Memoirs of a Singaporean Commando
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Ok, here is my most current picture You asked for itOriginally posted by moca:I've tried several times to access your website but no luck. That's why I crack all these jokes about clerk's memoirs etc... I think most people cannot access your site.
So why don't you just post the stuff here.
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Erm... thanks. Not quite what I had in mind.Originally posted by rebelray:
I meant your memoirs. -
For some reason I cannot access anything "geocities"...Originally posted by NT2:i can leh -
Oh ok. You said current picture.Originally posted by moca:Erm... thanks. Not quite what I had in mind.
I meant your memoirs.
Sorry about my web page being unavailable because of limited bandwidth. Some people must have been accessing my web page. But most of the time it is available. Hope you can try again. Thank you. -
u are really proud of ur standford days huh? u were wearing ur stanford tees in most of ur pics.
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hw come ur hair so nerdy looking one.hahhaha
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Since your memoirs so popular, go and get a paid url la...
Few dollars a month only. Unlimited bandwith somemore... -
u r the 1st person in forums to reveal ur photos and everything to us. y ah??
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I didn't realize that I was wearing Stanford tees in most of my pictures. I miss those days at Stanford.Originally posted by saline:u are really proud of ur standford days huh? u were wearing ur stanford tees in most of ur pics. -
No, I don't reveal everything to anybody.Originally posted by NT2:u r the 1st person in forums to reveal ur photos and everything to us. y ah?? -
Don't know. But I am not a nerd for sure.Originally posted by NT2:hw come ur hair so nerdy looking one.hahhaha -
Most of the time, my memoirs are not popular.Originally posted by mhcampboy:Since your memoirs so popular, go and get a paid url la...
Few dollars a month only. Unlimited bandwith somemore... -
style ur hair la....Originally posted by rebelray:Don't know. But I am not a nerd for sure. -
and tat explains the exceeded bandwith?Originally posted by rebelray:Most of the time, my memoirs are not popular.
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Then it is not because my website has limited bandwidth. You may be having some connection problems with geocities.Originally posted by moca:For some reason I cannot access anything "geocities"... -
lol Only sometimes. Most of the time it is available.Originally posted by mhcampboy:and tat explains the exceeded bandwith? 
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Starting another thread is an excellent idea. There is so much we can learn from one of the world's best armies, the R.O.K army.Originally posted by comberbache:Thanks! Actually, I'm not sure where I'd begin. The Korean military is really big (650,000 active soldiers, not including reserves) so it's hard to genrealize.
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Maybe I'll start another thread and write more.
I have a question. Do all R.O.K Special Forces soldiers have the Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do? -
I've never heard of Korean guards in in Singapore during WWII , but I'm not surprised.Originally posted by rebelray:I heard from someone who has lived through World War Two in Singapore that the Korean guards of POW prisoners were often even more brutal than the Japanese guards.
I am not saying that this is true. But just recounting what I heard from this person. Any thoughts about this?
It's a documented fact that some young Korean men were forced to serve in the IJA during the period. As "second-class" soldiers, it's possible that if they didn't follow their orders they would be beaten themselves severely.
Or, they may just have been nasty people.
Who knows?
All I know is that under the right conditions, even good, "normal" people can go crazy and become abusive. -
Some actually volunteered to be officers of the IJA. The former president (and also a military dictator from 1961 to 1979) Park Junghee was one of them. He received a gold wrist watch from Hirohito himself on his graduation from the Japanese Military Academy for his performance.Originally posted by comberbache:I've never heard of Korean guards in in Singapore during WWII , but I'm not surprised.
It's a documented fact that some young Korean men were forced to serve in the IJA during the period. As "second-class" soldiers, it's possible that if they didn't follow their orders they would be beaten themselves severely.
Or, they may just have been nasty people.
Who knows?
All I know is that under the right conditions, even good, "normal" people can go crazy and become abusive.
Many officers of the early ROK Army were ex-IJA officers and that's why some of very bad and brutal 'traditions' have been transplanted from the IJA to the ROK Army and Marine Corps. The early Bundeswehr was also staffed by ex-Wehrmacht and even ex-Waffen SS officers, but the West Germans managed to weed out Nazi traits.
