"Action" - Swimming

As I had not attended the badminton session today, I decided to attend my second swimming session of the month as a replacement 'Action' activity. This initiative has helped me to be continue following my CAS goals for physical fitness. Hence, in the afternoon I went to the Thurstan College Swimming Pool to attend a one hour swimming session. I followed my usual plans today and practiced swimming continuously in order to improve my stamina. The swimming strokes/styles that I practiced were freestyle, breastroke, backstroke, and backstroke with 'breastroke kick'. I also did underwater swimming practice in order to increase my breathing period underwater. 

Below are some photographs of me swimming today:

Me practicing freestyle swimming.

Breastroke is fun!

It is important for one to be able to breathe properly while swimming for every style/stroke.

The backstroke with the 'breastroke kick' is a style that helps me to relax while swimming!

It was an active session today. I believe that I have been able to become a comfortable swimmer now as I practice on a quite regular basis. I will continue my 'Action' next weekend by attending my badminton sessions!

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend, I was only able to attend the Badminton session on Saturday. I was unable to attend the early morning session on Sunday due to exhaustion from the 'Battle of the Bands' programme in which I had worked with my Library Service team to raise funds to help Jaffna Public Library and after which I reached my home at around 1:00 p.m.

However, the Saturday session of Badminton was very nice. I enjoyed playing singles matches against my peer Onkar and my brother. I won all the matches today as I was able to use all my new knowledge and recent practice with more experienced players to trick as well as physically challenge my opponents. I feel that there is improvement in my Badminton technique and that I have been able to learn many new as well as important placement methods.

Some photographs taken during yesterday's badminton session:

Playing a backhand shot.

A stable position is necessary for receiving fast shots.

A down-court smash!

A body-attack smash!

Strategical serves played an important role in the matches I played.

Movement should be from the center of the court.

I enjoyed playing badminton this Saturday. I am looking forward to continuing my physical training next weekend too :)

"Service" - Fundraiser at the 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'

An advertisement poster for the show!

The 'Battle of the Bands' and the purpose of the Library Service team to collect sufficient funds to help the Jaffna Public Library were both successful. I enjoyed the event as I was able to serve drinks to visitors during the show and at the same time interact with them. This enabled me to gain experience in serving drinks and hence developing a new skill. Also, I was able to collaborate with my team members during the programme, and hence, our group was well organized and systematic. In the end, our group was able to collect approximately Rs.12,000.

Overall, the fundraiser turned out to be quite successful. I feel that more fundraisers of such form should be organized in the future as they are helpful to the visitors who attend the show and as the funds are used for community service activities.

"Creativity" -Guitar

It was an entertaining session today! The class began with strumming and chords practice. I learnt new strumming techniques which involved the 'finger roll' as well as pauses. I also learnt new chords today which I practiced by playing different songs with the class. After this, the teacher went into depth about the different types of cultural links of the instrument. While doing this, we enjoyed listening to our teacher play difficult Spanish Flamingo rhythms and Blues tunes. I also later learnt a few of these strumming techniques which require practice in order to become fluent.

Later, I spent 15 minutes of the session practicing classical guitar. I did not learn the chord progression playing technique for the classical guitar today. Instead of that, I practiced playing the tune of 'Morning has broken'. The teacher also taught us the proper technique of and posture for playing the classical guitar.

Towards the end of the class, we all spent time doing finger excercises. These excercises are important for getting the fingers fluent and strong. This would help for varying the volume of the tunes as well as the frequency/speed.

I am now looking forward to practicing during the week and then learning new strumming techniques for different cultural songs in the next class.

"Service" - Library Service

It was a very active session of service today. After properly returning the newly returned books to their designated places, a meeting was held regarding the library service fundraiser that will be held this Saturday. During the 'Battle of the Bands', we will be sponsoring soft drinks, juice and other such drinks. In today's session, the remaining time was spent planning the roles of each person in the event, the duty timings, as well as the whole budget of the 'project'. In the end, it was decided that I will contribute by providing ice for keeping the drinks cool and preserving them during the show. Also, I will be serving drinks with my peer Onkar from 9:00 p.m. onwards to till the end of the show. 

I am looking forward to this programme as it will be both entertaining as well as an activity for a good cause.

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend, both the badminton sessions were really entertaining as well as action filled as I got the opportunity to play in doubles matches against more experienced players. I was able to use all the skills I developed by playing against my peers in the past and all the experience I had till now regarding placement and shot choice while playing these matches. Other than this, I was given some advice by my partner during matches which added to my skills. Also, I am now able to see a difference in my playing tactics as I am able to move around the court faster as well as play more a variety of tough shots confidently. However, I feel that I can still improve my reflexes and flexibility. These would help me to play against strong and quick smashes, while also enabling me to move my foot movement at a sophisticated level to reach for a shot.

