i admire what shixiong said e other day while in a girl's car. at times it was chauvinistic, i admit. but i admired his assertiveness. we got caught in some gender stereotypin, n shixiong was blunt in his message. "what gender equality do females want, if, as and when they like, they're proponents of double standards themselves?" -in response to driver's displeasure at chauffeuring us, and tt guys sld chauffeur girls. (shixiong was especially offended as he had once went out of his way to chauffeur her to n fro her house to help her retrieve sth impt.) he had no shame.
instead, e assertiveness shone thru to me. im one who always preach to my male friends tt a rship is 2-way, n guys sld never always give in. we have to love ourselves juz like we know girls love themselves alot. indeed, i know of many girls who dun want at-ur-service guys. only when u can cherish urself, will u be able to cherish ur partner better.
do spore women expect too much? (ST, 24/2/08) by a female journalist
women's expectations of their male dates are more like they're going out with Prince Charming than a real, live man. such mindsets and expectations set the feminist movement back 50 years.
"some women are hypocritical as they demand to be taken seriously and treated equally, but when it comes to dating etiquette, they expect their boyfriends to attend to their every need", female, senior marketin n communications consultant
"women set standards selectively. in certain areas, they want us to perform to their expectations. yet at other times, they want to have their say. they are sending mixed signals and they confuse us sometimes", male
"if you expect the man to accept you as his equal, you can't also expect him to run around treating you like a porcelain doll on a pedestal. it just does not make sense in our modern world", female
"singaporean women should take time off to reflect upon themselves and see how they can meet men's expectations", female, dating agency's founder
"how do these women expect to be taken seriously or seen as an equal? if it makes your man happy to do these things, it's perfectly ok to let him. but we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment when we put pressure on the opposite sex to do all the things that we're perfectly capable of doing", female, image consultant
hey. truth is. guys have no qualms openin doors for u, payin for things, or carryin ur stuff. but it comes from e heart. if these become 'expected', then it's a chore n we're turned off. dun be offended juz bcoz ur a female lah. as e New woman, u sld know there are hypocritical females out there. if ur not one, ur not one. look at this w an open mind. girls juz wanna be loved. we know it, please. it's juz sickenin when u fight tooth n nail w us abt equality, n nxt moment hypocritically - n w a swing of ur hair - expect us to serve u. please, this is not an MCP post.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
e first step is finally taken
today can be considered a milestone in my 舞狮 career.
(decided to use Chinese for some of e terms coz i realised some things cant be expressed in English, esp w regards to such Chinese material)
it's been almost 4 years since i was under e tutelage of anyone in this arena. when i graduated from 南初国术团 in May 2004, it was e last time i was a disciple. of course, u may argue, 一日为师 终生为父. i will never forget tt. Loy Kee Fatt is always my 师父. but being under someone, in the present tense, was a thing of e past. after May 2004, im officially a graduate of the troupe. essentially tt means i dun report to tt 师父 of mine anymore. me n e few active alumni still go to him for advice n knowledge, but it's on an ad-hoc basis. we dun even follow his strict regime anymore, not like he insists. we go back to help out w e 师弟师妹 regularly, but we're on our own. we go out n meet more people. we learn more things than he can provide us within e troupe. we got to know other 师父 (whom are usually referred to as 教练 as they're not related to us), n learn more, n improvise e different aspects of e various 门派. but it was all on an unofficial basis.
so tt's e problem. we slack off in e foundation skills. when we're under a tough n disciplined environment, we were noobs. when we go out into e world, we lose e discipline unfortunately. technically we may have improved thru e years, from more exposure n experience. but it's a combination of both tt brings out e best in us.
i was nervous. today wasnt just any other usual training. adrian convinced a 3rd-generation master, 黄师父 from 鹤山会馆, to become our 师父, 顾问, n choreographer to help w our virgin attempt at the Nationals (全国舞狮锦标). this 前辈 is in his 60s, n belongs to the last generation of old-school masters who are equally, n proficiently so, adept at 舞狮, 武术, n many other Chinese cultural elements. from the 4th-generation onwards, like my original 师父, practitioners become more specialised, n also less inclined towards e 传统， v much due to e advent of 舞龙 n 跳桩. w so many troupes springin up, many ridiculously, e standards n adherence dropped. procedures of representative practises like 采青 became distorted n tradition went downhill. even e Nationals lost its soul n judges now look out more for death-defying stunts than 狮形 n 含义. 黄师父 has been in this circle since e year Singapore became independent. he's seen all e shifts. he should know. he's so senior tt he has even retired as a judge for e Nationals. today, he advises many troupes, some highly reputable. w his experience he has moulded champion teams. he has taught people how to become champions, but he hasnt lost his religious following of e traditional. he draws a clear line between competition requirements n e practises. w e former, he has moved w e times, but w e latter, he's still stubbornly adamant, which is a good thing. he is extremely glad we're an interested bunch, n arnt some idling delinquents, tt's why he's willing to pass on his knowledge n help us without conditions.
