TOBY NG

[Special Thanks!]

Another New Year's spent running and competing at the 2024 ClearOne New Year's Tournament! Special thanks to my partners, Derrick and, especially, Thalia, as we were both running on little sleep but still did pretty well regardless 😴 Big thanks to Jeremy and Carmen for running the draw desk with me, and a shoutout to Jason, Anika, and others for your assistance! πŸ™πŸΌ It's always nice to see players I've worked with improve over time and even win events! I'm glad to be a part of the process, but by no means will I ever take credit. The game evolves and things change: that's why I enjoy playing 🏸. It's truly a thinking game with elements of technical skill, physical fitness, and mental fortitude. To me, it's not so much about winning or losing, but how to play the game. "Make the most of a situation with what you have." However, it doesn't mean you have to use everything. Deciding what to do is a common challenge. It's also the part I enjoy most. I can't play how I used to, so I have to adapt. I also have to make the most of what I have. It's a valuable life lesson too 😌 As an extension, I'm grateful for the meaningful relationships from badminton. I've met many people globally that have shared a similar passion for the sport. But from the same advice, we don't have to be friends with everyone. We cannot. Some people just won't accept you no matter what you do. Some people will simply dislike you for their own reasons. That's their choice. For me, I chose otherwise. Ran a tournament. Gave away @beanboyyzz stickers. Bought a cake. Gave away candy. Played doubles. Chatted. Coached. Gave away books. Took photos. Celebrated a birthday. Counted down for New Year's. Lost a lot of sleep. Played mixed. Drove home after 45+ hours at the tournament ✌🏼 Don't let people who don't matter stop you from doing the things that matter to you 🫢🏼 Have a wonderful 2024! 😎

Happy birthday Carmen! 😘 Hope you enjoyed all the food we had today and special thanks to Jeremy and Hana for getting the Hello Kitty smash cake! πŸ™πŸΌ

A very meaningful victory, and thank you Thalia for playing once again at the 2023-2024 BC Senior Elite! I would also like to thank Nicky for playing doubles with me and for a great XD final! Hopefully we'll get another chance to play again! πŸ’ͺ🏼 Thank you to all the people who continue to support me πŸ™πŸΌ It's been quite challenging these past weeks as certain people are trying to dig up old wounds, and I also have to deal with people who make judgements without evidence. But that's life, and life is unfair. It can be cruel, but that's out of my control. Sometimes we want to take action because we believe we can take control, but we can only control our intentions. The outcome is still largely outside of our control. Much like a badminton rally, you might have a plan, but your opponent might have one too. Only one of you will win the rally, but it doesn't mean you necessarily did the wrong thing. A lot of life is how you respond to these outcomes. As long as you're willing to play another rally, you're still in the game. And sometimes you have a tough loss. If you're willing to learn from your mistakes and try again, you may get better results. But sometimes, you might lose even if you did all the right things. If that's the case, then just try again. You should get a better result next time if you are really doing the right things. And that's what I did. Better results because of better people πŸ’― These people make little or no judgement about you and base decisions through observable actions. These people give you support without wanting things in return. These people might not always agree with you, but are willing to communicate and debate key issues which foster growth and learning on both sides. Better people don't take sides on a matter they know nothing about.

Thank you for playing Emily! It was fun while it lasted (2 matches) and I guess it really was as they say, "You win some; you lose some." 😬 Special thank you to @seattlebadmintonclub for hosting, especially Adrienne and Calvin, and it was nice to catch up with some great people! 😊 Wishing a speedy recovery to Jinseon, and I'm sure we'll get another chance to play in the future! πŸ’ͺ🏼 Usually I like to add a tournament reflection, but not this time. Maybe it's because I'm chicken 🐣 Sometimes the best action is inaction. That's how you play chicken.

