Thoughts on Coaching and Training

Learning TI from zero and being self taught has brought me a long way..
I've went through LOADS of wrong paths before coming to "enlightenment" on how a human can swim effortlessly with the correct techniques..

And being a very expressive person helped me become a better coach too..
Those techniques that requires alot of feelings to grasp.. I was able to put them into words of feelings... thus my students learn how to feel the water and their body works together.. not just splash through the water..

Of course.. a logical mind helped hell lots... thanks to my Software Engineering background.. i was able to break big pictures into tiny little pieces... and systematically put them back together...
That became how I come up with my own building blocks of technique teaching.. Through small pieces.. building on top of one another.. to come up with a complete stroke.

Being a non-swimmer at the age of 23 also helped me understand and at many times FEEL what the kids/beginner swimmers/water phobic adults feel when they face the learning barriers and sometimes, the fear of water..

I feel that the fear of water cannot be underestimated or ignored.. because without understanding what your student feel with that fear, you'll never be in sync with their thoughts.. and without doing that, a coach won't be able to relay any messages clearly across their mind because they're thinking of different things altogether at the same time...

So far, I believe I've done fairly well as a swim coach.. I hope I can improve somemore.. that'll be through my temper management, and instilling of more fun works... I'm quite a boring coach except my bullshitting skills and cold jokes works at some summer times..

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Personal Training..
I have to completely agree with my shifu (58 yr old guy who can do 1 hand chin up.. and the core so strong, my 76 kg body cannot pry open his crunch at its peak contraction..) that 99% of the ppl in singapore do not know what they are doing. And that includes PERSONAL TRAINERS too...

Why are ppl in gym using heavy weights when they're not able to? One simple thing to look at is if you have to use momentum to lift the weight, then why lift that weight? Once momentum comes into place, the weight moves by itself and not the muscle in that small degrees of movement.. Thus the muscles are not loaded at that point when momentum comes in..

Also, many a times, ppl like to use machines.. and even gloves.. yes, they are safe, but are they functional or not? How many times in your life do you have to lie down in that bench press position and push something up away from you? When the sky falls down?

Gloves, guys.. come'on.. you wack heavy weights because you wanna impress those ladies in the gym? How many ladies in the gym goes to the weight section? So, it boils down to yielding those muscles outside of the gym.. to carry heavy things.. like walk up 12 storeys with a 25kg mirror or metal cabinet when the lift broke down.. where are you gonna suddenly find gloves to help you so it won't be so painful? You can say its abt safety.. so that it won't slip.. but com'on, if the weight is so heavy that you can't even control, then let alone train with it!

Also, I don't understand why ppl like to use the smith machine (the machine with the olympic bar that is hung onto by cables at the side) to do squats.. In real life, do you sit down with something to hang on to? Often you ask those ppl who do squats on smith machines with monstrous weights to do a simple squat without weight by themselves.. they'll just fall onto their ass or kneeling(knees cross toes) instead of squatting.

Seriously, do ppl tink abt why they train? And why does one movement train that muscle part? Often, you ask "Why do bench press?".. they answer "cos it train chest and give me big chest..".. now, why is that so? If you don't even know how and why your body work that way (when you push something, which muscle comes into play..) then you won't even know how to activate that muscle.. then how to train?

For those who don't weight train or have been weight training but don't know what i am talking abt, give yourself a test.. ask your friend to put a finger in the middle of your back, now try to fold your back along the spine and crush that finger.. that activates your middle trapezius and rhomboids.. now ask yourself, when you do your rows in the gym.. do you even tink abt folding your back? or are you just concerned abt how heavy can your ARMS pull and row?

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Sad to say this.. but sg sports is really going nowhere if all these doubts are not clarified.. but it will be difficult.. because all the "old birds" will be so conventional and stubborn with their own believes.. it'll be as hard to change their tinking as melting the rock using the sun rays at sentosa..

Can you imagine, there are still swim coaches who tell you GYM TRAINING IS NO GOOD.. IT MAKE YOU BULKY AND YOU CAN'T SWIM WELL COS YOUR FLEXIBILITY WILL BE GONE?

Tell me if phelps gym train, of course he does. And then look at how he warm up at the platform.. his shoulders are so flexible, he hands can go all the way back and clap!

I personally never swam distance for 2 months + and have been training in the gym with this shifu of mine.. i was skeptical at first when he told me you'll definitely be able to last the swim.. and the run of 10k will be easy. My shi jie, michelle said "10K run is also not as tiring as legs and abs day.."..

So I went for a swim today.. first distance swim after 2months +.. and i clocked 100laps. Without feeling too tired.

Now, tell me, gym helps? Or Gym kills?

Its really up to the practitionist.. whether he knows what he's doing...

Glad to see coaches like Fred, Jingfu and Simin.. :)

Cheers,
The Sinning Swimmer.

Virgin Post

So, I see my friend's blog.. and I never thought I'd be here creating one for myself.. I don't know how long I will keep myself to update this.. but I'd just come whenever I feel that I have a confession that I could tell no one but the screen...

So yes, this is a blog abt me, myself and I.. Look at the number of 'I's there were in the first paragraph.. Its obvious isn't it? I will be writing here thoughts.. explicit and non.. As with all the other blogs I've written.. I'd like to first Declare that I don't wish to answer to anyone rudely commenting. If you have nothing nice to say, then keep it up your ass and fuck off by clicking the 'X' button on the top right hand corner of your browser.. I can do you a user manual on how to do that with step by step cursor instructions if you'd say please. :)

So, first thought of the blog..
Socrate says "The unexamined life is not worth living"

Which brings in the next question of what is the sublime of life?

After my quarter of century spent in deep thoughts.. actually only since the last 7 yrs or so.. I've been finding and examining my own life.. I firmly believe that one should live with a purpose.. and not just drift along... I seriously feel that people who does that, live a life either by just sitting in front of the comp and play game.. or work your ass off in the office for 9 hrs a day just to get a paycheck.. AND do that for YOUR WHOLE LIFE.. that is REALLY a waste of life.

There is no way I could reiterate more strongly that yes, this is only governed only by my own perceptions.. but I hope one day I can be as wise as dael.. so that my spectrum of wisdom and perceptions will allow me not to perceive but merge into the flow of nature. Only then, I feel, that I will truly be living a life of my own. Doing whatever I am meant to do, and doing whatever I want to and also what nature wants me to. I do not know when, but I believe its near..

Because whenever I believe in something, it _Will_ happen.

Lets end this self indulgence post with Something special abt me, shall we..

I don't wait for things to happen.
I MAKE them happen.

Cheers,
The Sinner