To be fair to Park Junghee, he is credited with instilling the 'can do' spirit and 'do or die' attitude in Korean people.
Cheers,
Sunho -
Yes. Actually, the ROK Special Forces practice their own version, called "Tuk Gong Mu Sool". It has more throws, knife techniques, etc.Originally posted by rebelray:Starting another thread is an excellent idea. There is so much we can learn from one of the world's best armies, the R.O.K army.
I have a question. Do all R.O.K Special Forces soldiers have the Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do?
During my time in service, I watched several "Tukgong Musool" demonstrations, and had to provide translation to U.S. officers/NCOs.
It was pretty extreme. SF soldiers would break SLABS - not "tiles" - of concrete with bare hands, feet, and even heads. There were also knife demonstrations, throws, etc. Female SF were also among the them (and also the highlight of the show ^^).
The Marines practice "Mujok Do". I've never seen it in before, though. The Army practices Tae Kwon Do.
From your website, it seems that the Singapore commandos practice mixed martial arts. Is this correct? -
Yes, we practise mixed martial arts. If by "mixed" you mean a combination of different types/styles of martial arts, then yes.Originally posted by comberbache:Yes. Actually, the ROK Special Forces practice their own version, called "Tuk Gong Mu Sool". It has more throws, knife techniques, etc.
During my time in service, I watched several "Tukgong Musool" demonstrations, and had to provide translation to U.S. officers/NCOs.
It was pretty extreme. SF soldiers would break SLABS - not "tiles" - of concrete with bare hands, feet, and even heads. There were also knife demonstrations, throws, etc. Female SF were also among the them (and also the highlight of the show ^^).
The Marines practice "Mujok Do". I've never seen it in before, though. The Army practices Tae Kwon Do.
From your website, it seems that the Singapore commandos practice mixed martial arts. Is this correct?
But we practise them at separate sessions. We have Tae Kwon Do sessions in which we wear the traditional TKD gear and are trained by TKD instructors. We also have "unarmed combat" sessions in which we wear army uniforms and are trained by unarmed combat instructors.
But not all of us are Black Belts in TKD. I am only a Brown One Belt for example. -
Originally posted by comberbache:I've read your memoirs and am very impressed. You are being very diplomatic here. After seeing the excellent Special Forces of both the R.O.K and the U.S.A, our training must have seemed very easy in comparison.
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Are you able to view geocities now? If not, you can write to their help desk.Originally posted by moca:For some reason I cannot access anything "geocities"... -
Martial arts demosnstration, they crack slabs of cement - NOT concrete
And the wood they use are either special or previously "prepared" cos they break in nice clean lines. If you take a mallet to smash any piece of wood of whatever quality, you can see the break is never clean - that's the nature of wood.
I am not saying that cracking a slab of cement or a piece of pre-prepared wood is easy, but they try to make it look more difficult than it actually is.
I am also not belittling martial arts as I have learnt some myself, but a lot of demonstrations are faked. -
I guess I meant "cement" - not concrete. my mistake.Originally posted by moca:Martial arts demosnstration, they crack slabs of cement - NOT concrete
And the wood they use are either special or previously "prepared" cos they break in nice clean lines. If you take a mallet to smash any piece of wood of whatever quality, you can see the break is never clean - that's the nature of wood.
I am not saying that cracking a slab of cement or a piece of pre-prepared wood is easy, but they try to make it look more difficult than it actually is.
I am also not belittling martial arts as I have learnt some myself, but a lot of demonstrations are faked.
Of course martial art demonstrations are faked to some degree. You don't expect people to start disembowelling each other with knives in front of the "honored guests" like the gladiators of old, or twisting necks and slashing throats, do you?
Safety is very important. And if you can exercise safety while at the same time making things a little more flashy here and there...hey, I see no problem with that.
I have also learned martial arts and participated in demonstrations. Breaking wood is no big deal (as I'm sure you already know), but breaking 5 slabs of cement with a knifehand is a bit harder, to say the least. If you don't prepare your hand and execute the proper technique you will injure yourself.