[Proudly Supporting]

Made with Medalist

Another year, another birthday, another Thanksgiving, but so much to be grateful for 😌 Thank you to those who made my birthday special. I don't normally celebrate my birthday, but I really appreciate those who made the effort to do something for me. It truly does mean a lot. You know who you are 😊 I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life. It's been difficult to rebuild myself given what happened last year, but we must be brave and take action. That's the difference. Despite the fear, take action anyway. Such is life and badminton. To become the best, you have to beat someone who is better than you. Nobody starts at the top. Instead, we climb our way up. I have to make the climb in a different industry, but that's okay. I'm kinda old, but it doesn't mean I don't face challenges too. I just do my best and encourage other to do the same. It's not easy, but sometimes it's more meaningful to lose. Nobody likes to, but the lesson comes from the result of losing. The first idea is that in order to win, one must risk losing. Lee Chong Wei said something in his book along the lines of "to dare to win is to dare to lose". Since so few people win, many lose. Accepting that in life is important. Privileged or not. Equal or not. Fair or not. The second idea is how we deal with losing. It never feels good, but feelings go away. It helps to take action. Be brave, get up, and try again. But good things can also happen because something else didn't work out πŸ€” Here we are a year later. I'm glad I didn't give up. And it's because I didn't tie my identity to being an Olympian. Otherwise I wouldn't compete because I would be afraid of losing. I'd rather identify as someone who wants to be a bit better everyday and is willing to change. As always, lead by example 🫑 I'm just like anyone else. I only hope to keep trying, work hard, learn more, and encourage others to do the same. And that makes me happy. To help others on their journey and appreciate the little time we have together 🫢🏼 Thank you. I know I can't change the world, but maybe I can help those I encounter, because I am not afraid of losing. Then you win every time 😬 Happy Thanksgiving ✌🏼

It was nice to help out with the Best of Badminton BC Awards and I ended up with an award myself πŸ˜… Of course, I must thank Jacqueline and Kylie for our wins at BC Elite and Provincials respectively! πŸ™πŸΌ I also had the chance to speak a bit about my athlete journey as I went through the Canadian sport system. From BC Winter Games, provincials, nationals, Canada Winter Games, and then international tournaments, the path was arduous, but the journey was incredibly rewarding. I had a lot of help along the way and I would like to recognize all the people that played a part in my badminton career πŸ™πŸΌ I've always felt bad about not being able to reciprocate to those that have helped me, but I've realized the best way is to pay it forward to someone else. I also hope they pay it forward to someone else in the future, because this is an effective long-term strategy. This has always been my goal in giving back, and it hasn't changed since I developed this idea during my master's degree in coaching. The problem is that real life isn't perfect, and despite your best intentions, sometimes things don't go the right way. Sometimes the hardest thing is to figure out what went wrong. In badminton, sometimes your style of play might not work against an opponent, but isn't it better to know if it generally works and your opponent is just unique? πŸ€” If you tried the same style of play against ten other people and it works, then it's likely that you're doing the right thing. That's what I've done over the past year. I haven't changed my values or beliefs, but I've tried to do the same for other people. I think I've found my answer. If people don't appreciate what you do, how can they pay it forward? πŸ€·πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Congratulations to all those who won awards, and I hope everyone continues to work hard in pursuit of their goals πŸ’ͺ🏼 I hope I can continue to support others, and I hope you can support others too ✌🏼

In memory of the presentation I did for my machine learning class (MMA 869) 😌 Memes, bowties, and my first machine learning competition 😬 #amorfati

Happy "girlfriend" anniversary (i.e. when we got together) to my lovely wife. Can't believe it's been 15 years (and I'm still in school), but thank you for being with me every step of the way ❀️ #hugmybug

I'm a day late but Happy World Badminton Day! Grateful to be part of a wonderful sport and community! Though it's never perfect, it's just like in badminton: you can't win every rally. Badminton has taught me many life lessons and given me so much life experience. Even today, as I study data science, I can use badminton to create analogies to better learn a new domain. Thank you to all those who have supported me and continue to support my badminton goals. I only hope to give back to others what you have done for me. And to those who won't accept me and continue to doubt me, that's totally fair. Like badminton, there are many ways to find success. Like badminton, sometimes partnerships just don't work out. Like badminton, sometimes you're in an unfair situation like a bad line call. Like badminton, just carry on. There's nothing you can do to change the past. Focus on the next rally. Thank you, badminton 🏸 πŸ“Έ: @swooshpapi_ #worldbadmintonday #badminton #badmintonlife

