"Action" - Badminton

Badminton was quite different this weekend. I was only able to attend the one hour session on Saturday (i.e. 29th October 2011). Due to fever and exhaustion from the guitar program last night, I was unable to attend the Sunday morning session (i.e. today morning). However, I was able to do quite a lot of action on Saturday as I played only single matches against my brother for the whole session. I played continuously for the whole hour without any breaks and won most of the matches. Again yesterday, I realised that I needed to continue building and improving my stamina. I felt that there is some improvement in it since the beginning, however, there is still a large margin for improvement. Other than this, I believe that I have improved the implementation of all my shots, and on average my shots are quite good now. However, I now need to improve and emphasise on the most challenging and crucial skills of this sport, i.e. placement and strength in shots. I feel that since the beginning of the program, I have increased my awareness about my own strengths and areas of growth and due to this, I have developed new skills and improved previously known skills. I feel that if I continue to take part in these regular sessions, I will be able to raise my physical boundaries largely by the end of the first semester. Below are a few photographs from the badminton session yesterday morning:
 

Preparing for a smash!

 

Playing a light shot towards the net.

 

Playing one of my favourite backhand drop shots.

"Creativity" - Guitar performance!

It was a very exciting day for me today! There was no guitar class from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. as my guitar teacher had planned a 2 hour guitar program in which all his students were participating (a total of 31 different songs were performed tonight!). The program named "Guitar Rhapsody" started at 7:00 p.m. in the Russian Cultural Centre Auditorium. However, there was a 2 hour practice before the start of the show. In the two hours, I practiced the chords and tuned the guitar that I will use. I enjoyed being part of the show as it enabled me to gain confidence while performing in front of a quite large audience. I performed "My Girl" by the Temptations and "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton with my class group. Hence, I developed a new skill by undertaking a new challenge. During the performance under the guidance of Mr. Netaji (my teacher), I was able to change the chords quite well (I have improved since the beginning), even though I did miss a few of the transitions which were to be done at a fairly fast rate. However, I believe that with practice I will be able to improve and enhance these skills, and by the end of the semester become quite familiar with the transitions between the first 10-15 chords I have learnt.

A photograph of me (seated first from the left side) and my class group performing!

  

A video of me (seated first from the left side) and my class group performing "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. 

Duration : 4 minutes.

"Service" - Library Service continues

Library Service continued as usual today as everyone attended the session after the one week break. It was a usual session as everyone spent the whole time properly arranging the books. Today, I noticed that till now me and my "non-fiction" section team have been able to finish two major sections of our designated shelves. However, the surprising fact is that we have still not finished even half of the shelves that we have to arrange properly. I hope that we will move at a faster rate (keeping in mind that the "quality" of work is as important as its "quantity") from the next session so that we are able to complete most of the non-fiction book shelves by the end of November. Also, today there was some discussion regarding the fundraiser between the "non-fiction" section team (i.e. me, Onkar, and Humza - all Grade 11 students) and our activity leader Skylor. Skylor proposed that we should make advertisement posters for 'Rush Hour 2' (the movie to be shown) to be placed on the bulletin boards all over the school. Also, we will write a small advertisement article to be posted in the school newsletter and hand it to the Head Librarian Mrs. Raina Lockwood by next week.

"Action" - Badminton

Badminton was very exciting this weekend. I attended both the sessions at the regular time at the D.S. Senanayake Sports Complex. The sessions this weekend were fun because I got to play against some of the experienced players in both singles and doubles match-ups! I was able to play well this weekend, however, I realised that I needed to practice playing doubles matches more often to improve my communication. Below are some photographs of me playing badminton this weekend:

Footwork is a very crucial element in Badminton as the player has to ensure that his/her own area is within reach.

 

I have been able to improve and maintain my service at a good level for a long time.

 

Badminton is a physically demanding sport!

I love to form my own unorthodox shots. Here, I am playing a low backhand shot in response to a smash.

 

Both physical and mental balance are required to be a master in badminton.

 

A communication lapse between me and my partner (Onkar). We lost this point due to a double hit!

I enjoy playing doubles matches as it is more challenging for me.

 

Reaching out and preparing to hit a smash.

"Creativity" - Guitar

Today, I attended my fourth guitar class. It was a regular class in which I continued practicing the chords and playing various songs with the class. I felt that I had been able to focus on both my hands at the same time, i.e. by continuously strumming with the right hand and continuing to play with that hand while changing the chord with the left hand. This was a small accomplishment though as I will have to continue practicing this in order to make these chord changes more fluent and effective. For the next week, my task is to practice the songs "My Girl" by the Temptations and "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. I will be performing these songs on Saturday next week in the Russian Cultural Centre Auditorium with my whole class group. This will be a new challenge for me and to undertake it, I am determined to raise my level in guitar by practicing well this week.

