FREE BI-MONTHLY
Issue004
Sep-Oct,2010
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CONTENTS Events
NVM XPhysique Beerfest
Sports Focus
Muay Thai Taekwondo Low-down on Ip Man
Lifestyle
Freshies V.S.
Movies
Pon De Floor! Fashion: The Big Four
Chinatown Malacca
Berry Much Salut, Mon Ami.
CONTENTS
Y
!
es you ve heard me right ‒ Welcome (back) to the Land of No Return ‒ for this is where buses out to the MRT stations take ages to come, where lessons probably end at 2130hrs for some and where great STAR(S) WARS will be fought (some of you might understand me if I tell you to take it at its literal meaning) to get that long-coveted elective or course.
Reality check ‒ let s be fair - this is also but a place where fun never stops. To the freshmen, sophomores and beyond, I hereby extend a warm invitation onboard this ship to the island we call Pulau NTU , nestled in one corner of Singapore. Welcome to the real world ‒ neither will you be required to don those dull-coloured school uniforms of yours again, nor will you need to attend school as early as 0740hrs. To help you better cope (or re-cope , for some of your cases) your life on this island, the here! team has gathered all our brains to bring you what possibly could be named An Essential Guide for Survival in NTU . This will include bringing you the different berries we can possibly offer as well as equipping you with defense skills such as Muay Thai, Taekwondo and Wing Chun to wallop that professor or coursemate that you have long been displeased with (I m just joking, please). Just when you thought you are next Karate Kid or Ip Man, we will then let you know how you fare as compared to the ones on the screens. For those who are already dreaming for a getaway during your recess week, we bring you to various tourist hotspots such as Chinatown Malaysia where I m pretty sure you will enjoy. Similarly, we bring to you extensive coverage of the talks of the town ‒ the BeerFest Asia 2010 as well as past Sports Club events such as X-Physique 2010 and the National Vertical Marathon 2010. Hopefully, this dosage of here! will be sufficient for you to survive on this island. If it is not, do keep a look out for our final and upcoming issue for this academic year in November for more tips and updates! Once again, Salut Mon Amis!
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WELCOME (BACK) TO THE LAND OF NO RETURN Darius Zheng Managing Editor
Chief Editor: Caine Ng Managing Editor: Darius Zheng Editors: Ramona Koh, Chua Yini, Wilson Xie, Stella Tan Writers: Geraldine Cheng, Ko Chong Tat, Loo Hui Ping, Mohammad Danial Hanafi, Mariam Hakeem, Rachel Lim, Sean Lai, Valerie Gho Contributors: Wilson Wang Design & Layout: Hong Shu Qi, Wong Su Yee, Zed Tan Cover Photography by: Wong Su Yee, Hong Shu Qi Cover Model: Jason Foo Sponsors Liaison: Zack Teo (zack.teo.mh@gmail.com)
We are looking for contributors to be part of this publication!. If you re interested, please drop us a mail @ cainenyp@gmail.com Looking forward to see you
MICA (P) 222/10/2009 An NTU Sports Club Publication
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Salut, Mon Ami.
P
erhaps when you were younger, your parents would keep trying to drill it into your little head that it s a bad thing to lie and deceive other people, with no further reason simply other than It s Just Wrong . Somewhere at the back of your 6-year-old mind I m sure you must have felt a sense of Oh, but what they won t know won t hurt them! , but because you were probably incapable of putting it into so many words then, you therefore felt it was easier believing them, and it s what you always do anyway. You must be wondering where all this is going right now. On my part, I m wondering if I should perpetuate this childhood myth even though I know after having lived about 20 years on this earth and having to deal with that pesky thing called life and its best friend Murphy s Law, you really should know better.
I think I should tell you anyway, even if I run the risk of seeming tres unprofessional and getting kicked out of the publications team, because I don t see the point in lying about this. Ok, hold on, now that s a lie. So you want the truth? Well fine, the truth is that I really do not have a single idea what exactly to write for this issue.
(Hello, my friend.)
There, I finally said it.
I am so horribly stuck and clueless as to what I can write to Welcome the Freshies that I can t even lie my way around it even if Tyra Banks was to offer me a spot on America s Next Top Model right now, and thus writing the entire truth out here is the only thing I can think of to take up the necessary word count. First things first, I don t even agree with the way this issue s theme sounds. I sincerely apologise to the sir or missus who racked his or her brains to come up with this, and I m sure he/she must have spent a lot of time debating with him/ herself in the wee hours of the morning as to whether it should be Welcoming the Freshies , or WELCOME, FRESHIES! in a loud, booming, eyecatching font and colour, but seriously, the term Freshies demands for a gag bag to be passed around the Year One cohorts. It makes me think of cheap orange juice cartons standing in a row on a supermarket freezer shelf with the words FRESHLY SQUEEZED stamped across every side but which everybody knows contains more syrup than pulp anyway. Why can t we just stick to calling the Year Ones, Year Ones if somehow the more appropriate term Freshmen feels too angmoh for us Singlish-speaking Asians?
