Trying to Get Ahead
Apologies for the lack of updates! I think a big part of it has to do with the fact that with USA Championships coming up, I’ve been focusing extra hard on my training but on my outside work as well. Knowing that I’ll be pretty much away the entire week for the competition, I’m trying my best to get ahead and complete the work that I would otherwise be doing that week. That way, I’ll be able to put my full focus on the meet itself. Honestly, I thought life after college was going to ease up a bit. I definitely thought wrong…
While college was difficult in its own way, especially the combination of training and having a full schedule of academics, I now have a ton of other responsibilities that I never had to worry about while I was a student. Supporting myself through my three-part time jobs and dealing with the projects that come with it is one thing. I also never thought that monitoring my own meals would be this difficult! The hardest part is cooking after being beat from training that day. Man, was I spoiled during my college days. Dinner was always waiting for me in the dining hall!
Despite all this, I’m enjoying the ride. I’m learning a lot through the entire process.
On an unrelated note, I got asked to be a presenter at a regional gymnastics congress next month. I’ve never given hour-long presentations on techniques for specific skills so it’ll be interesting. But then again, how hard can it be? I live, eat, and sleep gymnastics!
Bye Bye Grips
The other day during one of my ring routines, I swung down to go for my dismount and boom! Lights out, my hand slipped right off the rings and I went through a side-winder/bucking bronco flip straight to my back. Honestly I couldn’t figure out what had happened until I looked down at my hands and saw that my left grip had torn right as I had gone to do the dismount. Yikes…
For those of you who are unfamiliar, gymnasts use a special hand guard made out of leather that not only helps us grip onto things but to also protect our hands from getting torn up while we swing on the rings and the high bar. Every once in a while, accidents do happen and they can tear after you’ve worn them out. Generally, they last for a couple of months. That said, it’s unacceptable when they tear on the second day of using them. Yup, that’s right. I tore them just after two days…
My two-day old ring grips
However, it seems like this has been an issue everywhere. My teammates at Stanford have experienced the same thing, and some friends in Japan have had similar accidents. If it was just a one time thing, it wouldn’t be such a big problem, but if they’re tearing after only a couple of turns in gyms all over the world, then there is a problem. It’s not only expensive to replace them, but there’s also a big safety issue involved. Can’t tell ya if it’s the mad cow disease that’s making the leather all weak but this needs to be fixed ASAP!
Gettin’ Through It
Hard training days aren’t all that bad when your body’s feelin’ fresh and you’re ready to go. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. As an athlete, you’re always dealing with sore here, or sore there, and it’s a constant battle between yourself.
However, getting through these workouts when you’re not “feelin’ it” is more meaningful than those workouts you go through when you feel good. After all, more often than not, you enter a competition not feeling 100%. What better way to simulate this than push through these workouts?
Anyway, I woke up this morning completely beaten up from the training the day before. It was one of those days when I had to “roll out” of bed. What made it worse was the instant I woke up, the first thing that went through my mind was that I’d have to go through another heavy training plan again. Went to the gym, and whatdayaknow, my body felt super heavy! Thing is, rather than loathing about it, I always like to takes these days as a fun challenge. An opportunity to see how much I could do while not feeling all that great. Crazy thing is, one little switch on how you look at things can change a whole lot. The mind is a powerful thing. Despite some minor mistakes, I was able to get through the hard training!
Tomorrow is finally a lighter day. I’ll be getting my knee checked out again by the trainer. Believe it or not, it hasn’t even been a year since I had the surgery to repair this knee. There are some days that are more sore than others but I’m happy with the way things have been progressing!
Champions Camp
It was a hectic week both in and out of the gym, but somehow I managed to get all of my assignments done! Not only was it a hard training week but I had my normal work to get done for my part-time jobs, and on top of all of that, our gym held a boy’s camp (that was the fun part!).
It was exciting to see a bunch of the local kids get together and train under the same roof. While summer is generally the busiest time for elite gymnasts because of all of the big competitions that are held during this time of the year, kids in the US use this time to train new skills and develop strength for the competitive season that starts in January. Everyone worked super hard and it was fun to see the improvements that happened all across the gym. I know from experience that getting advice from a different coach can make a big difference even though they might be saying the same exact thing that you hear everyday from your personal coach. Hearing the same thing over and over from the same coach can have a numbing effect, which is one of the reasons why these camps can be so effective.
Champions Camp!
I’m totally excited to see these kids again when their competitive season starts up again in January.
Well, my work week is over…well almost. Tomorrow, I’m heading up north to a gym that’s about two hours to run a clinic. I wouldn’t offically call this work though because I enjoy working with new gymnasts. I’ve never been up to their gym but I’m looking forward to seeing everyone up there!
Help Support UC Berkeley Men’s Gymnastics!
For those of you who haven’t heard, the latest buzz in the gym world (at least in the US) is that the UC Berkeley’s Men’s Gymnastics team is on the chopping block and is in jeopardy of losing their program.
A lot of this has to do with the budget cuts going on in the UC system. Whatever the reason, losing Cal will definitely hurt NCAA gymnastics and USA Gymnastics as whole.
