Kung Fu Swim

I am sure you have heard of Kung fu Soccer made popular by Stephen Chow, the actor which was a hit many years ago. Have you heard or seen Kung fu Swim then?

I certainly have and the star of this unique style of swimming is none other than our boy, Ryan Looi. Yes, he loves swimming and he adores kung fu, the fist fights and the kicks. And the best moment he enjoyed the most during his twice a week swimming lessons with his coach Mr Lee, are towards the end of the session where he gets to play and have fun with his coach.

Look mommy, I am flying .....

At the end of each session, his coach will reward him by tossing him high into the air and letting him do his stunt before splashing into the water. He is quite a sensation, I must say at the swimming pool each time, they do this because, many parents would be staring in disbelief and and marveled at how agile and daring this tiny little boy is, having no fear, as it were of the water or the height.

The Eagle stance flying through the air ...

The Bruce Lee's high kick ....

Just a couple of days ago, I took him for his usual swimming lessons. We were a little early. His trainer was still teaching another kid. The moment, Ryan changed into his swimming costume, put on his cap and goggle and the next thing he did, was jumped straight into the deep end without any hesitation.

Jumping into the pool with style ...

There was another mommy who was there watching his daughter swim, and I could see her mouth gasped as she pointed at Ryan. I could see her disbelief and concern, I am sure, thinking that Ryan was reckless. Then I can see that her facial expression turned into one of envy the moment Ryan's head popped up from the water and started his first breaststroke lap.

She came over later and asked if Ryan was our son and how old he is and how long he has been swimming. 

Words cannot described how proud we were, when we happily declared that he is and he is only 5. 

Swimming like a Fish

Although Ryan has always wanted me to stay through his hourly swimming lesson, I have often opted not to, because the indoor swimming pool tends to get rather stuffy and hot (even in winter) since the pools are heated and I always ended up with a splitting headache after staying there for 30 minutes.

Ryan doing a backward flip into the pool for me to take this picture...

He was his usual self, asking us to stay behind after dropping him off at the pool for his lessons. Since my wife and Chenya came along, we decided to stay to watch his progress. After all, this would be his 58th hourly lesson since we started him off one year ago with Mr Lee, his coach. We knew that Ryan has learnt much and came a long way but seeing him swim that evening was simply awesome.

The moment he changed into his swimming suit and had his cap on, he jumped right into the adult pool. His coach was already there waiting for him. He put Ryan through some simple warm up exercises in the pool and then sent him off to practice his breaststroke, which was the very first swimming style that Ryan learnt.

Ryan coming up for air as he did his breaststroke ...

I sat there, watching him swimming from end to end of the pool, each lap measuring 50 meters. Ryan is a small size boy and it is rather cute to see his tiny frame floating across the pool with his tiny head, popping up every so often for catch his breath before it disappeared again into the water ...

I started to count the number of laps that he is doing while his coach urges him on, screaming instructions and corrections, to make sure that his technique is right. Second, third, fourth, fifth and so on. I started to realize that the coach is now not just ensuring that Ryan knows how to swim but having the right technique to swim the breaststroke to maximize speed, as if he was being trained for Olympics. To my disbelief, he actually swam TEN laps of 50 meters each continuously without stopping. That was an amazing 500 METERS for a 5 years old boy. I can't even do three continuously but then again, I can't swim!

Then, after a short breather, he was put through his paces with his free style and then his backstroke, all of which he demonstrated with such ease and little difficulties.

Ryan doing his freestyle ....

Ryan doing his backstroke ....

It has always been our dream to see our son swim like a fish and whenever we see a child swim the entire length of the pool, we wish that Ryan could do the same. Sitting there, that evening, I realized that our dream has been realized. There he was, swimming the entire length of the pool, not once but ten times, and not just in one style but three.

Finally, the coach took Ryan through his paces on his most current technique, the butterfly. Although his timing and his coordination is still not exactly right, I can see his determination to learn and to master it and that was exactly, what his coach sees too.

"He is a very determined child. He does not have the physical strength but his mental strength is amazing." Lee shared with us.

Ryan with his coach whom he adores....Lee

Well, Ryan, as parents, we believed that this is one of the best gift that we have given you, apart from all the toys that you have been receiving...the skill to swim like a fish, a skill that will last a lifetime, a skill that we hope will strengthen your self confidence.