it's a milestone bcoz it's been a long time since i was so regimental. i was ramrod straight while he talked to us. we were in awe of his presence. we stood around him like he's a giant. well, he is, figuratively. we greeted him 师父, n later bade farewell to him w e classic 解散 salute. we're of different schools of e art. he's a master in 鹤山派狮, while we're cross-trained in his niche n 佛鹤派狮, so we had to adapt to him. this is of course not easy. when we reached e moment to show him what we've got, we went silent. this was it. jiajun went 1st as he's our choice of 狮头 for e competition. i could see he moved up a level from his usual performance, as he had to display his best. but still he was put down, bcoz jiajun isnt drilled in the foundations like we were, so he is bound to be lacking. adrian volunteered himself next, to break e ice in a way, bcoz he had trained under 黄师父 at 鹤山会馆 before. he also displayed his best, n was considerably up to his standards. n when 黄师父 asked who's e drummer, i felt a nervy tinge up my spine as they pointed at me. i was a much better drummer some years back, when i practised consistently. but e me today is just stable n nothing spectacular. so i went up to e drum n did my thing. haven felt so nervous in a long time, not even w public performances, bcoz a master was eyeing me now. lucky in 鹤山鼓典 a traditional approach is favored, so i could still revert to it being once trained in traditional 南鼓.
i was all prepared to 扎马 or practise 狮形 for hours today, which is back-breakin for rusty practitioners like us. he did mention a faithfulness to 马步, but today was just an introduction, n he left in a little more than an hour.
back to basics. what more to come in e comin months leadin to e Nationals. but im exhilarated to be gettin in touch w these forgotten things again. they'll only make me better. it is our greatest honor to learn from him. in practice n theory, he has literacy not many others have anymore.
(decided to use Chinese for some of e terms coz i realised some things cant be expressed in English, esp w regards to such Chinese material)
it's been almost 4 years since i was under e tutelage of anyone in this arena. when i graduated from 南初国术团 in May 2004, it was e last time i was a disciple. of course, u may argue, 一日为师 终生为父. i will never forget tt. Loy Kee Fatt is always my 师父. but being under someone, in the present tense, was a thing of e past. after May 2004, im officially a graduate of the troupe. essentially tt means i dun report to tt 师父 of mine anymore. me n e few active alumni still go to him for advice n knowledge, but it's on an ad-hoc basis. we dun even follow his strict regime anymore, not like he insists. we go back to help out w e 师弟师妹 regularly, but we're on our own. we go out n meet more people. we learn more things than he can provide us within e troupe. we got to know other 师父 (whom are usually referred to as 教练 as they're not related to us), n learn more, n improvise e different aspects of e various 门派. but it was all on an unofficial basis.
so tt's e problem. we slack off in e foundation skills. when we're under a tough n disciplined environment, we were noobs. when we go out into e world, we lose e discipline unfortunately. technically we may have improved thru e years, from more exposure n experience. but it's a combination of both tt brings out e best in us.
i was nervous. today wasnt just any other usual training. adrian convinced a 3rd-generation master, 黄师父 from 鹤山会馆, to become our 师父, 顾问, n choreographer to help w our virgin attempt at the Nationals (全国舞狮锦标). this 前辈 is in his 60s, n belongs to the last generation of old-school masters who are equally, n proficiently so, adept at 舞狮, 武术, n many other Chinese cultural elements. from the 4th-generation onwards, like my original 师父, practitioners become more specialised, n also less inclined towards e 传统， v much due to e advent of 舞龙 n 跳桩. w so many troupes springin up, many ridiculously, e standards n adherence dropped. procedures of representative practises like 采青 became distorted n tradition went downhill. even e Nationals lost its soul n judges now look out more for death-defying stunts than 狮形 n 含义. 黄师父 has been in this circle since e year Singapore became independent. he's seen all e shifts. he should know. he's so senior tt he has even retired as a judge for e Nationals. today, he advises many troupes, some highly reputable. w his experience he has moulded champion teams. he has taught people how to become champions, but he hasnt lost his religious following of e traditional. he draws a clear line between competition requirements n e practises. w e former, he has moved w e times, but w e latter, he's still stubbornly adamant, which is a good thing. he is extremely glad we're an interested bunch, n arnt some idling delinquents, tt's why he's willing to pass on his knowledge n help us without conditions.
it's a milestone bcoz it's been a long time since i was so regimental. i was ramrod straight while he talked to us. we were in awe of his presence. we stood around him like he's a giant. well, he is, figuratively. we greeted him 师父, n later bade farewell to him w e classic 解散 salute. we're of different schools of e art. he's a master in 鹤山派狮, while we're cross-trained in his niche n 佛鹤派狮, so we had to adapt to him. this is of course not easy. when we reached e moment to show him what we've got, we went silent. this was it. jiajun went 1st as he's our choice of 狮头 for e competition. i could see he moved up a level from his usual performance, as he had to display his best. but still he was put down, bcoz jiajun isnt drilled in the foundations like we were, so he is bound to be lacking. adrian volunteered himself next, to break e ice in a way, bcoz he had trained under 黄师父 at 鹤山会馆 before. he also displayed his best, n was considerably up to his standards. n when 黄师父 asked who's e drummer, i felt a nervy tinge up my spine as they pointed at me. i was a much better drummer some years back, when i practised consistently. but e me today is just stable n nothing spectacular. so i went up to e drum n did my thing. haven felt so nervous in a long time, not even w public performances, bcoz a master was eyeing me now. lucky in 鹤山鼓典 a traditional approach is favored, so i could still revert to it being once trained in traditional 南鼓.
i was all prepared to 扎马 or practise 狮形 for hours today, which is back-breakin for rusty practitioners like us. he did mention a faithfulness to 马步, but today was just an introduction, n he left in a little more than an hour.
back to basics. what more to come in e comin months leadin to e Nationals. but im exhilarated to be gettin in touch w these forgotten things again. they'll only make me better. it is our greatest honor to learn from him. in practice n theory, he has literacy not many others have anymore.
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