Cal Men's Gymnastics Team
Cal is one of Stanford’s main competitors during the regular season because of proximity. If Cal gets cut, Stanford will definitely take a huge hit as we’ll be forced to travel out of the state every single time we need to compete (the only two schools with a men’s gymnastics program that’s left in California are Stanford and Cal). When that happens, the closest team will be Air Force in Colorado, and that’s pretty darn far! More importantly, it’ll mean a mean a huge financial strain on Stanford.
There’s less than 20 men’s teams left in the NCAA. Considering how great their program has been doing on a national level, we cannot let Cal drop it’s program.
I’m hoping that Cal pulls through! Please spread the word and if possible write a personalized letter/donate at the following website: Cal Gymnastics Forever
Even though I’m a Stanford alum, I’m pulling for Cal for now!
Summer Time!
It’s warm outside, the days are longer, and everyone’s released from school. What does this mean? It’s officially summer time! Not that this really matters to me all that much because I’ve been out of school for a while but the summer time always makes me a bit more happy. But then again, I personally feel that summer is the worst time for indoor sports. Not only because I want to be outside more than I want to be inside, but the gyms get ridiculously hot during this time of the year.
Generally, gyms in northern California don’t have A/C units because the hot season doesn’t last for all that long. But when it does get hot, it gets pretty darn hot. And the worst part about all of this is that gymnasts train on equipments that are rather high, and we also know that heat naturally rise to the top. Put two and two together and you realize that it gets pretty steamy while we train. Anyway, enough with the bad stuff.
Pic on rings
Onto something good…last week I had an opportunity to talk to a columnist, Patty Fisher, at the San Jose Mercury. She ended up writing a piece on me, my life, and goal in gymnastics. Here is a direct link to it: San Jose Mercury Article
Just wanted to say a quick thanks Patty for the article and to all the people for the support. I’m an incredibly lucky guy to have so many people around to help me along in this journey. Next step is USA Championships. It’ll be my first competition back in over a year so naturally I’m getting a bit anxious. Doesn’t do me any good to worry though. I have to focus on the present and make sure I deal with whatever I can control in the “now.” One step at a time!
Finally Got That Piece ‘O Paper
After a ton of miscommunication, meetings with administrators, and 5 1/2 years worth of classes, I finally got my diploma today! It was a long time running, and there were definitely some frustrating points, but I’m finally finished and I’m thankful for all the friends and family that supported me over these years. The reason it took so long was not because I was failing classes…instead it was because there were a ton of classes that I couldn’t take during the normal scheduled time due to my training and all the traveling I was doing to compete for Stanford as well as the US National Team. On top of that, I was finishing up two degrees.
Done!
Although I was officially done with my studies during the winter, I never got that sense of being completely finished because I had to wait on getting the diploma until l now (I believe they only print it during the fall and the summer, and I had missed the fall deadline). Today, I walked into the registrar’s office to pick it up. No waiting because I was first in line! Didn’t go through all the graduation ceremonies because I took part in it in ’08 when I was officially supposed to graduate.
Below are some random pictures I took of the Stanford campus. Lots of good memories!
Throwin' up the peace sign
Memorial Church
The clock tower and Hoover tower in the background
Some grad ceremonies!
Good Luck to Everyone Competing at All Japan!
All Japan Championships takes place this weekend in Tokyo.
I just checked out the roster and saw that a bunch of my friends are competing, including the ones that I trained with while I was at Juntendo University.
Me and some of the guys I trained with while I was in Japan!
Good luck to everyone that’s competing this weekend!
Thanks Feriagrafix!
Wanted to give a quick thanks to Ben and Renee Feria of Feragrafix for creating a cool watercolor painting for me.
Painting Created by Feriagrafix
They surprised me with their project and delivered it to me while I was down in SoCal for the regional championships (they’re based out of San Diego).
Ben works as a photographer at big gym meets including the Stanford Open. He usually creates montages out of the pictures and at times will do some watercolor painting. Check out his website here.
Thanks again!
Camp Underway
Every time I come out to the OTC, it feels like coming home. I guess I’ve only lived here for two years and spent my senior year at a local high school 
The Olympic Rings!
Although I’m not fond of the cold weather, it’s always great coming out here because not only do I get to see some familiar faces, but I get to train with the guys on the national team. It’s always quality training because it’s motivating to see how much everyone has improved and we feed off of the energy that’s in the gym. The last time I was out here was last year, which was right before Japan Cup. There’s one more day of training and we’re all excited about finishing this strong! Check out some random photos I took below:
The Athlete Center: This is where we check in whenever we come for camps. Most of the resident athletes live there and there's also a huge cafeteria inside.
The Cafeteria: The greatest thing is having food waiting for you right after training!
Yup, the OTC is right by the Rockies. If you look closely enough, there's vertical line on of the mountains. That's actually an old cog trail that broke down a while ago which people now use to climb for training. AKA The Incline, it's one mile of sheer uphill up the old railroad. We used to do it for x-training when I lived here.
Sherry, The OTC Mom. Awesome lady! Unfortunately, I don't know her official title, but I know she does a lot to make sure this place is running smoothly. We all know her as the "Mom" of the OTC though. If you need something or someone to talk to, you go to Sherry!
