Human pyramid at La Salle Peel Road, circa 1967.
I grew up with a group of like-minded schoolmates who were, and still are, enamoured by the grace, swashbuckling style and power of gymnastics in our primary and secondary school years.
We had regular practices three times a week after school and sometimes even on Sundays. Some worried parents were concerned that the long and rigorous training might affect our studies adversely. However, in hindsight, most of us could study better after the training. Shutting out all distractions during workouts before turning to books increased our concentration power.
The gym mats we trained on were not made of sophisticated material but plain coconut husks, delicately handmade by traditional mattress makers. Individual rectangular-shaped mats had to be joined the old-fashioned way into an elongated patch for us to do continuous exercises. These included forward and backward rolls, hand springs, cartwheels, front somersaults, fly springs, back handsprings and other higher-level exercises.
Accidents were not uncommon. Peter Yong, one of the promising Form 1 gymnasts, fractured his arm when his hand was trapped between two mats. Not long after his recovery, he made a strong comeback, showing no fear.
Injuries are unavoidable in the life of a committed sportsman. My admiration goes to my contemporaries, Mike Ng and Chin Wah Yin, for their enormous fighting spirit and resilience. Both suffered serious neck injuries.
Mike’s injury occurred when he attempted a double-back somersault but awkwardly landed on his head, resulting in a neck fracture. His life was saved by a timely operation performed by a visiting professor specialising in neck trauma.
Wah Yin suffered a neck compression from an over-spin of the Yamashita over a cross-positioned vaulting box that should have been positioned lengthwise. He had to lie flat in bed with a weight traction hooked to his skull to stretch the compressed vertebrae back into place.
Both Mike and Wah Yin endured extended hospitalisation and temporary paralysis before making miraculous recoveries.
(Front row, from left) The writer, Mike Ng, Chong Siew Han, Chow Siew Hoong, Lee Peng Choong, and Chin Wah Yin. (Back row, from left) Yee Mian Yow, Koo Sin Yew, Liu Kwai Keat (coach), Goon Fatt Chee (headmaster), Edward Tham, Yew Chee Wai, and Chan Kam Heng. Taken circa 1973. — Photo: Pao Fook Seong
Being a diehard gymnastics fan, Mike went on to become a national gymnast and later the team manager of the national gymnastics contingent to the Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006.
Wah Yin was a junior champion at a Singapore Gymnastics Invitational Meet in 1972. The scary tale of his out-of-body experience – seeing his limp body from above – was surreal. When he was jerked back to life by unseen forces, the throbbing pain hit him like a thunderbolt. Years later, he underwent a corrective neck operation that lasted more than 10 hours.
Their lives once teetered between life and death, fraught with great uncertainties about the future. However, a second chance was granted by the Almighty, enabling them to share their harrowing, back-from-hell experiences. Gymnastics today, with safety measures in place and technological advancements in coaching, is much safer than before.
The warm volunteering spirit of Edward Tham and Siew Hoong as gymnastics coaches, while still holding day jobs in Seremban and Jalan Davis respectively, deserves recognition. Edward’s labour of love bore fruit when his charges competed in the National Interstate School Gymnastics Champion-ship in 1979.
Siew Hoong’s way of giving back was to conduct free coaching for the all-girls gymnastics club at Jalan Davis Girls’ School. His sincerity was rewarded as a growing number of students joined the club.
Their motivation for volunteerism must be applauded, as their charges have since become firm friends.
