Quote of the moment

"Anything that is unrelated to elephants, is irrelephant." ♥

Quote of the Moment: Firm Grips

"The player who maintains a firm grip during impact reduces racquet recoil, thereby increasing the force applied to the ball.

The optimal effectiveness of a firm grip was supported by research that increased power was associated with an increase in grip firmness.

A reduction in grip firmness resulted in a loss of 10-15% in the magnitude of the reaction impulse occurring in the player's hand and hence the power of the stroke."

--Tennis: the Influence of Grip Tightness on Reaction Impulse and Rebound Velocity, by Bruce C. Elliott

In Conversation

Short dialogue I had with a team mate after practice today.

Him:  "Hey how are you?"
Me:  "Really tired."
(short pause)
Me: "And you?"
Him: "Dead."

Pei Pa Koa

I've been having a phlegm-y cough for the past week that has constantly bordered onto a fever.  Not fun especially when you're gasping for breath in between treacherous drills.  Couldn't take it any more and forced myself to town this weekend to grab this from the Oriental Chinese supermarket.

The funny thing was that this wasn't on the shelves--but I was pretty sure I saw it somewhere before.  I went to the cashier lady, asked, and she--casting a dubious glance around--pulled a bottle from under the counter. 

"你找 这个？"

"Ah! Yes!"

Apparently this was contraband stuff.  They weren't allowed to sell it legally because it was a medicine.  Probably explains why it was EUR12 for a bottle too.

I paid with my eyes closed.  Wincing.

Tee-ko, Cheeko Kiko

We're having a tournament now at the Academy and the bungalows is packed with new players.  Kiko, my colleague and Bungalow mate, and I are pretty busy accommodating the newcomers.  

One of the Italian coaches came up to me asking for him.  Unfortunately, he got Kiko's name wrong.

"Hallo!  Is Chee-ko around?" 

Hahahahahaha!!  Jia lat man.  I stood there laughing for a good minute!

Seven More Minutes, Seven More Days

Thought of the moment: "Play with your feet more than your hands."
Chow of the moment: Mixed berry yoghurt and multi-grain toast with butter.
Music of the moment: George Michael+Mary J. Blige's As

I pulled a groin muscle slightly during morning practice today.  I can think of three reasons how I could have avoided this.

1.  Done a more thorough warm up.  It's amazing how we take the functioning parts of our body for granted until something cocks up and we're left in a semi-state of paralysis.  And pain.

2.  Stopped when I was supposed to have stopped.  The plan was to stop after an hour in the morning, but I was so into the rhythm and enjoying practice so much, I decided to continue doing controls.  A few minutes more into the control, I felt a groin pull.

3.   Been more conscious about how my body was feeling--not just during practice, but vis-a-vis the fatigue it felt from a whole week's worth of training.  Friday was the last day, and sometimes in the midst of adrenaline rushes, we forget our bearings.  Maybe under-training is always much better than over-training (read: higher injury exposure)....

I was initially very pek-chek with the pull.  I hobbled to the physio and was grim-faced the whole way.  The good thing is that I have learnt to feel my body well enough to know when I have to stop.  I felt it during the rally--initially wasn't sure, gave it one more rally, and stopped halfway in the second.  "I can't.  I pulled something, I need to go see physio."

Another lesson learnt.  Good news is I will still be able to keep training, but just at a lighter load.  I should be back in full game by the end of a week.

Those Still, Waking Moments

Just woke up about half an hour ago.

Dreamt I got into the finals of one of the competitions here.

How pregnant, these dreams.