"Action" - Lets go swimming :)

I attented a swimming session today morning. This was my second swimming session this month linked to my "Action - Swimming" goals. Adhering to my aim for this session (which I had planned after the swimming session on 17th October, 2011), today I practiced all the swimming styles I knew, i.e. freestyle, breastroke, sidestroke, and backstroke. I swam in alternate styles. However, I did take a few breaks in between. In between, I challenged myself quite a few times by swimming even though my body was tired. From this experience, I increased my awareness about my own strengths and areas of growth. I learnt that my body had now adjusted with this activity, however, the main goal of enhancing my stamina would require lots of practice.

I feel that I have been quite dedicated about fulfilling my CAS goals this quarter. However, I believe that fulfilling my goals is only the beginning. I will only be able to declare this activity successful on the basis of its results, i.e. my physical fitness at the end of each session. Hence, my aim is to keep fulfilling my CAS goals while also keeping in mind the main purpose of this activity, i.e. to raise my stamina and fitness level. In order to enhance my stamina, from the next session onwards I will decide the number of laps to be done in the session, and swim with focus to fulfill the challenge.

Below are a few photos from the swimming session today:

I find breastroke to be a really soothing as well as relaxed swimming style.

While swimming, breathing in a proper manner is very crucial :)

Swimming requires one to be physically fit.

Freestyle swimming will help me increase my stamina!

Swimming can be fun!!!

"Action" - 1st Swimming session!

It was my first swimming session today morning. I went to the Thurstan College Swimming pool and started by doing breathing exercises. As I was swimming after a few months, I was not able to do more than 2 continuous lengths without taking a break. Hence, I decided to practice freestyle, back stroke and breast stroke swimming for the remaining time. While swimming, I realised that I needed to practice more in order to improve my stamina. I feel that by continuing this activity in the future while following my goals, I will be able to improve my physcial fitness by challenging my body. Hence, in the next session, I will continue the same excercise and attempt to challenge myself physically.

The following are some photographs of me swimming :)

 

Me at the Thurstan College swimming pool.

Me doing freestyle swimming.

 

Me practicing breast stroke.

I found it hard to do more than two continuos lengths today.

"Action" - Badminton

Badminton was very exciting for me on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. I was able to play singles and doubles matches on both days and they were all full of action! 

In badminton this weekend, I used my badminton skills and knowledge in matches and played mini-tournaments (tri-series) with Onkar (my friend) and my brother (an intermediate player). I was able to win most of the matches I played. However, I did lose some matches too but while still gave my opponents a good fight till the end. My strengths were playing shots of any variety (both orthodox and unorthodox). However, I found out that I needed to work on my consistency in playing strong shots. I will be able to do this by increasing my stamina, which will require consistent practice. The following are some photos of me playing against my opponents:
  

Physical fitness in the form of agility, reflexes and stamina is crucial for playing good badminton.

Serving requires a balance of technique and placement which is a result of mind-body coordination.

Playing a drop shot.

Backhand shot is as important as every forehand shot in badminton.

One should be able to 'read' a serve or shot and predict whether it will land in the correct area or not!

The 'scorpion posture' helps one to changeover from one shot to another quickly.

Playing a backhand clear shot.

Smashes are my favourite element in a match other than drop shots.

To be a successful player, one should be able to use placement in such a way that the opponent has to run in order to hit the shuttle.

The drop shots should be executed cleverly so that the opponent does not take advantage of the player's position.

Badminton was fun this weekend. I will learn from my weaknesses so that I play better next weekend. :)

"Creativity" - Guitar

I attended the guitar class today at the regular timing, i.e. from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. In the class today, I started by practicing playing the different chords. Then, I understood the concept of using numbers to play tunes. I learnt this notation as it was the first step towards learning to read the musical notation for guitarists. After this, I spent the remaining 30-40 minutes doing finger exercises. These finger exercises are given extra emphasis by my teacher as these are really important for one to be able to play confidently with perfectness. The finger exercises require one to focus completely on using all the fingers and to strengthen them in order to get the desired tune at a desired volume. At the end of the class, my homework was to keep practicing the chords and to learn the new chords such as D, A minor, A7 and B7. Also, I will be practicing to play the song "It came out of the sky" by Creedence Clearwater Revival this week using the chords given to me by my teacher. Hence, I hope that the practice I do this week will help me improve in playing the guitar.

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend offered a limited amount of time for me to participate in my regular action. Due to the local elections, the D.S. Senanayake College was closed this weekend. Hence, there was no badminton on Saturday. However, this did not stop all of us from playing badminton today as we arranged a one hour session at the Royal College sports complex. This way, I collaboratively worked with others in order to plan and initiate an activity. Also, by organizing the badminton session at another location and taking part in it, I feel that I have shown perseverance and commitment to this activity.

