the first official duel.

it was a nerve wrecking experience. the day before my first fight was just restless for me. never in my life, i have been asked to fight someone. in fact, i’ve never fought anyone before. i’ve always have controlled my emotions well enough to not cause an outburst. but this time, i need to let loose to fight. to fight well enough.

throughout the day before the fight, i kept thinking of it. on how am i supposed to fight. the different combinations. the tactics to use. running through my mind were the various kicks and punches and sweeps and throws. i was certainly focused for it.

on the day itself, i felt even restless than ever before. was trying my best to remain calm and collected. trying not to lose focus. trying not to get distracted by other matters. trying to get into the zone.

15 minutes to the fight. i was doing my warm-ups. did my stretching. warmed up myself. my legs. making sure that every muscle in me will be ready for my fight. cause i need all the help i could get. as the seconds ticks closer to my match, i was beginning to feel nervous. damn. i hated that feeling. but i tried to be calm. kept thinking through the combos that i’ve decided on. the counter attacks.

put on my vest. my dear helped me with it. she gave me some advice for my match. helped me with my warm up kicks. then a smile to calm me down. shin guards on. groin guard on. then they called for my name. this is it.

my corner men gave me some last few words. took everything in. and before i entered the ring, i said myself a prayer.

“Ya Allah, sesungguhnya aku menyerah badanku, jiwa and ragaku dalah gelanggang ini untuk berjuang. Walauapapun terjadi, berikanlah aku kekuatan and semangat untuk mengatasi cabaran ini. Kerana kaulah yang Maha Kuasa. Kaulah yang Maha Kasih. Kerana Kaulah yang Maha Esa. Amin”  -  Dear God, I’ll be putting my body and soul on the line in the ring because I’ll be fighting. NO matter what happens, please give me the strength and determination to overcome my adversary. Because you are the Almighty, you are the Most Compassionate, you are the Only God. (apologies for my translation as my Malay can be pathetic at times.)

the toughest part was to attempt my first attack. for i was really afraid that i might get caught. i told myself….almost 2 years waiting. this is the time. no holds barred. and then, i went for it. executed my combos and went out. got the first points. and my opponent went for an attack and i countered with a sweep. and the next moment i knew, i saw my opponent on the ground. perfect move. and my morale was certainly boosted.

looking at my red adversary.

went on to win the first 2 rounds. one more to go. first round was a good round for me. got myself a lot of points. the second round was tougher. 50-50 chance. but i managed to gather more points. the toughest round was about to start. cause my adversary had no more reason to fight except for his pride. and that itself is a great motivator. and i was just fatigued from the first 2 rounds. the whistle was blown and we began. he was going after me straight once we began. while i tried to delay. trying to buy myself time. kept on countering his every move. trying my best to last the next 2 minutes. it certainly felt like the longest 2 minutes of my life. trying to grasp for air. circling around the arena. could hear my teammates supporting me on. i know i can’t let them down. can’t let my cornermen down. can’t let myself down. gotta keep on fighting. and then, it was over. the referee took my hand and pulled it up in the air. i’ve won. my first fight ended with a victory. it was certainly a great feeling. one that i’ll never forget.

it was certainly a great feeling.

i’ve trained hard for almost 18 months for this match. watched countless fights. studying different techniques and skills. preparing myself physically and mentally. and it has paid off. my journey to my first fight has finally reached to its end. ended in full circle.

it was certainly been a great adventure. although i’ve still got lotsa training to do. but im glad that i’ve starting my fighting days with a morale-boosting win. makes me wanna train harder to achieve more. makes me want to work hard to get into the IVPs in June. and im glad for all the support i had throughout my journey. thank you all……

“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.   – Christopher Reeve“

procastination mode

as some of you might observe, its been a while since i last updated my blog. can’t really blame fully on myself. the sheer presence of examinations just makes me feel queasy. its aura just makes me depressed. makes the people in my life depressed. my family in particular.

they whine about how much i’ve neglected them lately. late nights in campus. leave home in the morning. only to return home at night. if i were to be home before 8pm, they would be surprised. even i got a nickname for my actions. “Uncle 10 mins”. thats the amount of time i spent with my nephew each day during exams. =(

but now, the exams are over. finally i can be at ease.  no more mugging. can spend more time with my family and friends. until i begin my attachment (which is yet to be confirmed where exactly).