Other than this, I also played against my peers this weekend. I enjoyed playing singles matches after a while as these matches help me to improve my placement tactics and shot choice. I also learnt from my peer Onkar that fake shots can be really useful too. Deception is a trick that one can use during the game, however, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the sport. The fakes and feints can be used while serving, smashing, receiving smashes, and all other aspects of the sport. These add both to the level of sophistication of the matches and enhance its quality, and also make the matches more physically active. Overall, this was a nice weekend regarding Action!

A few moments captured during the doubles matches I played this weekend:

Starting the match!

A center court smash!

Playing a quick backhand shot.

Reaching out for a smash!

Playing a clear shot.

SMASH!

Playing a drop shot!

Using rotational tactics in the doubles match.

Hitting a overhead clear shot from the corner of the court.

Successfully deceiving by hitting a drop shot instead of overhead clear.

Hitting a smash!

The service against more experienced players should be complex and different every time!

After winning a doubles match :)

I am now looking forward to a more action filled weekend next time!

"Creativity" - Guitar

It was a fun guitar session today! In the beginning of the class, I played the tune of the song 'Streets of Laredo' which was given to me the previous weekend. I was able to play the tune quite fluently. Hence, my teacher gave me a new tune called 'Morning has broken'. I practiced playing this tune for approximately 20 minutes. My teacher has told me that I will be learning to play the classical guitar with chords from next class onwards as I have now been able to play classical guitar tunes by plucking quite fluently.

After this, I practiced playing different songs using chords and strumming techniques. This activity was intended to help me to both revise my chords as well as learn some new ones. I spent the rest of the guitar session doing strumming exercises that would help me strengthen my fingers. These exercises will help me to enhance and improve the sound quality while playing tunes and songs.

I am looking forward to gain new knowledge and learn more in the next class.

"Service" - Library Service

It was an interesting session of library service today. As there was no library service last weekend, there were many books to be placed back to their designated shelves. Hence, it took me and my group around 15 minutes to organize the books. Next, a meeting was held regarding the fundraising for the Jaffna Public Library. The previous idea about planning a movie night was cancelled after a analysis of the success of previously carried out movie nights. Hence, the new fundraising plan is to set up a drinks stall at the "Battle of the Bands" programme. This program is planned by the Cleft Palette service group in order to raise funds for operations of infants suffering with cleft palette. It is to be held on 26th of November 2011 in the auditorium of The Overseas School of Colombo. Also, It is estimated that more than 500 people will be attending this program in which many local as well as school bands will be performing. Hence, by providing drinks to the people at the show, we (the Library Service team), will be able to help another service group to be successful in accomplishing their good deed, while raising funds for the Jaffna Library as well.

I feel that this fundraiser is very important as it engages with an issue of global importance and carries positive ethical implications with it. The Jaffna Library was inaugurated in 1934. It became one of the most flourished libraries in the world, gaining recognition as one of the best libraries in South-East Asia. However, the Jaffna Library was burnt during the ethnic war in Sri Lanka in 1981, and restored slowly. Now, even though it is now completely renovated, the library requires some enhancement in its infrastructure. A library is an important institution in a society. Some quotes about the role of this institution presented in simple words but with deep morals are:

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."
Henry Ward Beecher

"A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life."
Norman Cousins

Hence, the fundraising for this library is a very crucial for the growth of ideas in Jaffna.

I am now looking forward to this event on the 26th of December. Also, as the Book week (28th November -  2nd December) is approaching, it will be fun to be part of the team that organizes programs that promote reading and encourage the use of the library in the school community.

"Action" - Swimming :D

I attended my first swimming session of this month today! It was quite a refreshing experience as well as a challenging one. As planned after my previous session, I decided to complete at least 15 sets of 30 metre lengths today in which I would start with freestyle and then return with an alternate stroke which would be either breastroke or backstroke. It was a really challenging task for me as I got tired after about 30-40 minutes only. Then, I took a short 5 minute break in which I attempted to float on the surface of the water by paddling with my legs and while also keeping both my hands above the water. After this, I continued swimming with a few short breaks and finally succeeded to accomplish my goal for the day. I felt that this session has helped me to learn that with practice I will be able to increase my number of laps without taking a break and also that I need to prolong my breathing durations by practicing underwater swimming. Overall, this was a fun session. 

Below are some photographs from today's swimming session :)

Me (in the center) doing freestyle swimming!

I spent some time practicing underwater swimming today! (I am in the third lane.)

Me (in the third lane) practicing breastroke.