written by Geraldine Cheng, illustration by Zed Tan
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Perhaps you do feel that I m getting a little mental about this, and maybe I am. You re probably thinking right now, Well, how difficult must it be to write an article to welcome the new batch of Year Ones? Dear Geraldine, all you ve got to do is write an article recommending the best places to get food around school, or tell them about the shortcuts they can take to get to lectures and tutorials. But see, that s exactly what I do not want to do, because you re going to get ten booklets in your orientation bag telling you the exact same thing and therefore you re going to chuck my article aside without even getting past the title. I m not even sure if I d be the right person to write such an article if I really decided to relegate myself to being just one of the other school writers out there anyway. Since I don t stay in a hostel I ve really only been to 3 canteens around school - Canteen A, B and 2 ‒ and I m still discovering shortcuts around the campus myself which my friends have already known since day one. A proposed article by me which involves any such recommendations could probably be summarised into a few lines which will just tell you to avoid Canteen B because it s dirty and disgusting, and that the only thing worth buying there is Mr Bean s, or that Canteen 2 is no longer worth visiting in my opinion because the stall selling shaved ice shifted out a few months ago. And then I suppose you might be thinking now that perhaps I can write an article about My First Day in School , or My Year One School Experience , but come on, we all know how trite those articles are, and I m not interested in sugarcoating something with the potential to sound like a Primary School composition essay. For the record, I can t even remember what my first day was like. I think I got lost on the way to my first lecture of the year, but hey, 90% of you reading this are probably going to get lost on the way to some class in your first year anyway, so I might as well let you experience the confusion firsthand. I also do not think it s important for you to know my first year school experience, because I wouldn t know which faculty/division/school you
come from, and since I believe that everybody would ultimately have their own unique first year experiences anyway, mine wouldn t be immediately applicable to you. I mean I could tell you things like please take French Language Level 1 because even if you can t hold a proper conversation in French after completing the class, it still makes you sound tres sophisticated dropping little French words/phrases here and there in your writing. But perhaps you are not interested. Perhaps you d like to do Japanese Language Level 1 instead. And I suppose I could also tell you things like please don t trust the English Literature boys, especially if they re cute, or if they ve got their own rides to school, but perhaps you re from a Science faculty and you will never have the chance to be BFFs with a boy from the English division. Or perhaps you re not interested. Or perhaps you already know. I ve nothing much to offer you besides telling you to enjoy the ride while you can, even if you ve to grit your teeth through it all and survive the impending long sleepless nights writing essays or trying not to fantasize strangling a project mate who has gone M.I.A. for so long you don t even know how he/she looks like. You re stuck here anyway, so you might as well make the best out of what you can. That much I can assure you, by the time you make it out here alive after enduring 4 years of stuffy, overcrowded shuttle bus rides, confusing campus maps and school buildings you need to get to but which always seem to located on the highest hill around, you will be ready to take on the world outside, chestbeating King-Kong style. P.S. (If I get kicked out of this publication for writing such a lousy, irrelevant article, perhaps it ll also be time you start finding yourself a CCA, and maybe you d like to consider getting yourself in here! ‒ ok lousy pun, I know - so you can write a better article than I did.)
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events
National Vertical Marathon 2010 N
ational Vertical Marathon, NVM for short, is an opportunity for sports enthusiasts to experience variations to conventional flat road marathons. Participations from all walks of life challenge themselves by climbing up a building, in the shortest time possible.
Held for the 16th time at OneRafflesPlace this year, the 63-storey building is the tallest ever in history available for vertical marathons. Participants who finish their race will entitle themselves a free entry to the building s new rooftop garden this year where one can experience the panoramic view of Singapore s cosmopolitan central business district. The view from the top of One Raffles Place is truly breathtaking as it towers over the flyer and dwarfs the surrounding buildings. It is a really fresh and interesting experience and the rooftop garden is a great endpoint to have. Kudos to the organizers for a good job! commented participant Lim Hongyi, 23, a 3rd year undergraduate in NTU. This year, National Vertical Marathon 2010 organized by the NTU Sports Club, saw Mr. Gino Ng, a former national triathlete, winning the men s Open Category for the 10th time. Flagging off the race at One Raffles Place on Sunday morning was Mr. Seah Kian Peng, Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development, Youth and Sports. More than 2,000 participants turned up for the event, which is about 25 per cent higher than 2009 s attendance. If you have missed out on NVM 2010, well, look forward to the one in 2011 instead! SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
written by Ramona Koh
Join our Facebook group @ apps.facebook.com/blockup/ to find out more about our latest updates and events
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X-Physique 2010 X
text and pictures by Sean Lai
-Physique 2010 was a definite resounding Participants came from all walks of life to take part success. in teams of 2 or 3; there were categories for junior college, varsity students as well as members of Held on Sunday, 16th May 2010, the event began the general public. Different teams took and ended at *Scape Youth Park, right smack in different approaches to overcoming the middle of Singapore s busiest shopping belt obstacles; the ramp at the end took Orchard Road. 370 participants trailed across the various strategies for teams to island in a series of fun-filled sporting activities reach the top of it. Some people and general knowledge tests, beating last year s simply ran up the steep surface, record by over a hundred. but this tactic was possible for only a few. Other teams climbed The trail, which took about 4 hours for the onto each other s shoulders, fastest teams to complete, included archery, forming a human ladder to the obstacle courses, canoeing, abseiling, biking on top and then having the ones on a perilous route through steep and muddy hills, top to pull up the rest of the team. and culminated in a climb-up 60-degree sloping ramp, slick with water.
