Dual Victory for Penang Forward at the Melaka River International Dragon Boat Race
Posted On Monday, August 1, 2016 at at Monday, August 01, 2016 by daddy
Upon hearing that the Penang International Dragon Boat race had been cancelled due to a long drought our team was crestfallen. This event takes place twice a year in Penang and Penang Forward has not missed an event since forming in the ‘80s. Even though other races are available the local Penang race is the team’s first choice.
We had trained hard both on and off the boat with physical tests, cross training and extra rowing sessions. Our training was not to be in vain though and we were thrilled as we found the Melaka River International Festival Dragon Boat Race on the same day. Spirits were high on the seven hour bus ride with everyone getting a chance to speak or sing using the on-board microphone. Some of the comments were jocular while others chose to give sincere wishes for success. There was even a rendition of Queen’s We Are The Champions.
We arrived late so as soon as we got there it was time to suit up and get to work by practicing at the race site. After practice, the entire team was able to enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage City that is Melaka. We strolled around Jonker Walk, took in the local scenery and indulged in the top notch local quisine which included satay celup and durian cendol.
On the race day, there were 56 teams comprising 840 participants taking part in the Melaka River International Festival Dragon Boat Race. There was a variety of skill levels to be seen. Some of the other teams were obviously in it to win it while others were not exactly full of professionals. (In fact, some teams that looked they were there on a dare. One group of quinquagenerians appeared as though they were rowing on Ambien. Another boat barely had the energy to make it 250m. Two of them just through in the towel and stopped about 10m short. Some teams' timing was so off they looked like centipedes and two rowers from another team could be seen slapping paddles together the entire race. These rowers were obviously not our competition though.) PFSC sent three teams to compete in the race. These were the men’s teams A and C and the mixed men’s and women’s Team B. Team B didn’t get a fair shake. The announcer was going to start the race when our boat was almost touching another boat. As we were drifting towards the other boat again and the steersman was trying to orient us in the right direction the command to row was given. We were rotating to the left and partially underwater as we started paddling. It was like starting a one hundred meter dash lying on your side.
Particularly for the new rowers, it was still a good learning experience and one worth having attempted. As Teddy Roosevelt stated, “Far better is it to dare mighty thing, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
Team A won in Heat 1 and Team C in heat 5 each by a considerable margin. The wins in the quarterfinals were integral to keep both teams in the winner’s pool lest they have to row even more races to place. Team A and C both rowed together in the semi-finals. This was obviously a physically challenging race even to a novice viewer. There was intensity in the faces and physical movement of Penang Forward’s rowers. Victory was clinched with the margin much smaller than the previous rounds. The energy in the air was palpable and the intoxicating scent of victory now detectable.
Then came the finals. Our muscles were sore at this point, but you’re dealing with the wrong team if you think that means we were going to put forth less than maximum effort. As the command to row was given we went beserk and red lined our bodies like Mustangs about to stall. Our veins pumped battery acid during the last fifty meters. As the body felt like it was giving out we let our mind take over and pushed our way to first and second place amidst chants of
“Forward! Forward! Forward!” Victory was made even sweeter when the organizer decided to award Penang Forward Sports Club the Asia Golden Dragon Award which is given to a team that “demonstrated good team spirit, discipline, sportsmanship and good timing during the race.”
There is another quality that rowing requires which is synchronicity and uniformity of movement. At times rowing feels like something referred to by biologists as an emergent property. Emergent properties are based on the idea that when a group of organisms work together they can produce something better than the capabilities of the sum of their parts. When added together, the individual capabilities of ants are not enough to build an ant hill nor bees to
build a hive etc. With emergent properties we see that the combination of powers of organisms is not additive though, it is multiplicative. If each individual is given a power of one, ten of them working together do not have a power of ten, but one hundred. When rowers are all pushing to the maximum capacity in perfect synchronization this can be felt as the boat moves with such speed and grace. It feels to be that the power of the boat’s forward momentum is much more than what ten individuals could do when placed together. It is truly an emergent property.
I am a new member to Penang Forward and I would like to add a personal anecdote. After the race I congratulated a senior member and he honestly mentioned that the other team in the finals was fitter. I enquired how we beat them then. He answered “stroke, pace and” after a notable pause “…heart. We had more heart.” “More heart,” I replied. “I like that.” Heart can’t be taught or developed. It can’t be trained like a muscle. It can’t be bought like high quality
gear. You either have it or you don’t. It’s what distinguishes true competitors from tourists. And from what I have seen both while on the boat and off Penang Forward has it in spades.