Happy Olympic Day! #LetsMove #OlympicDay The theme is to move and get 30 minutes of exercise today, but I've decided to move my fingers around instead (I'll swing a kettlebell later). This is one of my favourite pieces and something I listened to a lot during my time as an athlete. The song comes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days which I got to play on the Nintendo DS. When I first heard the piano collection edition of the song, I never dreamed of being able to play it. It was way too hard for me. But one day I sat down and gave it a try. I gave up pretty quickly of course, but slowly, I kept at it. Things kept coming together, note by note, until you get to that turning point in the process: you suddenly believe that it's possible. But life goes on, and there was a period of time where I didn't have access to a piano. I didn't play for a long time and I could never play it to completion. But all that practice kept remnants of the song there. My brain knew the song and sometimes I could just watch my fingers move to the right places (most of the time). I forgot and re-learned the song a few times. It's been many years (started in 2009!), but it's still not perfect, and I don't know if it will ever get there. But that's why I still practice. The song is the theme of character in the story who chose to do the right thing, even though it cost her everything (Kingdom Hearts III rectified the situation πŸ₯Ή). Exercise is one of those things to practice frequently. It takes a long time sometimes to see the effects of that progress, but many great things come over a long period a consistent practice. Just like piano. Just like badminton. Just like anything you want to be better at it. Today is just a snapshot of the progress so far. And tomorrow is another day. Good luck πŸ’ͺ🏼✌🏼

April Tournaments! I wanted to upload some rallies but I've been procrastinating on it and I realized that the aspect ratio wouldn't work anyway... Anyway! Big thanks to Thalia and Kylie for playing with me at the Easter Open and BC Provincials respectively πŸ™πŸΌ Always grateful for an opportunity to compete 😁 (and grateful to have action shots from @badminton_images πŸ™πŸΌ)! #badmintonlife #badminton

Link in bio "What did I learn from those before me, and how can I do it better? That competitive mindset never seems to go away. I suppose β€œfanning the flames of competition” fits here, but there’s another meaning which is probably less used. Or maybe I’m making this up as I go along." 😌 https://towbsss.mli.st/p/fanning-the-flames-of-competition-PyWyq7L πŸ“Έ: @emilyyu1030 πŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ

I didn't think I was going to play Dave Freeman again, since it would be very different from what it was the year before. There I go again, thinking about people that hate me now. After trying to lead by example in doing the right thing, I've failed as a coach because I couldn't teach some people to seek the truth, have tough conversations, and understand that kindness requires great strength. I still get imposter syndrome. I still have doubts about what I can do. But I try anyway... which was why I came back this year to play with new partners. Thank you Ella and Emily for playing with me. I still love playing badminton, even though it's tough to see my technique and fitness vaporizing with every rally. It's a chance to give back, and I still feel I'm paying it back to all the times I've been a difficult partner. I'm still learning too. Thank you for believing in me and I hoped whatever time we had on and off court was fun and educational. We had some great rallies with strong opponents! πŸ’ͺπŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ Thank you Chris (and Emily too!) for taking photos and always supporting badminton players with your photography. It's often a thankless job, so I'd like to at least voice appreciation here in capturing some magical moments in this sport πŸ“ΈπŸ™πŸΌ Thank you Carmen for your patience, as the tournament scheduling was out of our control. The weather too, though I suspect you might have been a part of history seeing hail in San Diego. I know we didn't get a chance to do very much, but I hope you at least enjoyed some of the food we had πŸ˜˜πŸ™πŸΌ And it was great to see many people again and a thriving badminton community! I hope we understand that we are all in this together, and growth of badminton in North America will be great for badminton globally too πŸΈπŸ™πŸΌ I would hope we can all see the big picture, but it seems that not everyone is willing to do that. But Dr. Gregory House said: "If nobody hates you, you are doing something wrong."✌🏼 #badminton #thankyou #sorry #lifegoeson #fortisfortunaadiuvat

I know it's a bit late (cuz I just got my Canadian mail πŸ˜…) but thank you to the Canadian Olympic Committee for the 10 year anniversary gift from @lululemon! I'm glad I still play badminton today and I'm grateful for the chance to be a part of @teamcanada πŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ #olycanada #london2012 #badminton

