Mr. Miyagi says:

"Pack on, pack off"

News flash

Updates:

- I am playing the worst squash ever in tournaments. Yet I hit the ball better then ever  when doing solo practice. What do you make of that!?

- A local newspaper in my region picked up on my newer achievements, and posted a picture and some information. The article is linked under "Tidenes Beste" in the Norwegian PR part in the right hand menu

- Im eating chocolate

Asia tour 2013 pt2 Kuwait

18.03.2013, 11.00

After a very pleasant journey from Malaysia, I am now safe and sound in my suite in Kuwait City Kuwait. I am surrounded by Subway, KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks, and no one speaks English. Yesterday was spent eating and relaxing after a full day of travels, having to turn time another 5 hours back, which was quite a lot easier than the other way around. The hotel is located in a nice area called Hawally, but there is still a 10 min drive to the squash centre and the city centre.

Some players pulled out of the tournament, which bumped me up to 6th qualifyer. The way it looks, will I probably be playing a local in my first match. I have no idea how the level of the players are, but I know the senior players are good players. The draw will be out in few hours





19.03.2013, 08.09

We had a hit on the courts yesterday after a half day mission of finding a taxi to take us there. Finally finding a taxi that does not speak english or even arabic, it was a mere miracle that we found the place. I was not feeling too good yesterday and had the runs, maybe after some bad food, but I still went for a hit with the rest of the boys. The courts are good in the national squash complex, wich is a nice building with a built in glass court. Low on energy the hit was so  and so, but it was even worse trying to get back to the hotel. Not eating for 9 hours is tough on a body like mine. Finally back at the hotel and getting some food, I collapsed in bed at 9pm. The draw is out, and I am the only upper seed not facing a local or getting a bye. I am playing a pakistani called Kahn at 11 am, and I have a tough way through if I am to reach my goal for this tournament, but it is not impossible.


19.03.2013, 14.05
Pathetic. Thats what I have to say about that performance. Absolutely horrible. I could not shake the negative mindset from Malaysia and even though my mind really wanted to push and win this, my body did not. Could not hit the ball, movement was horrible and the balls I actually could retrieve went everywhere and nowhere. I hit 9 good balls in the entire match. 2 good serves, 3 good lengths and 3 winning boasts..oh wait. Thats 8. That doesnt belong on a professional level. This wasnt a bad player at all, and he just beat a top50 player, but I can easily recognize when a good player makes me bad, and when I play badly myself.
Someone tells me I should just play, and dont think about how I am hitting, but if I am not hitting the ball well at all, i need to change that. I was on court 2 hours after my match practising, and I still didnt find my flow.

I went down here because I have a great chance of boosting my ranking. I was far from ready to compete on a high level, and I know that, but as long as I am here, naturally I want to win. I have still been in situations like this before, where my hitting isnt perfect, but I still go on court and put up a fight. These 2 weeks I did not do that at all, and I am noting some of my worst performances ever down here.

Thing is, I would probably do it again. I still believe it was the right choice to come. I cant anticipate to play poorly. And I refuse to quit. But I really need to sort my S### out. Because this is not good enough. Far from it. And the european championship is coming up soon, and then it is not just myself, but my entire team I must perform for....

Squash basics pt 5: Awareness test

Squash technique, tactics, movement is all dandy and nice, but as u climb the levels of the squash ladder you will use more of deception, deceiving and more intricate use of the ol' noggin.

A good squash player must learn how to use his awareness to see or anticipate where his opponent is or will be. This applies both in a defensive as well as an offensive position. We therefore developedan awareness test inspired by an old youtube classic.


First watch this video

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

Then watch the Squash basics version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lh9qxc1dcQ

Yeah, we're on youtube baby!!!!

Asia tour March 2013, pt 1, Malaysia

From 8^th of March until 24^th of March I will be going to Asia for a few tournaments. First stop will be Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a 5K tournament. I am here 8^th seed in the main draw and will be playing South African Jean Pierre Brits in my first round. A player I know nothing about, but I know South Africa has quite a few good players, so like always, the infamous A-game is required.

Next stop after Malaysia will be Kuwait, via my old home Qatar on the 17^th of March. Here I play a 10K tournament, where I have to qualify for the main draw. The draw s not out yet, but it is a strong tournament where need to really step up on all levels to get what I am coming for.

I am still improving weekly after my boost in Qatar last year, and had a few very good sessions in Amsterdam before I left. However, the situation during a tournament is slightly different, but that is why I am travelling so much at the moment. I need the experience, and as my coach told me: Since I started squash so late I need to learn quickly.

08.03.2013, 13.00

My travel partner for this trip is Line Hansen, the Danish no1 female player. Apparently there is a WSA tournament at the same time in Kuala Lumpur. Line is also based in Holland and we sometimes also train together. It is also nice to have someone to travel with, especially someone who has been there before and know the area better than me. On my team I also have my Nicol Davids custom made list of Do’s and Don’ts, sights, food, transport and other goodies.

I have not really been jet lagged before, so we will see how my body reacts to the travel. There is a 5 hour time zone difference between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. I fly at 1200, the flight lasts 12 hours and I will land 0700 in the morning local time. I will be accommodated at the squash institute thanks to great help from the Malaysian squash federation.

09.03.2013, 19.29

Jetlagged after staying awake until 10am this morning and having 2 hours of rest before forcing the carcass up and out to turn the days. Luckily I have some company to suggest an hour footmassage and a killer dinner at the local mall. Closing in on bed time and that bed seem ever so sweet... .