Last but not least, we would like to thank you Texchem Resources Bhd for sponsoring us and making this trip a meaningful one
By Scott Collister
Concept2 Indoor Rowing and Les Mills Body Pump
Posted On Monday, November 5, 2012 at at Monday, November 05, 2012 by daddyIndoor rowing and body pump session
Date: 18 August 2010
Time: Night
Venue: Fitness Studio, Gurney Tower
This session, we started with indoor rowing using concept 2 rower and follow by Les Mills Body Pump program. Dragon boat paddlers training is madness, isn't it? To many people, it is tough to continue weight training after indoor rowing. You almost use all your energy in rowing. How to continue the body pump session?
If you ever attended Les Mills body pump session before, you know you try to keep up with the countless repetition on each exercise. You stop half way even join the class with fresh energy. How to keep up with the instructor after 3 sets of indoor rowing?
Besides good fitness level is required, you probably need a good mental in training as well. Fitness Level can be improve by exercise, the exercise that you keep on doing, enjoy doing it for a period of time. Then, you can start to feel the different, the changing in your body, the next level of your fitness level.
However, mental training is not easy to train. How to train your mental?
each paddlers will row 3 sets in concept2 indoor rower.
How fast you can complete 500m distance? It required many input to achieve good time. want to know more, contact us :-)
Les Mills body pump class.
sometime, people who join the class with cursed the instructor because of the countless repetition.....have you had this thought before?
Back to question earlier: How do you train your mental? there are many answer, my answer would be train in a group. When you train in the group, people with good fitness level inspired you, people that tried catching up pushing you to stay a little longer before give up. With competition in a group, you keep going and going to fight against and also together with each other. You'll soon find out you can keep up with the team in no time.
We do have sweet time after tough training. Just provide your name and birth date, we make sure you hate and love this club.... :-p
Core Muscle Training is Important
Posted On Thursday, November 1, 2012 at at Thursday, November 01, 2012 by daddyDate: 12 August 2010
Time: Night
Instructor: Luke Yee
Venue: Fitness Studio, Gurney Tower
Many people have wrong concept on dragon boat like dragon boat only use strength to paddle, dragon boat use arms only and etc. In fact, dragon boat use whole body muscle group not just forearm or back muscle group. Dragon boat is also a endurance sport not just strength exercise.
Today, we gather at Fitness Studio Gym at Gurney Tower to build not only strength and also flexibility. We focus on core strength which is the abdominal and back big muscle group. Without core strength, sport performance definitely reduced.
crunches. How you do it? legs raised, shoulder off the floor and squeeze your abdominal, that is crunch. It look simple and easy, this focus on upper abdominal
Follow by legs raised. This exercise focus on lower abdominal. Those with 1 layer of belly fat it hard as the lower abs don't have the strength to lift up the legs. For those who can't feel burning while doing it, try to increase the repetition or add weight at anckles. No mercy to the belly fat, burn them off....!
Continue with "cycling". This exercise target on side oblique muscles group. shoulder off the floor, twist side oblique reaching left elbows to right knee and vice versa like cycling.
Side Oblique hold or crunch exercise. posture have to be correct, many do it not right because the muscle group not strong or the butts are too heavy to lift it up. more to go...!
After that, we do stretching.
Stretching prevent injury also improve flexibility. Many people have tight hamstring where you can easily spot on their face expression when you tried to pull a little bit.
Forward bent over also pulling the hamstrings. Person with good flexibility can reach to their toes without much effort. Some people bent their knee in order to reach the toes.
Feel like building your core strength and flexibility? check our training schedule at What next? session.
Makan Makan Over Physical Training
Posted On Monday, October 29, 2012 at at Monday, October 29, 2012 by daddy
Date: 7 August 2010
Weather: Sunny
Photo Taken by: Chung Mei Ling
Chinese philosophy: The only thing that no change is changed. Why I come out this at starting line in the post? When I look at the old pictures, it remind me how was the good old days in PFSC especially on the members.
Quah (Wearing the blue singlet) - inactive now. used to be first paddlers and good in running. Now probably focus more on business and new members in his family
Khoo (cheer in tomato) - still in physical training but can't commit in race as he is tied the knot with girl that we never see before....:-p congratulation
Satay (Front, shirt in yellow + red) - From boyfriend quickly upgraded to Husband 2.0 and now Father 3.0....congrat :-)
Sunny Kok (half face at the side) - inactive. Not sure what is the reason that he quit and now focus on bicycle. Hope he active again in DB as he is strong paddler.
William Ung (shirtless) - Shoulder Injured at the moment, promise to join back when ready.
Ho (White shirt behind William) - change his job hat and now police inspector who based in KL.