42 seconds

Ryan finally completed his first 36 hours of swimming lessons with his coach yesterday and he is on to the next 36 hours that we have signed up.

Over the last couple of months, from not knowing how to swim, he has made tremendous progress that we can only be proud of. For one, as I have posted earlier, we had registered him in a swimming competition 2 months ago, and he did his first 100 meters breaststroke in an impressive 2 minutes 22 second (1 minute 11 seconds for 50 meters). That was not his best time then as he has done 55 seconds for 50 meters before during his lessons.

From then, the coach has also started him on freestyle. 

With the completion of the first 36 hours of lessons, his best time for 50 meters breaststroke is 48 seconds while he did an impressive 42 seconds for his 50 meters freestyle.

Not bad for a 5 year old boy considering that both his mommy and daddy are NOT good swimmers at all.

The lessons have not only taught him a lifetime skill set but also the encouragement given by his coach and his determination to do better, has motivated him to eat better and develop a keen interest in food and building more muscles, so that he can swim better and `fight' better in his weekly kungfu classes. (More on that in the future)

We are proud of you son...Keep it up. Soon, we hope to see you doing butterfly too .....:)

First 100 meters breaststroke Competition

We have been wanting to registered Ryan for some formal swimming lessons even when we were back home in Malaysia but unfortunately, either they said that he was too young or they could not find enough young children to be grouped together to start  a class or the venue was simply too far from where we stayed.

Hence, we we arrived in Beijing, we made sure that the apartment that we stayed has a club house with good swimming facilities and Park Avenue seemed to be the perfect fit. They have a bright Olympic size pool with good trainers and training program. We wasted no time in enrolling both Ryan and Chenya for 36 hours of private lessons each (with an option that the total combined 72 hours can be used by either one). It was rather painful (financially) when it came to making payment as it cost us something like RM7000 each. The only consolation is that the lessons are hourly one on one basis by a professional well trained coach whose credentials include being one of the National Swimming coaches, among others. Lee, was exceptionally good with children and having a son of just one year old (swimming like a fish) truly helps him in understanding how to motivate and encourage little ones to learn and have fun at the same time.

We certainly have seen how fast Ryan, who already loves the water even when he was one year old, learnt and progressed.

The biggest milestone and challenge was when after just 27 hours of lessons, he was asked to take part in the recent swimming competition held by the club. We were not sure but his coach has full confidence that the competition will do him good. So, we went ahead to registered him under the 5-6 years old category (since he will turned 5 by the date of the competition).

To our surprise and horror to an extend, we found out that he was actually registered in the 100 meters (2 laps of 50 meters) breast stroke in the 5-6 years category. His trainer as usual was full of confidence and told us not to worry. When his turn came, his coach came over and simply told him to swim his heart out and that there is nothing to worry about. Ryan simply smiled and got into the water. 

He was the youngest and simply the smallest in size among all the competitors. When the whistle went off, he just kicked away. Everyone was cheering. He started strongly and for the first 25 meters, he was neck to neck but clearly we could see him tiring as he approached the 50 meters mark. Our biggest concern was NOT for him to win. All we wanted was for him to finish the race no matter what because that would boost his confidence level and motivate him even further, knowing that if he put his heart into it, nothing is IMPOSSIBLE.

I can see the determination in his face as he surfaced each time to take a deep breath before pushing himself for another couple of strokes. By the time he made the turn, the others were already half way back. He kept on nevertheless, pushing and puffing. The entire crowd was cheering and clapping to urge him to go on.

When he touched the wall of the pool, everyone cheered. He DID IT! In 2 minutes and 22 seconds, Ryan completed his first 100 meters breast stroke competition. This was definitely NOT his best time as he has clocked 55 seconds for 50 meters before, according to his trainer but THAT is NOT important to us. We are the proudest parent there, because at the tender age of 5 years old, after merely 27 hours of lessons, our son COMPLETED his very FIRST SWIMMING COMPETITION!

The trainer came over and said “He might not have the physical strength but what he has is far more important, mental strength and determination.”

We could not be happier! Well done Ryan. When you read back this post when you are older, always remembers, NEVER QUIT nor GIVE UP in whatever quests you undertake. Just like your first 100 meters, with every stroke and every puff, you are getting nearer to your finishing line and everyone, especially your mommy and daddy will always be there to cheer you on! GO GO GO!