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events
I interviewed one of the teams, a bunch of smiling and sweating students in yellow t-shirts. Their team name was ODAC AGAIN , because they met each other through (needless to say) their co-curricular activity, Outdoor Adventure Club (or ODAC for short). They were repeat participants who also took part in X-Physique 2009. The biking trail was unexpectedly tough, Kent Ridge Park (where the trail was) is the place where professional bikes go. The trail as a whole was a lot of fun though. Shorter and deďŹ nitely more exciting than last year s said one of the members of ODAC AGAIN . For those of you who missed this year s X-Physique, do keep a look out for the next one in 2011, it ll (and I m sure it will) probably be even bigger and better than X-Physique 2010.
X-Physique: Xtreme, Xciting, Xperience It!
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events
BEERFEST ASIA 2010 pictures and text by Ko Chong Tat
pictures courtesy of Beerfest Asia
B
eer, Soccer and Girls ‒ what more than 200 different beers on offer at amazingly low prices at $3 per cup (yes can a guy simply ask for? you ve heard it right), it was a total beer Held in Singapore from 16th to 20th paradise. Plus, the many good-looking June 2010, Beerfest Asia s second stint models promoting beer for the various in Singapore was a rousing success vendors did bring up the atmosphere given its perfect coincidence with by a few notches. the 2010 World Cup. Credited to this success of the annual beer festival It was somewhat unfortunate that I were the three crucial elements: managed to go only on the last day: beer, soccer and girls. Further a $10 entrance fee entitled me to 2 complementing to this experience bottles of free beer - definitely worth were the live stage performance, more than what I paid for. Aside from games and the delectable food bazaar that, there was a beer auction segment that lined up alongside the beer whereby one can purchase cartons of booths. In short, there was something beer not available locally at attractive prices. The live stage performances for everyone to look forward to. were fantastic too, with bands like The giant screen live broadcast of the Goodfellas, Hell s Belles and of course, 2010 World Cup was a major factor that the crowd favourite, Achtung Baby contributed to the lively ambience. who wowed us with tunes from UK It certainly brought the house down rockband, U2. I must say that they when Switzerland stunned Spain in sounded totally like the original its opening games. Also, with more version.
For those who missed out on this event, fret not, the upcoming Oktoberfest promises as much fun (probably even more), minus the World Cup of course. Some beers that I personally would recommend would be Vale Ale from Australia and Somersby from Denmark. Vale Ale is somewhat similar to Hoegaarden but is less gassy and cloudy. Somersby is a fruity beer which will definitely appeal to most ladies. It is a good alternative to Kronenbourg 1664. With that, let us hope that Oktoberfest 2010 can emulate the highly successful Beerfest Asia 2010! See you there if you are going, because I m not gonna miss out on this one again!
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picture by Chua Yini
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Pack a Punch!
with Martial Arts. written by Mariam Hakeem
A
hh, the eternal debate: pirates or ninjas?
Here at here!, we d like to think that ninjas and their mastery of their martial art ninjitsu, win hands down with their cat-like agility and unmatched proficiency with a range of cool weapons. But maybe our alliance has been slightly swayed by the onslaught of martial arts-themed movies hitting the box office as of late: Ong-Bak, Ip Man, and The Karate Kid, just to name a few. (On a totally unrelated side note, did anyone notice that despite its name, The Karate Kid featured Kung Fu and not Karate? Hmm.) And admit it, at some point, you too imagined pulling off flying kicks without breaking a sweat or assuming a fighting stance in front of an adversary, feeling totally cool with the Oriental riff from 80 s staple Kung Fu Fighting playing in the background (just like in the movies). But with so many different types of martial arts out there, you re spoilt for choice and just not sure where to start and what to try. Fear not, here! s sports section is here to the rescue. You might be dying to try out Wing Chun, the martial art dramatized in Ip Man, after being wowed by the martial stylings of one Donnie Yen? Or perhaps you re more inclined to a sport closer to home, in the form of Muay Thai. This sport is as fiery and hot as Tom Yam, and packs twice the punch of regular kickboxing. Or maybe you ve been secretly jealous of your best friend who owns a black belt in Taekwondo, and you want to know what the fuss is about. Here! has the lowdown on all three martial arts slash sports, complete with interviews, inside peeks at the local scene and answers to the perennial questions of whether such activities are martial arts or sports (or maybe both?). And so, as a tribute of sorts to sagacious shriveled shifus who always seem to be able spout pearls of wisdom on cue, we at Here! s sports section leave you with some parting words of advice: in your quest to become Jackie Chan s successor, it s always important to keep yourself hydrated. In the immortal words of Bruce Lee, remember to drink lots of waa-taaaa!
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Usssss!
Taekwondo The Way of Kicking and Punching
written by Mariam Hakeem
I
don t know about the rest of you, but growing up there always seemed to be weekly Taekwondo practice session going on at almost every other HDB Multi-Purpose Hall or Community Club (then called Community Centres ). Little kids were running around in their little doboks , playing around until a ďŹ t, stern-looking senior barks out a single command, following which the said kids would
stand at attention in perfectly straight lines. Fast forward ten years, and the situation seems pretty much the same: Taekwondo is still big and one of Singapore s sports of choice. And it seems people around the world feel the same way. According to the Singapore Taekwondo Federation, Taekwondo is the fastest growing sport in the world. And according to Wikipedia, it is the world s most popular martial art in terms of the number of practitioners. But what exactly is Taekwondo?
