potential of each individual. Coach Joe saw a side of himself in me; he slowly coaxed out and built on my intense spirit for life to great use in learning difficult moves that require courage. Students of all ages, have talents waiting to be discovered. We try to identify and find alternative ways to develop their hidden abilities for self-discovery and life-changing experiences.

For iPad, iPhone users, click on this link http://youtu.be/8Ce6w4RBXJE
"Debby, a photojournalist with a passion for the natural environment, plays a French Folk Song after her fifth lesson!"

Paragliding above the Pattaya, Thailand waters, waving my hands wildly in the air with the biggest smile on a 7-year-old kid, I looked down from the sky and shouted,"Mom, I'm flying!" :D

A new loop song played on my rig, "Fly Away". Enjoy and have a great week ahead!

YouTube: http://youtu.be/BAWyNY9SXBE

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-chai/fly-away

  

For violin lesson information, please click below,
Blog: http://microviola.blogspot.sg/2013/03/acoustic-electric-violin-lessons-for.html 
Website: www.e-alternatif.net

For violin lessons, please contact me @ 
+65 9396 5354 
eileen@e-alternatif.net 
https://www.facebook.com/eileen.chai.927