Congrats to my “Other Teammates”!!!
Just learned that the Juntendo University Gymnastics team won their collegiate championships in Japan. I was very thrilled to hear about it because they have been training really hard for that championship.
Definitely proud given that I trained with them for a couple of months during my study abroad program.
Congrats to the Juntendo Gym Team!
Team Pic with the Team (almost 2 years ago)!
Go Time!
I can’t believe that USA Championships is already next week! It’s honestly been a long time since I’ve felt the time move this quickly. I think a huge part of this has to do with the fact that I’ve been very busy outside of the gym. Training has been going well but I’ve also been putting a lot of my attention towards my work at the start-up company when I haven’t been in the gym. All in all, the balance has been a healthy one and the two have been complimenting each other very well. I’m sure that if I wasn’t working, that my time would be moving at a much slower pace! My typical day goes like this:
- wake up
- eat breakfast
- work
- eat lunch
- back to work for a few (some days I’ll go off to my physical therapist to get some treatment)
- drive to gym (takes about an hour)
- train
- come back home
- eat dinner
- back to work to finish up whatever is left
- sleep
Yes, my schedule isn’t very flashy but it sure does keep me busy. I’m definitely very excited for the meet next week though. The last I competed was in February for the Winter Cup Challenge so it’ll be fun to be able to go the competition floor again. I’ve been training hard so this’ll be a great opportunity to go put on a performance. Can’t wait! Hope the weather in Minnesota is nice though.
Finding that Balance!
Huge apologies for the lack of updates recently! Although I’ve been telling myself that I’ll get on and write a new post, with all that’s been going on recently, it’s been getting placed on the back-burner.
With USA Championships coming up in about a month or so, my training has gotten quite a bit more intense. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been focusing on putting together the routines that I’ll be performing at the national championships. There are of course some challenges with putting together new routines with added difficulties, but I’ve been making sure to take things one step at a time and trusting that my training will get me to the next level.
I will however admit that it’s been tough training in the summer heat lately. Although it rarely gets that hot in Northern California, there are a few days out of the year when you feel like you could just melt. The tough part is that most gyms in this area do not have A/Cs. Luckily it’s been cooling down a bit and I’m hoping that this trend continues. One of these days I’ll appreciate the summer heat when I’m no longer training long hours in a closed gym!
Lately I’ve been busy outside of the gym as well. My work load at the start-up firm I work at has increased a good amount but it’s been interesting to learn about what it takes to grow a company. All in all, I’ve found that the combination of work and training has provided me with a good balance in life!
Congrats Kevin!
It’s about a week too late but last weekend, I attended my friend (and 2008 Olympian), Kevin Tan’s wedding party. His actual wedding was held in Pennsylvania where he currently coaches and attended college, but he had a reception party-type thing over in the Bay Area where he grew up. Congrats to Kevin and Jessie and I wanted to wish them a bright future together!
Huge congrats to Kevin and Jessie!
New Promo Vid for the World Championships
Looks like my buddy, Fabian Hambuechen, from Germany recently went over to Japan to promote the World Championships to be held there later this year!
Just wanted to share that video today.
Again, I’m glad that the competition is going to stay in Japan! This will be a great thing for the country that had to endure so much earlier this year. Speaking of Worlds and Japan, the Japanese team was just selected over the weekend. All I can say is that once again, they’ll be one of top teams along with China. I have some personal friends on the Japanese team so I’m training hard to get myself on the US team so that I’ll be able to compete against them in October. The American team will be selected in August.
Another One for the Card
It was another successful year for Stanford Athletics! Wanted to say a quick congrats to the University for once again winning the Director’s Cup. The Director’s Cup is awarded to the college with the best overall athletic program (they tally up the points for all sports at each of their the national championships), and this is Stanford’s 17th straight!
Director's Cup!
Even though I graduated a couple of years ago, I’ve been following Stanford athletics pretty closely, and it’s great to see that the excellence is continuing!
Check out the article here.
Thanks for the Contribution!
Wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone that contributed and donated to the Japan Relief Fund! After doing some fundraisers at this year’s Norcal State Championships, Region 1 Championships, and various clinics, I was able to collect a total of $550.76!
The other day, I found this in the mail.
Thank you letter from the Consul General of Japan
It was a thank you card from the Consulate General of Japan, and said that the money will be sent to the Japanese Red Cross. I know that it’ll take time, but I hope that they’ll be able to rebuild quickly and for the people that were affected to be able to return to their normal lives again. The Japanese are a resilient group of people. And, with the help of people around the world, I’m sure that they’ll be back stronger than ever before. Go Japan!
Crazy Times
The last couple of weeks have been slightly crazy. On the gymnastics side, I’ve been continuing to raise the intensity and pushing to get stronger. With some big competitions coming up, now is the time to push myself to get to that next level. However, it’s important that I do so in a smart manner. Despite telling myself that, I had a minor accident the other day when I slipped off of the horse and jammed my knuckle into the equipment. I kept telling myself to be extra careful as I was feeling fatigued, but unfortunately it happened. Sometimes these things are unavoidable, especially as athletes, we are always pushing ourselves to the limit. Luckily I walked away with a bruised/jammed knuckle and nothing more. I’ll most likely play it easy for the next couple of days but I’m glad that it wasn’t anything more serious.
On the work end, I’ve started a new position! I’m still working for the same company but now I have a different title, which means I also have s0me different responsibilities. Definitely glad that I’m able to switch things up a bit! Although managing time between training and work can be slightly difficult at times, it’s really nothing I can’t handle. When I look back to my college days, things were much tougher, especially when I was taking an upward of 16+ units a quarter.
Despite the busy-ness, I feel that having work outside of gymnastics is a good thing. I believe that a good balance with anything is important, and this is no different!
The Votes are In..
…and this year’s World Championships will continue to be in Tokyo!
After discussing the post earthquake/tsunami condition in Japan, the FIG finally decided that it would be safe enough for the Japanese Gymnastics Association to continue and host the World Championships in October.
Frankly, I would’ve been pretty upset if the competition got handed to a different country. From what I’ve heard from friends and relatives in Japan, there is currently nothing wrong in Tokyo. People are going about their daily lives and no radiation effects are present in that part of the country.
I’m glad that Japan will be able to play host to the World Championships. It’ll be a great morale booster for the Japanese people, especially after what they’ve been having to deal with over the last couple of months.
I’m currently busting my tail with the hopes of being part of the US team!
2011 Worlds in Japan!
By the way, I found the above picture to be funny. I first saw it on my friend’s facebook page. The funny part about it is that it shows the Golden Pavilion which is located in Kyoto, a city that takes several hours to get to from Tokyo even by riding the bullet train. It’s almost like showing the Statue of Liberty for a competition that’s going to be held in San Francisco 
Ten Inch Beam?
I know that some of the stuff that they show on ABC Family’s Make It or Break It isn’t completely accurate and doesn’t depict the true nature of gymnastics, but I found this one to be pretty ridiculous.
One of my friends this out. In one of the scenes, a girl is seen performing on a ridiculously wide beam. My eyes could be playing tricks on me (the girl could’ve had ridiculous small feet) because the picture itself is pretty small, but if it is in fact a wider-than-normal beam, then the camera shouldn’t have focused on her feet.
10-Inch Beam!
What do you guys think?