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What is TKD ‒ martial art or sport?
T
aekwondo, or TKD, is a martial art that originated from Korea, where it is the national sport.
Training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks. These two different terms, martial art and sport confused me ‒ so was TKD a martial art or a sport? I asked Mark Wong, President of the NTU TKD Club, to share with us more. According to Mark, when TKD was first introduced to the South Korean army after the Japanese occupation, it was actually a martial art. However, over years of practice, it eventually evolved into a sport. There are some inherent differences between TKD as a sport and TKD as a martial art: Traditional TKD as a martial art • Teaches peace, suppression of aggression, self confidence and other moral values as a martial art • Teaches self defence and combat techniques as well
TKD as a sport • Focuses on and rewards aggression, unlike the martial art • Very systematic way of awarding points at a competition, with the presence of referees and judges in an arena • One can only hit certain parts of the body with certain techniques and styles
h!: Tell us about a high point in your TKD experience. M: I would say because NTU TKD is a high performance martial arts club, so every year we are focused on IVP performance…Which is medals, scoring… Because we are a competitive club. winning is one important. But we wanna reach out to as many people as possible as well, so we hold camps; One is Sparex where we actually teach students, who are not NTU students, how to spar because not many institutions do teach how to spar. The second one is what we call Ultimate Challenge, it s a 3 days 2 nights camp where we push our participants to the max. We also do demonstrations, which is the only way to entice people to join. All the wow stunts is what actually gets people to come back…
Zarifah
Mark
here!: Hi! Maybe you want to start off by introducing yourself? Mark: My name is Mark Wong, I m the current President of the 22nd Committee of NTU Taekwondo (TKD) Club. Going to 3rd year soon, Bioengineering. Zarifah: Hi! I m Zarifah, and I joined NTU TKD as a freshie. I m currently in NIE under the Degree programme, with History and English Literature as my teaching subjects. I will be going on to 2nd year this September.
h!: Why did you decide to join TKD in NTU? M: Personally I ve been practicing TKD for 8 years and I was from Ngee Ann Poly. Back then, among all the Unis and Polys in the IVPs, NTU TKD was the largest and the strongest TKD clubs, and it was one of the most well-known as well. I joined the training over here. I like the style and the manner of instruction, so after coming to NTU to study I decided to join the club. Z: Hmm, I joined because I believe self-defence is important for us girls, and because it looked like fun. even NIE clubs for that matter. For example, I am also in an NIE club, the NIE Green Club.
h!: What advice would you give to freshies who want to join NTU TKD next year? M: (pause) Join with an open mind and an open heart. Don t join with the misconception that oh it s all about fighting, it s all about being stronger than your opponent but rather it s about… Learning TKD as a path of life, improving every step of the way and knowing what you want to learn. NTU TKD welcomes all freshies, so come and see what you can learn from us and eventually you will find Z: Korean students actually came and joined us! It s really your path… fun. I also like TKD because it s a way to exercise and sweat. Z: As a beginner, I would say the seniors are h!: Zarifah, you re an NIE student. Do you think there is a very supportive and encouraging. Despite divide between NIE and NTU students in NTU CCAs? being very accomplished in the sport like Z: No lah, most of the time we forget that we are from NIE Mark here, they are very welcoming to and they are from NTU, there is no divide. In fact, there beginners like me. To freshies, I would say are some NIE people in NTU club EXCOs, even in TKD. NIE just come and join the trainings to try for freshies should definitely not hesitate to join NTU clubs, or yourself.
The NTU TKD Club has trainings every Tuesday and Friday evening, either at the Grandstand or in one of the Activity Rooms. Special thanks to: NTU Taekwondo Club Mark Wong (President) Zarifah Mohd Yusop
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Muay Thai M
text and pictures by Chua Yini
uay Thai is a fighting art of attrition and The versatility of these techniques is best encapsulated endurance, with opponents exchanging in a well-known Muay Thai saying: blows, alternately defending and attacking. Most Muay Thai techniques take advantage of the entire body, using the inertia of its sweeping movement to power the attack. The strength of the attack varies depending on the part of the body used and the skill of the fighter. The most common techniques include the punch(chok), elbow(Tee sok), knee(Tee kao) and kick(Tae). At higher levels, fighters use a repertoire of attacking techniques, with various styles of kicking, punching, elbow strikes and knee strikes.
Toy Sityodtong
Wong Su Yee Muay thai is fun! But it s a pretty vigorous sport so girls might want to give it a try before deciding to take it up on a regular basis.
Evolve Far East Square: 26 China Street, #01-01 Phone: 65 6536 4535
“Kick loses to punch, punch loses to knee, knee loses to elbow, elbow loses to kick.”
here! takes part in a Muay Thai trial lesson conducted at Evolve, coached by Muay Thai world champion Yoddecha Sityodtong and Muay Thai veteran Toy Sityodtong. Besides being oldest martial arts gym in Singapore, Evolve is also the largest overseas branch of the Sityodtong Gym in Thailand, offering authentic martial arts lessons, with Muay Thai coached by Thai professionals.
Kenneth Tan I feel that muay thai is something everyone can pick up, because it s not something that requires a lot of skill, just plenty of energy. A lot of the moves required us to stand on our toes, so a good sense of balance would help too!