late nights watching movies on my computer. tv shows that i’ve prepared (illegally). and graphic novels that i’ve yet to read so far. and activities planned for the holidays. wow…. i’ll be busy again for the holidays. at least no studying involved. lol…

not everyday is a sunday.

i’ve used this phrase lots of times in my life. to me, its a very simple yet meaningful message.

no matter how hard you try. no matter how much you control in life. after sunday, you’ll never get another sunday on the very next day. you’ll never get 2 same days in a row. it’ll either be a Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday. But never the same day.

it applies to life itself as well. for instance, organising an event. in the planning stages, you have come up with many solutions to various possible scenarios. but all of a sudden, something unpredictable happened. bad weather. sudden spread of contagious virus. the fact is that its beyond our control.

same goes for relationships. how matter how hard you try, arguments are bound to happen. how matter how much you try to control the situation to avoid a conflict, somehow it happens. why? like a phrase that I truly keep close to me ” If you pray to God for strength, God doesn’t give you strength. Instead, he gives you the opportunity to be strong”.

But like the days of the week,  Sunday will eventually return back to our lives. Despite the different days of the week, we learnt to go through it. Rain or shine, we lived through the day. gained new experience. and grow a day older. wiser and stronger. we survived the day.

in relationships, moments of sadness and sorrow will inevitably happen. its just part of nature. but you will still continue to love your loved one. cause rain or shine, you’ll be there for him/her. thats what love is all about. yes it will be a tough time when ‘the day of the week’ isn’t Sunday. but you will still overcome the obstacles of the different ‘days’ to meet another Sunday.

what happened today was a big mistake from myself. i will still love her. and i’ve always prayed to God for our relationship. for it to be strong and able to withstand any obstacle. regardless whether its a Sunday or any other day. cause love makes you want to spend each day of the week in the arms of your loved one.

im sorry for my actions and words today…. i really do.

Sincerely,
Mohamed Ardi

welcome, riyan iskandar…

hey lil fellow… welcome! we certainly been waiting for you.
i’m officially an uncle. =)

after 9 months.

a new addition to the family.

welcome to the family, riyan iskandar.

and he opened his eyes when i held him in my arms. the only one to deserve such reward. LOL! looks like he set his eyes on who to spoil him in the future. haha!

starting weeks of year 3.

a 3rd year undergraduate. that is my status now. in terms of education. and so far its been a rollercoaster ride. LOL. trying to get myself in the mood to study (which im failing so far). the modules are getting tougher as always. tutors from mainland china are not helping my cause either. hmmm.. in other words, welcome back to school, mohamed ardi.

ntu silat club has been busy lately with its recruitment drive and welcome tea. its the time of the academic year whereby we try to recruit new students (or the other commonly used term – freshies) into our club.

the first 2 days of recruitment wasn’t that encouraging to say. dear was certainly affected by it. even wanted to close shop on 3rd day. but encouraged her to keep going. who knows something good might happen. and alhamdulillah, it went well on the 3rd and last day. exceeding our expectations. a blessing in disguise.

and the welcome tea had a good response too. freshies from different racial backgrounds and cultures came together. with an open mind to learn our form of martial arts. i did a demo of a sparring session for the welcome tea. hurt my shoulders in the process. although i was expecting my neck to hurt instead (don’t worry guys… like i said before.. im okay!). hopefully i gave a good performance to convince the freshies to stay on. LOL..

fasting month has been normal thus far. the usual playlist from my stomach. but it hasn’t affected me that badly. still continue on with my daily routines. training as per normal. only sleep has been an issue for me. LOL. not getting 6 straight hours of sleep is affecting me slowly. hmm…will get used to it soon.

and ohh yeah. Monopoly Deal is an addictive game. LOL. its a card-game version of monopoly. try it. you won’t regret it.

eee picnic outing

it was a memorable day. surprisingly i was the first to arrive at east coast park. waited for almost 2 hours before the full party arrived. haizz… janji melayu habis.

nonetheless, it was still a fun-filled outing. played frisbee till we got tired. played Uno till i got sicked of it. played soccer with the ladies (they are quite fiery on the field). played captain’s ball till it rained. sabo-ed Azhar for his belated birthday. and a nice dinner by the beach. what made it more enjoyable was the company of new people. coursemates who we knew but never really talked before. LOL…and it was fun having them along.

highlights of the outing.

uno game.

black or white?

soccer?

go play kite. literally.

still playing in the rain.

i look up to you.

the EEE gang. plus new additions.