Kiefer (Last in the row) - inactive. quite new in the team and can't sustain. welcome to join again :-)
We seldom do physical training at rowing site. I think this is the time we go for run before go down to water, else we would wear sandals rather than sport shoe.
We miss the old members and also we stay for the food....nah! we love the food as bonus. Most important, we stay for the team.
Celebration Dinner Party for the 1st CCCCC
Posted On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at at Thursday, October 25, 2012 by daddy
Best part of Dragon boat competition is always end with celebration dinner. This is when you party with all the team both local and international. The celebration party for the 1st club crew championship for commonwealth countries was held at Bayview beach resort on 25th July 2010.
I didn't attend but we send representative on behalf :-p
our tai ka cher (Big sister) with sexy lips....lol
it is look like gold? I can't remember what we won
and they just party hard like animal....(look at the monkey in the middle)
1st Club Crew Championship for Commonwealth Countries 2010
Posted On Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at at Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by daddy
I know...I know. I has been lazy and not keep the blog up-to-date. This event is 2 years back and 2012 almost come to the end. If I post recent event, then you may not see what happen for the last 2 years.
Don't confuse the Club Crew World Championship with this Club Crew Championship for Commonwealth Country. one is CCWC and the other is CCCCC. Penang hosted CCWC in 2008 follow by Macau in 2010 and Hong Kong 2012. CCCCC 1st hosted in Penang with the commonwealth country only.
Just to let you know, we never miss any event hosted in Penang as we're home team.
See...how big is our group
We're partnering with Penang Island Paddles Club in this event sending crews in many races.
PIPC team in Green color Jersey
and also orange color
Ladies team in black color.
We in white color. 2 years back, we were young (...and so nerd)
Ex Team Manager - Hean, YB Danny Law and Mei Ling
Celebrating Joseph Chow's birthday (father of 2 or 3 now...maybe 4)
we train hard and sync well. just notice I'm only one in black life jacket :-p
The beast
Breath-in, breath-out
are you wet already?
no kidding in the race...!
The sign of confident
all the way to the finishing line, no sense of playing at all
Christmas Appreciation dinner
Posted On Friday, November 25, 2011 at at Friday, November 25, 2011 by Sharon
Note: Ok, these pictures are from 2009 so I better post it up before 2009 officially ends!
Anything free is good, seriously.. anyone will agree with me on the statement :p
On the 26th Dec, we had a free sponsored dinner in StoneBay restaurant, in conjunction with Christmas. Everyone was invited to the dinner.
Of course everyone will try their best to make it for the dinner.
One, because it's FREE FOOD.
Two, free karaoke wtf
Three FREE ALCOHOL la what else!
A scene before dinner starts.
After dinner starts, camwhoring automatically starts too. And if you think only the girls like to take pictures, you're dead wrong. The guys had it worse than us :P
The girls can never get a full nice picture of only us without some dude butting into the frame -_-
Someone brought reindeer hairbands and we started to force the guys to camwhore with it :D
Bunny reindeer
With Luke and his broken 'horns'
shit, I recycled my dress :(Again, I know it's bad of me to say this but it's damn cute la. His eyes are so damn small that when he smiles his eyes just kinda disappear *BOOMZ*
A couple-to-be? :D
I like this picture of us girls but the stupid fella at the side just had to butt in -_- FHL
Then it was medal presentation time
Starting with the men, who won the gold medal for veteran category, everyone refused to come out and admit they're old that the team manager had to call them one by one haha
Then it was the
lau yees, I mean aunties
girls turn.
Of course we had to go shake hands and received the medal from the sponsor.
Tasting the medals
After dinner, everyone was excited for the next plan.
While we girls were more excited on the dancing part, the guys were more excited on this 'cannon', that's like 4 litres of Black Label FTL (Fuck Their Lives)
Our dear doctor friend joined us all the way from KL
The sexy Ong sisters, hey wait! I have the same surname too!
Guess what happened?
No it wasn't nosebleed
We were just sticking on a temp tattoo we got from the new club. Very creative way of sticking the tattoo : Mouth, Cheek & Nose
The multipurpose hat. Great for camwhoring
Karaoke session, Carey and I had a blast singing together!
We must be singing Lady Gaga or something, look so damn kinky like that
So emo, must be singing Taylor Swift
I just realize I've known this girl for 20 long years too! @_@
Then we went Mois (again!)
There is definitely something about dancing with tomboy or lesbian, I don't know.. but I feel protected around her, she shielded me from being molested hahaha
It was a hell lot of fun that night...
Especially when you get to see a buff guy trying to walk on high heels
It's not as easy as it looks mate
And finally, a pic I've been longing to take for the longest time, the final picture for the last post of 2009...
I present to you...
The 'SPARTAN' pic!
HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone~!
