We were very happy that the DCM of Punggol CC, Mr William Yeo, invited us to start an Aikido class with the possibility that the CC may be undergoing some renovation and extension works. Our first impression was that the CC indeed needed some upgrading works and there was almost no one in sight on that day. We were very doubtful whether the class will be successful, but we decided to give it a try.

  Our doubts turned out to be unfounded! If you had seen Punggol CC during the day you will never have imagined that this run-down CC can be so vibrant in the night (Monday nights are packed with Aikido, Taichi, Basketball and Lion Dance people)! And what we did not realise was also that this CC had a very good location, because the people living in Hougang, Serangoon, Sengkang, Buangkok and Punggol all find it convenient to come here.

  We have a very mixed crowd, from some very loud and active 5 year olds to a bunch of very keen teenagers to a growing group of very “on” uncles :) The beginners are very fortunate that Allan Lai Sensei is a frequent visitor to our dojo, so they get great pointers and tips from training with him. We train in a badminton hall that has bats living on the ceiling, and sometimes we get “shelling” of pee and poo from them during the class!

  Aikido is AWESOME!!

  You get to do locks to defend yourself, in a graceful, nice and proper way. You also get to roll, slam, roll backwards, use weapons and make friends! Everybody is delightfully nice in the dojo, especially the hyper active kids, they add extra humor. Instructor Cheen Cheen is very very gentle, and she doesn’t hurt us. But she’s oh-so powerful! And it’s impressive, because I didn’t know that anyone could be so powerful and gentle at the same time. She smiles a lot too! Aikido simply falls perfectly into awesomeness.”

  by --- Felicia Hong, 18 years old, started at training Aikido at Punggol CC Dojo since it started on 9 Feb 2009.