10.03.2013, 17.38
Checked out the squash centre Bukt Jalil in a big sporting area that clearly focus on top athletes and holds a trackand field, several sporting complexes and a big football stadium. There are 10 new ASB courts and a stationary glass court in the "Nicol David Stadium". I had a hit with Line Hansen ad Lisa Camilleri this morning, and after lunch a solo. Hitting feels better as I go,and I feel ready for tomorrow. A little tired, but otherwise all good. Eating my cup noodles and waiting for the monsoon to pass.......

11.03.2013 20.27

Another bad loss for the big book of losses. I can not crack the code for my head in the first round of PSA tournaments. This syndrome turns my legs into syrup and tactics fly out the window. Nerves they call it. Somehow I think that I should be getting experienced enough to handle it by now. Guess not. In the first game I was nervy and all balls ended around the middle. Give away. In the second game I threw in the boast unnecessarily in every rally and lost most points as I opened up the court as a present on Christmas eve. In the last game, the nerves settled more, and I played well in patches, but when I was on a good roll, I somehow find it a good idea to give it away with a crap choice of shot when I get impatient… Impatient!!!! However, taking nothing away from my opponent who did little wrong and took his chances well. I just played poorly.

I know, tomorrow in training I will play well again. I have been making really good progress lately, and I played the best I’ve ever played earlier this week. But as previously stated, a tournament is different. Now It’s all about putting in some good training before Kuwait in one week and hopefully redeem myself. KOM OP!!!!! GADVERRRRR

15.03.2013 10.49

Well, I was wrong. The hitting did not improve the next day. Or the next, or the next. I was just not hitting the ball well in general it seems. And after 3 days of full training, it is slowly coming back again. It is like the jetlag drained my superpowers, my kryptonite. I have now one more day of training before I go to Kuwait, and I am trying to stay positive for my next tournament. But the feeling is not all happy dandy concerning my squash. Physically I feel fine, mentally too. But if I cant hit the ball, I cant focus on where to put it, so tactics fly out the window too. Anyway…..

In between trainings Ive gotten to see Kuala Lumpur which is a great city. Super cheap, nice food, except a god awful fish dish Nicol recommended me. Lots of nice things to see, nice people and a good atmosphere. Myself and JP (South African I played first round) got along well sharing room this week, and we will both head to Kuwait as well. There has not been any internet at the hostel, hence the slow updates, but I will be staying at a hotel in Kuwait where I have Wifi, and so it will be a bit easier. tudeluu

16.01.2013 17.30

My last day in Malaysia was spent in the Batu caves, which is a sacred hinu place 13 km outside of KL centrum. It was a nice sight and a nice walk 300 steps up to the top between monkeys and justin bieber posters. It was a weird combination of old traditional nice sights blended with  the modern societies' products and waste. Unfortunatelly that took away some of the joy. Right next to it was the dark caves, where I joined another group of norwegians into the deep caves amongst snakes, spiders, bugs, scorpions and bats. (no joke) (no really, no joke) This was a preserved area where the most rear spider in the world resides, snakes that ate bats and big caterpillars that ate the spiders. It was all pitch black, and we had to use flashlights to see anything at all. An exciting and enjoyable experience.

I wanted to stay at the airport hotel for the night to save myself some stress tomorrow, so my trusted driver who took me to the caves, brought me back to get my stuff from the hostel, and then to the airport hotel...which was full.... weird, as its not really season I thought. Next airport hotel...full, and 2 more. Getting further away from the airport I am stressing more and more, despite a great effort from my new friend the taxi driver to cheer me up. Finally a hotel in a small village have 3 rooms available, wifi, but no hot water or breakfast. Fair nuff. I grab some noodles at the only restaurant open in the area, where I naturally meet 3 norwegian girls on an Asian roundtrip. They tell me that the reason everything is full is because of Mr. Gangnam style, who's having a concert nearby. To sum it up, popculture just ruined my day :P

Squash basics Trondheim tour 2013

28. of February until 5. Of March saw the great Alexander Finitsis of Australia and National hero Kim Killingberg take on the locals in Trøndelag, Norway for squash clinics and good times.

The first days were spent at 3T Sluppen fitness centre in Trondheim, housing 5 wooden plate wall courts for clinics with regular visitors from Nidaros squash club and Statoil. Both days were spent instructing the eager locals in correct hitting technique, tactics, movement and homework exercises. The response from the participants were great and both coaches really enjoyed the clinics.

Happens to be that the two coaches are also the “Pinky and the Brain” behind the famous “Squashbasics” videos. For the next instructional video a local crew was invited and the footage was all completed on Friday evening. The result will soon be visible and posted as soon as the editing is complete

Saturday and Sunday was spent snoozing in Steve’s case, while myself was working like a boss in Vanvikan to introduce squash to the locals that were treated with their own squash court only a few months ago. Almost 20 participants signed up over 2 days, something I am extremely happy with. The response was great here as well and everyone received valuable input on their game to improve and enjoy maximum out of their game. I will most lightly return here in September/October for another course. I Hope to see many of the same people again as well as some new faces.

After a whole weekend of (Snoozing!?) working, a deserved chill Monday was set in action and mommas boys stole the car to go into the city to experience the local vibe of this northern city. It resulted in eating pizza, walking in wet snow, model photo shoot, diving into ancient war history to see how Norwegians whooped Swedish and Finnish litary forces, midnight graveyard visits and getting locked out of the crib, to in the end breaking and entering through an open window.

Always a pleasure

Thanks to:

-          Mommas home cookin

-          Elisabeths cinnamon rolls

-          Vinh Le

-          Course participants

-          Frau Jørum

-          Ane and Bo