Ang Yi Cheng Getting exposed to muay thai has been a really life-changing experience for me. I am the next world champion!
Evolve Pomo Mall 1 Selegie Road, #02-22 Phone: 65 6337 0082
Yoddecha Sityodtong
Email: info@evolve-mma.com
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Wing Chun
Chua Yini digs up the lowdown on Ip Man.
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More Than Donnie s The Real Fists of Fury Wing Chun T
here is no doubt that watching Donnie Yen sweat it out on screen as Ip Man, saving the day with cool, practiced ease (and a nonchalant expression) has inspired many to take up Wing Chun as a sport. Ip Man is an exercise in catharsis at its finest ‒ We fantasize ourselves to be in his shoes, battling obnoxious British colonialists for the sake of our Chinese glory and prevailing despite the crushing odds stacked up against us, conducting illicit underground marital arts lessons as a thumb-on-the-nose gesture against cruel Japanese conquerors and spineless opportunists, and finally living happily ever after with a beautiful wife and cute son. But the reality is that Wing Chun is more than the banal dramatization portrayed in the movies. While the movies have helped propel the sport into the mainstream, the hackneyed images of fighting and heroism on screen belie the true spirit of the martial art, which was born as a form of self-defense rather than as a tool of aggression. Here! shows you what Wing Chun is all about.
A
lthough Donnie Yen (the very symbol of Chinese manliness) is the modern poster boy of Wing Chun, legend has it that the martial art was actually conceived by a woman. The Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui of Shaolin, developed Wing Chun as a fighting style meant to counter the younger and stronger agents of the Imperial Court who had infiltrated the Shaolin Temple. During the Ching Dynasty, the Shaolin Temple acted as a refuge for the loyalists of the prior Ming Dynasty who sought to overthrow the Ching and restore the Ming , culminating in the destruction of the Temple and the massacre of its inhabitants by the Imperial Court. Ng Mui was able to escape from the attack, and her first disciple was said to be a young orphan girl named Yim Wing Chun, who used it to fight and defeat the local bully who tried to force her to marry him. Due to its roots in a rebel s cause to overthrow the Ching dynasty and to restore the Ming dynasty, Wing Chun is a martial arts system that was designed to be learnt in a short period of time of about 3 to 5 years. Specializing in close-range combat, Wing Chun is based on the concepts of simplicity, economy of movement, and economy of energy. It is a system that focuses on effectiveness rather than flourishes, with short, close-range punches and kicks aimed to take the opponent out in the quickest time possible. Compared to some of the other southern martial arts styles with numerous forms and weapons, the entirety of the Wing Chun system is captured in 6 forms and 2 groups of chi sau (sticky hands) sets. There are 3 empty hand forms, a wooden dummy form and 2 weapon forms.
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Conversations with a Master
师父
“If you want martial arts, go to a school, take classes. In movies it’s not a documentary, it’s not an instructional tape. In movies we take it to another level, we can exaggerate. It’s larger than life.” –Donnie Yen
it wasn t the Bruce Lee connection, more of because I ve read and heard about it. That s why I picked it up. I found that I took to it quite naturally, and so I started to love it.
h!: How is Wing Chun different from other martial arts? J: That would require an entire thesis about martial arts (laughs). But just to make it real simple, martial arts can be classified in different ways. You can classify them into hard arts and soft arts, external arts and internal arts, arts using aking Donnie Yen s advice, here! had a conversation hands or arts using legs. with Sifu Joel Lee of the Singapore Wing Tsun Training Centre about his personal experience with Wing Chun, the h!: Isn t Wing Chun a mixture of both (using arms and subtleties of the sport, and his opinions on Bruce Lee and legs)? J: Yes, but the classification is about its primary focus. the film Ip Man (yes, we didn t forget to ask). Shaolin is considered a very hard art, Taichi is considered A self-possessed, confident speaker with a refined as a soft art. Wing Chun is actually, in that continuum, demeanour, the Sifu is by profession an Associate Professor probably towards the centre, more towards the hard. So for with the NUS Faculty of Law and teaches Wing Chun in his example there are some schools of Wing Chun which are free time. He is a 5th generation disciple of Grandmaster Yip quite hard, but not as hard as Shaolin. Our school is actually Man and is presently a 6th Level Practician and Advanced more on the soft side, we re not as soft as Taichi, but we Instructor certified by the Wing Tsun Tam Hun Fan Martial- focus on the soft. Art Association. He has also been conferred a Level 6 degree by the World Organisation of Wushu and Kung Fu Masters. h!: So even within Wing Chun, there are different schools? J: Different schools, yes. We are not an internal art, we re an here!: Why did you choose Wing Chun, of all variety of external art. But because of the soft aspects (of Wing Chun) there are some internal aspects as well. martial arts? Joel: I picked it up in 1987, years ago. It was a matter of…you could call it fate, but that sounds too kua zhang h!: What do you mean by an internal and external art? (exaggerated). It was basically because I was looking for a J: External arts generally correspond with the harder arts. martial art to do, and I saw an advertisement in the papers [They] use external strength. Internal arts tend to focus for a Wing Chun school, so I joined it. I knew a little bit about on chi, flow, internal aspects of martial arts. As for hands Wing Chun before because I read books, stuff like that. At and legs, Wing Chun is more hands than legs, whereas that point I didn t know Bruce Lee practiced Wing Chun, so Taekwondo is more legs than hands. So it s a very rough
T
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Wing Chun is actually, in that continuum, probably towards the centre, more towards the hard ... we’re not as soft as Taichi, but we focus on the soft.