“Retribution often means that we eventually do to ourselves what we have done unto others.   – Eric Hoffer“

ice age and half-blood prince

been on a movie marathon this week. think its the most number of movies viewed by me over one week. haha! but at least get to watch them with my dear. =)

ice age 3

its a nice date movie. nothing too scary. just fun-filled adventure. i’ve always find animation movies to be a wise choice when it comes to dating. LOL! cause i did scare my date once with a horror movie (years ago…..). still regretted that movie choice till today. LOL! overall… a nice movie for everyone to enjoy.

harry potter and the half-blood prince

i’ve always been a potter fan since its first movie. something about magic just fascinates me. for this sequel, it has a dark element to it. the inevitable fightbetween lord valdemot and harry potter looms closer. and true identities are revealed. and someone died! nooooooooooooo! but overall, previous sequels are much better than this one i feel. lesser actions compared to the other titles.

and i’ve watched army daze with dear in school before silat training. lol! its just a classic. really reminded myself of my early NS days. something that every guy can relate to.

i’m starting a temp job this coming week. changi rise called me back. needed some admin assistance. wow… i must have done something right to be called back for assistance. haha. at least i’ve got something to do for next week.

and 3 more weeks left to a new academic year! argh!

“Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.   – Mahatma Gandhi“

transformers: revenge of the fallen

transformers: revenge of the fallen

what can i say? it was a kick-ass movie! LOL… non-stop action from the start till the end. new robots were introduced. but i do have to admit that i still prefer the first movie. i got lost trying to keep up with the new robots. they were not really introduced like the first movie. and some scenes were too nonsense for me. Haha…

but overall, its still a great action movie for those adrenaline junkies. at least i watched it at $6. so its kinda worth every cent of it.

“No sacrifice, no victory -  Archibald Witwicky“

post IVP karaoke boys’ outing.

just a karaoke session with the boys after the tournament. a way to destress ourselves. singing our hearts out. not paying attention to anyone. just having a good time. and it was my first karaoke session! LOL… not bad actually. not bad at all.

hafiz kicks off the session

hafiz feeling all at home.

don’t forget the lyrics.

rizar all focused.

zak’s all about passion.

badrul – our rocker!

myself – ballad prince.

hafiz – anything goes.

after 5 hours of karaoke. from the moment where it was all sunny before we began. till it was about to sunset when we leave the place. left the place with sore throats. rizar became a rock star after the session. and we kept singing ‘Aspalella’. LOL! had a good time indeed….

“I have failed many times, and that’s why I am a success.  – Michael Jordan“

end of inter-varsity silat tournament.

finally it was over! woohoo! after months of planning. days of sleepless nights. hectic schedules to meet. it was concluded with great success. no major hiccups along the way. it was quite smooth sailing most of the time. and im proud of our own team performance at the championship itself. managed to bag in 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals. although it was a poor performance compared to previous years, we still gave a good fight and our support for each of our athlete was absolutely superb. kudos to that! and it makes me wanna train hard and avoid any injuries for next year’s event. argh….. i’ll return with a vengeance!

here are some random pics of the hosts cum competitors from the championship.

tertiary silat championship

blue or red? choose your poison.

the calm before the storm.

deprived childhood.

ganda girls.

our spirit is our strength.

our coach.

the pendekars.

supporting while on duty.

azim won silver.

shikin & shedah won bronze

our regu ladies won gold.

guys – jumpshot

girls – jumpshot.

side effects of not enough sleep.

one big red family.

we made it till the end.

my dear won herself 2 bronze medals during the championship. sooooo proud of her!

me with double bronze medallist.

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.  – David M. Burns“