Thoughts

 Looking back over the past months…

It has been about a year since i joined canoeing, actually less since i joined after the first three months. Many events have happening during the tiring, special, significant time frame. I joined canoeing influenced by my classmates… It was dreadful and painful, as i endured punishment after punishment during the first  few months. I wanted to quit many a times but i remained. My dream of joining another CCA was thus never fulfilled. However, joining canoeing may have been a blessing as i met many great friends/teammates through my course in the CCA. Im also fortunate in a way to have 3 other canoeists in my class. In a way, they have spurred me during training and helped me along my ardious progress as a paddler. Im also lucky to have understanding partners who have endured with me during the past countless trainings. When the seniors said that friendship was very important in the ac team, i didnt really understand. However, the significance finally dawned on me over time, and if it wasnt for friendship, i could be somewhere else.

When i first started, i thought that canoeing was only about power, about strength and fitness. However, i was mistaken. It is a sport which was not what i had expected. It was a sport which required a lot of technique. Over the months, i have progressed from a t2 to a t1, learnt how to balance in a k1, have a taste of a k2, before progressing with 3 others as the latest batch of c rowers. It could have been a regretful decision to be a c-rower. Every training was a struggle. I struggled to balanced in a c1 when i first started, ahd difficulty learning how to paddle. The joy of rowing to the 250m mark and later the 2km mark with cephas is something i can still remembered. However, as i progressed, i struggled with the j-stroke. Maybe im just a slow learner, maybe its my learning process thats wrong, maybe its my mindset that is preventing me from grasping it, maybe im just not daring enough to try a new thing. Im not sure. However, it has taken an excruciatingly long time for me to master it. Looking at the people paddling with ease on the water, while I struggle in the boat, it is a really frustrating thing. The desperation to improve has been great at times. Many people have said that these kind of things take time, but how long do i need to do so…Going down and not seeing much progess is not really encouraging. Giving up is not something i want to do. Haiz I have to improve urgently…

It also makes me wonder about a question that I’ve been pondering since i entered canoeing. Why am i in canoeing? Is it to build my fitness… nope i could have just gone to the gym and pump myself with protein. Is it for the canoeing name… nope whats the point of sacrificing almost everyday pushing yourself when its just for the name. It could have been for the challenge. However, i come to a simple conclusion which is friendship. To pushing with a team though how painful is it, is an indescribable feeling. To know that there are people there for you, that are going through the same thing as you, makes you want to give it your all.

The journey really has been long. On a lighter note, i learnt how to play dota through canoeing and i realised what i have been missing out. I now know how to go to coro, BTM, J8 with my eyes blind folded, having been at one of these places almost every day during the holidays.  

Canoeing would really be a part of jc life i wont forget. It has become a part of my lifestyle. Others may not understand it. I just hope that i will be more proficient and improve as a paddler, and not pull down the team. All in all, i can still remember something which Ben say that is quite meaningful. ‘Dont worry so much about your performance after training, as long as you know you gave your 100%’

~ by andalite on January 15, 2008.