h!: In that case, how many Wing Chun schools are there in Singapore? J: My last count was around 8 to 9 schools, so there s quite a lot.
guess, there is no art that is completely either hands or legs. You can classify them into rough estimations, anything other than that would be an entire thesis explaining the history of martial arts…
h!: So around how many people are practicing Wing Chun? J: I couldn t estimate. I have about hundred enrolled students with me, [but] other schools are larger, some schools are smaller, so it s quite hard to estimate how many people are practicing it. But I can tell you that after Ip Man 1 and 2, everyone wants to be Donnie Yen.
h!: I guess that s comprehensive enough! So how has practicing Wing Chun benefited you? Why would you want to recommend it to other people? J: It depends, really. People practice martial arts for different reasons. People do it for self defense, fitness, self development, and for fighting. I m not in the context where I get into a lot of fights, I don t get into fights (laughs). From my perspective I learnt this as a form of self defense, and also as a form of discipline, self development. But different people learn it for very different reasons. We will train people in the art of Wing Chun first before showing them how to use it in a defensive situation. h!: So is Wing Chun suitable for everyone, or just a specific group of people especially? J: It s very suitable for everyone! We have students of different age groups. You saw the little kids training with us just now ‒ they re thirteen. We have people as old as 57 training with us. It s suitable for pretty much everyone; most of my demographics are working professionals like lawyers, bankers, pilots, students… h!: Following the release of Ip Man, has enrolment for your classes increased? J: Well, it s not enrolment that has increased; it s our wait list that has increased, because our classes are full. So for now, if there is anyone who is interested, we meet with them, and if we think they re suitable, they go onto our wait list. h!: Oh so before people can get onto the wait list, they still have to be assessed whether they re suitable… J: Yes. My co instructor, who is actually my wife, and I train in a way we think is suitable. We believe that Wing Chun is a very strong and powerful martial art; it can be quite vicious, but that s what makes it effective. But we don t want to teach it to just anyone because we don t want people to pick fights in pubs and bully people. We want to make sure that we teach this [Wing Chun] to the right people. So it s a little bit traditional, like in the old days when you search for a sifu, but the sifu has to be convinced as to your character and sincerity. It s not like any sport where you just pay me the money and I ll teach you. This is not my job. I don t need this for a living. So the bottom line is I do this because I want to transfer the art form, I believe in the art, I ve learnt the system, and I don t want it to die off.
h!: Right. So are there any differences between the Donnie Yen moves and the real Wing Chun? J: Donnie Yen s Ip Man is one of the first few shows about Wing Chun which is quite authentic, in terms of the Wing Chun moves. h!: There was this other show in the 1990s about Wing Chun too right? J: The Michelle Yeoh one. Let s just say that one exercised a fair bit of creative license! The problem with Wing Chun is that it s not nice to watch. You don t have high kicks, no flowery moves. So what happens is that when you make a movie out of it it s very boring. This is why whenever Bruce Lee did his shows he never used Wing Chun. Primarily he used his kicks. h!: No wonder Bruce Lee s moves look so different… J: Yes, but Bruce Lee learnt Wing Chun, and in fact when he fought people in real fights he used a lot of Wing Chun. But when he was on tv or movies he did flowery kicks, things like that. So Ip Man was really the first show where the Wing Chun was very authentic. They [the producers] used camera angles and all that to make the moves look more exciting. In reality, half the time, you can t see the moves. I would say that the Wing Chun in Ip Man 1 is probably about 95% authentic, but less so for Ip Man 2. h!: Any advice for aspiring Donnie Yens? J: If you are interested in learning Wing Chun or any martial art, it s important that you find out enough about it. Watching movies is not enough. You can find out more on the Internet, read up about it. Go visit the schools, watch a couple of trainings, watch trainings in different schools. And we would say, go watch. Watch for a few things ‒ watch for how the sifu interacts with the students, and also how the students interact with each other. Are they competitive? Do they fight, or do they help one another? Because different people look for different things, look for a different type of atmosphere. Some people like a disciplined atmosphere, or some sort of regimentation, some like informality, some like a joking, light-hearted atmosphere, it all depends. So go to a school. Watch for all these things and see what you re comfortable with. I think the most important thing is what are you comfortable with. Find an art that you want, and a sifu whose style you re comfortable with.
