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I used to think that sports is a thing you do upgrade your stress threshold. I was wrong. That’s exercise. Sports is a whole different thing of beauty. I have been doing thing all wrong.
About almost five months ago I got a badminton invite. Since one of my 2010 resolution was ‘socialize more’, and it was October and have to meet some quota, I took up the offer and have been playing along for a while. That was the first time I found out that I am not bad at sports. I suck with perfection (from my choice of words you will be able to judge how badminton-illiterate I really am).
I have always thought that badminton court was just a small box. It wasn’t going to be hard to guard. I could do that myself. I couldn't be more wrong. It never occurred to me that there is such a thing as standing at the right vs. wrong spot. I consistently give ways for my opponent to make me sprint across my side of the court just to get my racket to tip the cock just a little bit. And the shuttlecock, I thought it was just a light thingie to bash over the net. It is indeed bashable, but toward me, seldom by me. I’m so easy of opponent, I always have to twirl my way to the cock because it is always going to a vacant side (and I allow quite of space of those). I never thought it could make me very busy.
But these people that I play with: They understand where to stand and be ready moment after moment. When they talked me the play-by-plays, I my brain just went overdrive. I understand completely what they’re saying, but those instructions require complex, high-speed, real-time motor processing which I’m probably unequipped for. Even after months of trainings.
On a double match, partners plan their attacks, predict defenses, share equal grounds to cover, manage their power releases, keep their partners optimistic. For the whole ordeal, score after score, they have only few seconds. They coordinate themselves without so much as a word. If they do, they chose their words with conciseness, brevity, and without offense (well, most of the time). That’s hard core multitasking. That’s social skill at the speed of thought. To act out those instructions myself I would need three seconds delay. That is, by the way, a complete unfit request. By then I would have already lost a point and disappoint my partner.
These people measure themselves, their matches, and get ideas on how the game will play out. Will they be competitive? Will there be more offenses or defenses on their sides? Will they be facilitative or deceptive?
Here is my favorite part: how much jokes they will throw on the court? They will be fouls, countless of them. That’s where you get scores. You make your opponents err as many times as you can. It’s either theirs or yours. It’s amazing how they laugh the hell out those. In televised sports event they call the encounter of two parties a match. In our court, we call them games. That’s how they can afford the amount of laughs on the court. Those errors aren't faults, they are bloopers. For that, they laugh when they win, and they laugh when they lose. In comedy, jokes crack us up for their element of surprises and their degree of reality -distortion. That’s exactly what they bloop around on the playfields. They crack them up and make them come for more the next week.
Last thing. When these friends gather around, 80% of their talks are soccer. They describe matches, analyze them, commenting on the transfers and the politics of it. This is where I’m drawing some serious line. At least for now. Who knows. Maybe resolution for 2015.
.
I used to think that sports is a thing you do upgrade your stress threshold. I was wrong. That’s exercise. Sports is a whole different thing of beauty. I have been doing thing all wrong.
About almost five months ago I got a badminton invite. Since one of my 2010 resolution was ‘socialize more’, and it was October and have to meet some quota, I took up the offer and have been playing along for a while. That was the first time I found out that I am not bad at sports. I suck with perfection (from my choice of words you will be able to judge how badminton-illiterate I really am).
I have always thought that badminton court was just a small box. It wasn’t going to be hard to guard. I could do that myself. I couldn't be more wrong. It never occurred to me that there is such a thing as standing at the right vs. wrong spot. I consistently give ways for my opponent to make me sprint across my side of the court just to get my racket to tip the cock just a little bit. And the shuttlecock, I thought it was just a light thingie to bash over the net. It is indeed bashable, but toward me, seldom by me. I’m so easy of opponent, I always have to twirl my way to the cock because it is always going to a vacant side (and I allow quite of space of those). I never thought it could make me very busy.
But these people that I play with: They understand where to stand and be ready moment after moment. When they talked me the play-by-plays, I my brain just went overdrive. I understand completely what they’re saying, but those instructions require complex, high-speed, real-time motor processing which I’m probably unequipped for. Even after months of trainings.
On a double match, partners plan their attacks, predict defenses, share equal grounds to cover, manage their power releases, keep their partners optimistic. For the whole ordeal, score after score, they have only few seconds. They coordinate themselves without so much as a word. If they do, they chose their words with conciseness, brevity, and without offense (well, most of the time). That’s hard core multitasking. That’s social skill at the speed of thought. To act out those instructions myself I would need three seconds delay. That is, by the way, a complete unfit request. By then I would have already lost a point and disappoint my partner.
These people measure themselves, their matches, and get ideas on how the game will play out. Will they be competitive? Will there be more offenses or defenses on their sides? Will they be facilitative or deceptive?
Here is my favorite part: how much jokes they will throw on the court? They will be fouls, countless of them. That’s where you get scores. You make your opponents err as many times as you can. It’s either theirs or yours. It’s amazing how they laugh the hell out those. In televised sports event they call the encounter of two parties a match. In our court, we call them games. That’s how they can afford the amount of laughs on the court. Those errors aren't faults, they are bloopers. For that, they laugh when they win, and they laugh when they lose. In comedy, jokes crack us up for their element of surprises and their degree of reality -distortion. That’s exactly what they bloop around on the playfields. They crack them up and make them come for more the next week.
Last thing. When these friends gather around, 80% of their talks are soccer. They describe matches, analyze them, commenting on the transfers and the politics of it. This is where I’m drawing some serious line. At least for now. Who knows. Maybe resolution for 2015.
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