I decided to dedicate today's session to practicing all the shots I knew. I felt that I needed to practice my shots and improve them instead of playing matches as the basics are very crucial in order to succeed in any activity. The following photos and video show some shots I practiced:

 

A video of me practicing a variety of shots!

Preparing to hit a smash!

Practicing different serves!

Playing unorthodox shots is a very crucial part of my badminton style!

The serves need to be performed in accordance with the rules.

Reaching out successfully for a drop shot.

One needs to be alert in the course of a match!

A smash requires good body and mind coordination!

Stretching out and playing a drop shot!

Reaching out to play a drop-shot!

Diving to hit a hard-to-reach drop shot!

Playing a backhand shot!

I feel that I was able to utilize the time given to me today very appropriately. The next weekend's badminton sessions will be organized in the D.S. Senanayake Sports Complex again. Hence, I will be able to continue the sessions in a regular manner.

"Creativity" - Guitar

It was my second guitar class today. As I had my previous class two weeks ago (last weekend was a holiday), I had a lot of time to practice at home. Hence, I dedicated a few hours to memorize the chords as assigned by my teacher.

Today, the class began with some chord exercises. I revised the chords I had memorized and learnt in the past 2 weeks. After that, I played some songs using the basic chords I learnt along with the whole class. I enjoyed this experience very much. 

Also, today I found out that playing a guitar requires both perfect hand and mind coordination. Also, to be successful, one needs to first practice with dedication. When playing a guitar, the right hand and left hand both have different roles. As I am right handed, my left hand is dedicated to holding the chords, whereas my right hand is dedicated to playing the guitar. The chords set up the tune for the sound to be produced and various techniques are used for the right hand to produce different frequencies and types of sounds. Both, the number of chords to be used and the playing techniques gradually develop with practice. Hence, the task to coordinate both the hands requires good focus.

Similarly, playing the guitar is sometimes hard for beginners (me too!). My left hand is positioned on the neck of the guitar and hence while holding some chords for a long time (these will become simpler in the future with more practice), the fingers get tired. Today, I got a blister on my thumb (which is "a sign of a good beginning" - as the teacher said).

I practiced 6 main 3 finger chords today. These are C, G, G7, D7, F and D. My task for this week is to practice these chords and play the song "My Girl" by 'The Temptations' using the chords advised by my teacher. In the next class, I will learn about the manuscript used to play a guitar and the meaning of the different notations. This will be my first class about musical notes. I will practice well this week in order to succeed in achieving my goal.

"Service" - Library Service :)

It was a regular session at the SLRC today. I came early and arranged all the newly returned non-fiction books myself. After this, I used my mother tongue knowledge to create transcripts for the many Hindi books in the SLRC. This activity led to the end of the service session today! The time passed very quickly as I wrote the transcripts. However, towards the end, I was a part of a small discussion about the fundraiser. We planned to have a meeting in the next session about arranging the fundraiser movie event the week before or during the "book week". I am looking forward to the "book week" as it is the most significant time period in the year which focuses on the importance of books (from literature to fiction, non-fiction to biographies, comics to dictionaries) in one's life (especially a student's schooling years). Also, as this is the last Library Service session for the first quarter and also the last service time before the October break, I am really satisfied with my progress in Service!

"Action" - Badminton

Last weekend (24th and 25th September, 2011) and this weekend (1st and 2nd October, 2011) were both action packed sessions for me. I played numerous matches, both singles and doubles, some against more experienced players and some against players at the same level as me! I enjoyed all these matches as they helped me to challenge myself both physically as well as mentally (I had to make sure that I was not being  over-powered on the mental level - I used placement techniques, a few successful "fake" shots to stay mentally active). I enjoyed these sessions also due to the fact that I had been able to successfully play "dive" shots. This was a new challenge I undertook. I created my own type of shot which requires one to dive on the knee-level height to receive a perfected drop shot played by the opponent when one is away from the net (otherwise impossible to be played due to limited reach).
 

Smash!

Working as a team is a crucial part of Badminton!

Another SMASH!

Me receiving a overhead shot.

Badminton does make me sweat!!!

Overhead smash is one of my favourite, and also yet to perfect shots!

I look forward to play similarly in the future too. I also wish to initiate an interesting tournament amongst the regular players (with their collaboration) at the D.S. Senanayake Sports Complex.

"Action" - Swimming!

I intend to start my regular sessions of swimming (i.e. at least two swimming sessions per month), from this month, i.e. October. I will adhere to my goals and will also challenge myself physically in order to gain from this task. Hence, to challenge myself physically, I will not take the swimming sessions lightly and I will spend most of the time swimming properly like an athlete.