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FRESHIES VERSUS MOVIES W
hat do William Miller, Nick Twisp and you, the average freshie, have in common? Not much. While you were away waddling through mud and awkward introductions at orientation camps, one of them got to go on a road trip with the rock band Stillwater for his article with Rolling Stone, while the other burnt down a restaurant and drove his car off a cliff into a lake. Who the heck are these guys? Meet William Miller and Nick Twisp, the protagonists of the films Almost Famous (2000) and Youth in Revolt (2010). William Miller, played by newcomer Patrick Fugit, is a young aspiring journalist who wins the chance of a lifetime to tour with Stillwater while struggling to piece together an article about the band which will impress the editor of Rolling Stone. Along the way, he discovers sex, drugs and rock n roll. In Youth in Revolt, sex is mostly what Nick Twisp thinks about as he falls in love with the girl next door and does everything he can to impress her. Michael Cera, who plays Twisp, shines especially in this role, much like how he did in Juno. Both films essentially are telling comingof-age stories and we see this to a large degree in Almost Famous. The movie s most gripping element is its depiction of how the socially awkward William comes to grips with who he is and who he will become. In the process, he loses his virginity, rejects drugs, forms friendships and saves a life, things he could never have done under his mother s protective umbrella. While few of us have experienced what it s like to travel with a band on tour, almost everyone will be able to relate to the emotional and character-building challenges that William encounters. We all face them in one form or another, one day or every day. This is what makes Almost Famous so endearing and delightful to watch. Patrick Fugit, new to the movie scene at that time, was a casting risk taken by director Cameron Crowe. Thankfully the gamble paid off because despite his youth, Fugit inhabits his role almost as if he was made for it. He downplays it with such wide-eyed innocence and jubilation, and then later moves into a more mature portrayal of the character, befitting one who has seen what the outside world has to offer him. The
written by Rachel Lim supporting cast in this film puts up an equally strong performance, especially Kate Hudson who has several particularly memorable scenes. The movie moves along well in the first half but could have offered viewers a much more satisfying ending.
Speaking of wide-eyed awkwardness, Cera manages to score (yes you can take that literally too) in portraying Twisp with all his charming likeability in Youth in Revolt. Motivated by Sheeni Saunders, played by newcomer Portia Doubleday who is as beautiful as her name sounds, Twisp develops a bad-boy alter ego named Francois Dillinger. If this plot hasn t rung the Fight Club bell in your head yet, it should have. Hedonistic anarchy in its muted glory then ensues and is deftly developed, along with budding love and raging hormones. The comedy arises from how seriously the characters take themselves while we are baffled yet amused at their ridiculousness. Certain moments in the film are genuinely funny, but the script falls flat occasionally. Cera as an actor risks being typecasted with his constant choices to play the adorable nerd, especially after Nick & Norah s Infinite Playlist and Juno. The act gets old after a while and we long to see him in different roles. Come to think of it, you as the average freshie might have more in common with William Miller and Nick Twisp than you think. Take Miller s wide-eyed innocence and jubilation at leaving the overprotective folks at home to explore a whole new world on his own, the lengths Twisp goes to in order to impress the girl of his dreams and not forgetting all the raging hormones. Welcome to university, folks. We hope you enjoy your stay here.
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Pon De Floor!
written by Loo Hui Ping
Cosmogramma -
Flying Lotus
The album name came from a misheard phrase ( cosmic drama ) in an Alice Coltrane interview with Flying Lotus (FlyLo). Cosmogramma is exactly what its name offers 45 minutes of cosmic drama churned out mostly from his laptop and drum machine. Steven Ellison - the man behind the moniker - returns with a highly anticipated full-length release literally with a bang. Right from the opener Clock Catcher , the album sucks you into layers after layers of experimental hip-hop and eclectic samples like ping pong sounds and slowly descends into an abyss of blissed-out cosmic beats in closer Galaxy of Janaki . This album also features Thom Yorke on its highlight ...And The World Laughs With You with his compelling and haunting vocals while Laura Darlington returns to lend her sultry vocals to the aptly titled Table Tennis .
Lazerproof -
Major Lazer + La Roux
A Sufi and a Killer ‒ Gonjasufi This heavyweight full-length debut by Gonjasufi features big names like Flying Lotus and The Gaslamp Killer as producers. Gonjasufi s debut is a weirdly cohesive collection of experimental hip-hop, dubstep, folk and reggae. There is so much sampling and experimentation going on that it is hard to put a finger to what exactly the genre is, which makes it all the more entertaining. Gonjasufi s occasional vocals, like his music, fluctuates between soothing in Sheep and muffled screams in SuzieQ . This strangely compelling debut leaves one asking for more after the first listen.
Dust - Ellen Allien Berlin s queen of rave scene Ellen Allien returns with yet another original release that pushes the boundary of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) and techno bleeps. A major appeal of Ellen Allien s music is her unpredictability. Every new album reveals a different side of Allien s sharp compositions. Dust is neither a departure from her earlier collaboration with fellow label mate Apparat in Orchestra of Bubbles (2006) nor from her previous original release Stadtkind (2001). It is a nod to her love for minimalism and a farewell to her colourful days of Berlinette .
Get the best of both worlds in this lovely mash-up. Major Lazer (Diplo / Switch collaboration), having recently gained much popularity on the dancefloor with their reggaeinfused debut Guns Don t Kill People, Lazers Do returns for another delicious remix this time with popular English synthpop duo La Roux that gave us Bulletproof and In For The Kill . The result is one of electropop hits with a Jamaican hip-hop touch. Expect to hear this massive appeal on regular discos. This album is available as a free (yes you hear it right) download from the Mad Decent label website Slowdive was a popular English shoegazer pop band formed in 1989. It was part of the booming shoegaze at http://maddecent.bandcamp.com/album/lazerproof scene characterized by heavy use of effects pedals and psychedelic sounds in the early 90s before a slow diving (pardon the pun) into oblivion after being replaced by the Nirvana-popularized American grunge movement.