I feel that breastroke is a soothing and relaxing swimming style.

Me doing freestyle swimming!

In the future swimming sessions, I will continue the same practice routine and slowly increase the number of laps with my improvement in order to accomplish my final goal, i.e. to steadily improve my stamina. I hope to attend my next swimming session soon!!!

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend's badminton sessions were really entertaining for me because I played against the experienced and professional players on both the days! This experience not only helped me to be more physically active, however, it also provided me the chance to learn new tactics from them. In doubles matches, I was able to develop new skills by interacting with my partner, and also analysing different types of shots he played depending on the positioning of the two opponents. In singles matches, I learnt how to identify my opponent's weaknesses and assessing their fitness level by forcing them to move around the court. I feel that undertaking this new challenge has now given me a new chance to become aware of my own strengths while also assessing my areas for growth!

This proved to be a golden opportunity for me as from next week onwards I will be joining their group and playing with them in order to improve myself in the sport. Also, this weekend, I was able to play most of my favourite shots and even some of my own unorthodox shots which proved to be quite useful while playing against more experienced opponents. This weekend, I was able to successfully challenge all the players, and even defeat some of them in both singles and doubles matches.

Below are some photographs of me (wearing a black t-shirt) playing against the more experienced players :)

I was able to communicate well with my partner in the match.

Me reaching out for and receiving a short serve given by me opponent.

I used my serving experience in these matches to make sure that all the serves were different.

Hitting a successful diagonal body attack smash!

Responding to a smash hit by my opponent towards my knees.

I used my experience in order to judge whether the shots played by my opponents would land in my court or not!

It is important to return to the center of the court in singles matches in order to be able to receive the next shot.

Hitting a drop smash!

Hitting a diagonal drop shot to challenge my opponents.

Reaching out to hit a drop shot!

Instantaneously responding to a very strong smash!

Hitting a successful drop shot from the back of the court!

I am now looking forward to the next weekend as I will get to play tough and challenging matches against more experienced players!

"Creativity" - Guitar

Guitar has become a new passion for me. In the one week only, I have become quite familiar with playing notes. I now know how to play the tune of "Love me tender" by heart at a speed comfortable for me, however, at this stage, I have not learnt to play it with chords. Presently, I feel that I need to practice regularly in order to improve and enhance my guitar skills. Here is a clip of me playing this tune:

A video of me playing my first newly learnt tune of a song called "Love me tender".

Duration : 46 seconds.

In class today, I continued my lessons on classical guitar. I practiced a tune called "Streets of Laredo". Its notations are shown below:

The musical notes for "Streets of Laredo".

After spending half of the session today practicing the new tune, I dedicated the remaining time to practicing playing chords, doing exercises to make the movement of fingers quick and fluent, and also attempting to play using different strumming techniques. I felt that today's class was quite motivating for me as at the end, I promised to myself that I will pursue guitar as a life-long hobby. For the next class, I will learn the tune called "Streets of Laredo", practice all the chords I have learnt, and also do the finger exercises in order to be able to enhance my guitar technique.

"Action" - Badminton!

This weekend was quite challenging for me. I attended both the sessions as regular this weekend and focused on improving my badminton skills while developing new techniques, taking inspiration from my peers and other players. While playing with other players and watching them play, I realised that I have a lot of scope for improvement. Some improvements I feel that I should make are increasing my stamina, enhancing my reflexes and also increasing my awareness about placement. 

Hence, I planned some activities that would help me to do so. These include playing competitive practice rallies before matches in order to have a proper warm-up and also to be more active during the matches. Overall, this weekend was fun as I took part in more singles matches than doubles. Below are some photographs of me (wearing the black shirt and green shorts) playing against my favourite opponents.

Good serves are very important in order to pressurize the opponent and win the match.

Me hitting a overhead clear shot.

I feel that my footwork is fairly good and it is a crucial element in the matches I win!

Hitting a corner-to-corner (diagonal) smash!

'Saving' a smash from my opponent by hitting a drop shot towards the other end of the net :)

Sometimes, one has to run in order to reach for a shot.

Responding to a low smash by my opponent.

Attempting to hit a backhand clear shot.

Responding to a diagonal smash with an overhead clear.

Reaching out to hit a drop shot.

Hitting a perfect serve that lands precisely in the corner of the opponents service area :)

Smash!

Playing a drop shot from the back end of my court - I love these shots!

Hitting an angled smash - a yet to perfect shot!

Finishing off a match against my opponent with a strong body attack smash!

I will continue these practice exercises in the forthcoming badminton session in order to get one step closer to my goal. Also, I will plan more practice excercises that I could do, such as service accuracy practice, in order to imporve my overall skills in the sport!