~bluepencil

Well, actually I've been back for like 2 weeks... but work's been somewhat hectic after my return from the tournament. But no more procrastination, this goes into the journal now~
It was definitely quite a fun trip, esp since it's been like a year and a half since I had such a long holiday (5 days T__T), and though the competition was hanging over my head the 1st 2 days, it was still more relaxing then crunch time at work... lol~
Being my 1st competition, although there were things left to be desired, I'd say it was still quite an eye-opener for me... both good and bad. But let's not go to the bad part too much~
On the 1st day, we checked in, made ourselves comfy... and bam, coach drags us out to the lobby (not the main lobby, fortunately) for some training. We left a few tourists wide-eyed, but that was because we were early... the teams arriving later wasted no time in getting in some last minute practise either~
Day one of tourney... participated in patterns, or tuls, or kata (whatever you prefer to call it) It was some sorta process of elimination thingy where a group of us (maybe 6 -8) performed the same pattern, and the poorly ones are eliminated by a panel of judges. I made it through 4 rounds (& 16 rivals) of those, and I had to go through a final round to compete for silver or bronze... and that's when the nerves got me. I was actually more upset at botching up my pattern than not getting the silver... well, there's always next year, and bronze isn't that bad for a start~ that more or less ended my 1st day; the rest of it was giving support to the other members of the team~
Day two... Sparring! More personal demons to conquer. I was actually abit more relaxed; the worst that could happen was that I'd get beaten up. Yeah that's not really very comforting, but it beat the mental stress from patterns. My weight category (well not really, for some reason they arranged us according to height?!) was rather small, only 10 of us were vying for the medals. I got lucky and was awarded a walkover for the 1st round (more queer arrangements?), and I managed to score a victory over my next opponent to enter into the semi-finals (already!). I was pitted against the would-be gold medalist, and try as I might, he trounced me soundly to go into and later win the finals, and I was awarded another bronze (lucky~). But he really was an admirable fighter, never once did he hit me harder than he had to; it was truly a triumph of technique, and I'm really glad he won the gold... he deserves it. Hopefully I can see him again next year if I'm able to take part in the tournament again That more or less ends my day 2; rest of it spent cheering on team mates again~
Day three, prize giving and closing ceremony! Got my medals, took photos and everything... Could see how the atmosphere was much lighter, and everybody relaxed after everything's over~ We were due to depart the next morning, so the rest of the afternoon and evening was rest and relaxation! Some of us went to the theme park... others went to the mall... managed to do some shopping And of course as usual no one really sleeps on the last night of anything. lol~
Last day in Genting, check out > breakfast > bus arrives at 10am to pick us up for the long journey back to Singapore... well it was great, and I wouldn't mind going back again just for a couple days off... I'll miss the chilly weather there~
That more or less summarizes my trip... there's still lotsa other stuff that happened... but that would take a long time to fill in... well, another story for another time