Rewind: Souvlaki -
Slowdive (1993)
Look forward to:
/\/\/\Y/\ - M.I.A. (July 2010)
The first song leaked, Born Free , garnered much controversy with the graphic and explicit music video about genocide of the red-headed boys. It got so bad that YouTube took it down from its domain - which begs the question of whether this video is too true to home. Back from a hiatus due to motherhood, M.I.A. obviously does not show any signs of slowing down. Known for her thoughtprovoking lyrics and brilliant remixes, M.I.A. s third album /\/\/\Y/\ (a typographical equivalent to M.I.A. s legal name - Maya) will be the one to look out for.
Nevertheless, it is an important, though albeit short-lived, genre in pop music history. Check out the cult favourite album of all-time Souvlaki which strikes a balance between noise and pop, with standout tracks like Alison and Souvlaki Space Station . With recent bands reinventing the sounds of shoegazing like M83 and local band I Am David Sparkle, this scene may just be revived in time to come.
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lifestyle
lifestyle
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28 here!
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Chinatown Malacca I
f you re looking for a quick getaway during the holidays just to chill out with friends or family, consider Malacca. This much-underrated Malaysian citystate offers one of the most casual, laissez faire backdrops which is perfect for a weekend stay. Aside from its rich historical past and intoxicating world of heritage architecture, there is a much softer and breezy side to this town. With its weekly night markets in the Chinatown district, gargantuan malls in the city centre and snazzy pubs that line Jonker Street, there is always something for everyone. In short, Malacca boasts as an affordable tourist destination.
Directions: • Take SBS bus 170 from the bus stop outside Kranji MRT Station to Larkin terminal in Johor - $1.20 • Grab a ticket from one of the many touting bus operators to Malacca ‒ $9.00 (it s a 3-hour ride by the way) • Once you ve reached Malacca Terminal, lift up one of your hand and hail a cab to Jonker Street ‒ $6.50 • Sort yourself out at one of the many hotels or hostels available throughout the city ‒ $18 ++ per night Grand Total: $34.70 (This is how cheap it is)
text and pictures by Mohammad Danial Hanafi
More about Jonker Street @ Chinatown Malacca One of the Must Do s when you are in Malacca has got to be traipsing down Jonker Street. Located at Jalan Hang Jebat, the street is also known as Jonker Walk and is most likely the first name to pop up when googling attractions in Malacca. In the day, Jonker Walk is a seemingly ordinary narrow antique street with countless shops showcasing artifacts from different periods of colonial rule. But stay in the city long enough (past 6 pm) and watch an almost surreal transformation of the street as traders, hawkers, peddlers and buskers sprout out of nowhere and line the alley with unique stalls putting up a million little things from savoury ethnic food to hand crafted souvenirs to local artistes apparels. This night market in the heart of Malacca s Chinatown is undeniably one of the most vibrant places in Malaysia. If you are into photography, this blindingly colourful street will be the best place to snap your Nikon, Canon or Sony DSLRs away, adding a psychedelic collection to your albums.
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BERRY MUCH G
et all berried up this summer with the juiciest and healthy benefits you can ever find in the berries you see around! (Oops, excluding the blackberry mobile phone on some of your hands of course!)
Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry! These are the common types of berries in the market. And of course, you don t just eat the flesh of these fruits! Try having some strawberry shortcake, blueberry pie, raspberry muffins or even a glass of vodka cranberry to get the party started! Common berries aside, have you ever heard of Boysenberries? What about Gooseberries (No, definitely NOT related to goosebumps or the non-literal light bulbs at all!), Salmonberries, Mulberries, or Chokeberries? There are as many different kinds of berries as they are to the different types of wild flowers! And the names - they aren t your usual cup of sure-fire clues to what these berries look like.
As with most exotic plants, a small number are dangerous to consume. So beware -berry nice doesn t necessarily mean berry safe! Keep yourselves extra far away from the Yew Berries and those creepy Doll s Eyes.
Yew Berries Take out the Y & there you go, EW! Don t be deceived by the pretty physical appearance of the berries.
Doll s Eyes They dont look much like berries, huh?
written by Valerie Gho Gooseberries They look humongous compared to the myriads of goosebumps you have on your skin.
Chokeberries Too big to get choked on? Some might even mistake them for cherries! Oops.
Salmonberries Any similarities between these berries and a slice of salmon fish? Nah, I don t think so.
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BERRY GOOD FOR YOU After seeing some of the unusual types of berries, now let s see how some of the berries are beneficial to us!
Blackberries Rich in vitamin C, definitely wise to spread some of these blackberry jam onto the slices of bread on your plate every morning!
Bilberries High in antioxidants and a definite booster to help sharpen your night vision! It is smaller than blueberries but fuller in taste. Have you tried the bilberry-flavoured yoghurt at Swirl Art?
BERRY DELICIOUS Awesome berry treats in Singapore this summer!
Bilberry-Flavoured Yoghurt Mix up your berry own yogurts - my favourite being the Bilberry & Green Apple mix! - at Swirl Art, 417 River Valley Road (near Spize)
Strawberry Shortcake Available at Bakerzin @ Jurong Point, North Point, Paragon, Wisma Atria, Suntec, Takashimaya Basement, Tampines One, UE Square, United Square and Vivocity
Blueberry Waffles Available at Happy Dough Cake Shop, Blk 94 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 and most neighbourhood bakeries.