It's been 3 years since moving to the USA, and I'm grateful for the adventure of working down south. I would have been there longer, but it just takes a couple of people to ruin everything. Ultimately, I learned that we should spend our time with those that matter. Let karma lead those to their own self-destruction. Thank you so much to those that came to play one last time with me. I know it was Chinese New Year eve too and it really means a lot to me to play one more time in Seattle πŸ™πŸΌβ€οΈ Special thank you to @coachadrenaline for making this even possible πŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ Here is a reminder of the final lesson: Technical: Grip strength, remember to relax! Physical: Strength = heavy weight, low reps, never to failure Tactical: Consider the opposite Mental: Anti-fragility > Resilience > Fragility Given the rumors that may be going around, I am moving forward and have been involved with Safe Sport in Canada to discuss concerns and issues so whatever happened to me will hopefully not happen to someone else. For the record, I had no temporary restrictions or Safe Sport violations. I know there are coaches out there who really care for their athletes like I do, and I'd hate for someone to play victim because they cannot deal with their own life issues and take it out on someone else. Life isn't fair. That's one of the lessons I teach my athletes. But that's the norm. The challenge is how to encourage them to keep trying, despite the circumstances. It's encouraging them to keep trying and supporting them through their efforts. It's making the most of the opportunity. You gotta buy a lottery ticket to win the lottery. So let me buy one too, and let me go all-in on those I come across so we win together or lose together. If I can't do that as a coach, then why even be a coach anymore? And if caring too much is emotional abuse, then it's time to draw a line in the sand. To all those I've met and worked with in Seattle, it was a pleasure working with 99% of you. To the 99%, all the best and perhaps we'll meet again someday! To the 1%, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for showing me what NOT to be like. I'm sorry for caring. I'm sorry for trying to help.

Time to move back to Canada πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦... It's valuable to reflect on the past and learn from it when possible. How else do you learn from mistakes? If you don't want to read all 10 lessons, check out the last one. It's the most important. Link in bio or here: https://towbsss.mli.st/p/lessons-from-2022-aAy6WNw

It was a pleasure playing once again with Jacqueline Cheung at the 2023 BC Senior Elite! The last time we played was at the 2020 Nationals and although we played a couple of times together, she's one of the only partners I wasn't able to medal with so I'm really happy that we made this one count! πŸ™πŸΌ Despite a very close call in the first round, it was definitely fun playing at the higher level again 😬 However, my purpose for playing these past years still hasn't changed much. I am only playing to give people more competition experience as I transition into more of a coaching/administration role. The future of badminton is in the hands of the next generation and I do wish them all the best 🫑 Thank you to everyone who came to watch and support the tournament at @c1_richmond! Special thanks to @justinthemelon for your support, and @chris.wiebe for being our hype man πŸ˜‚ And of course thank you @jpycheung for playing and wishing you a wonderful 2023 in all that you do 😁 May your discipline bring you freedom πŸ’ͺ🏼 #clearone #yonex #badminton #athletelife #wait #retiredathletelife #coachlife #badmintonlife #fortis #fortuna #adiuvat #obstacleistheway #gratitude #eatingismysecondevent #goodtimes #goodcompany #amorfati

2022 was interesting and it wasn't pleasant scrolling through my photo album. In all my years on social media, I've never had to unfollow people until now. I didn't realize how toxic some people can be. I cared enough to listen to them and even try to experience things based on their perspective. Empathy, was it? That was a mistake. You should not empathize with toxic people, because it also makes you toxic. I finally understood but the damage was already done. That's my biggest takeaway of 2022: you can't help everyone. Wait, let's rephrase: not everyone deserves your help. If people are jealous that you are helping others and not them, then those are the most dangerous people to be around as they can't be happy for anyone. Maybe it makes them feel worse about themselves? I wouldn't know cuz I'm not like that (anymore πŸ‘€). Learning to be happy for other's success is a serious weight off your chest. Be inspired by others because if they can, why not you too? But of course, it's easier to complain and blame others. It's easier to be offended. So help those who appreciate your efforts. Instead of wasting time on those that can't be helped, why not help those that give you fulfilment so that you can continuing helping others? And if you have extra time, why not put that into personal development so you can help yourself too? I noticed I stopped learning as much when trying to help the wrong people. Now I can't help those I should have helped instead. Though I still do what I can if possible, I'm sorry it ended this way. But if there's a will, there's a way. 2023 is going to be interesting. We're moving back to Canada at the end of January and I'm not sure what the future holds, but I'll be in badminton in some capacity. As part of the DailyStoic New Year's Challenge, my mantra will be from John Wick: Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat "Fortune favours the bold". I lost so much already, so what can possibly stop me now? Hope everyone has a great year, and if you can turn obstacles into opportunities, nothing will stop you: The obstacle is the way. (I mean, they're kind of the same thing, right?)

Writing may not be the best medium anymore, but it still helps me think through the problem as I can edit my thought process and remember the key lessons. And as long as I can consolidate my thoughts in a meaningful and coherent way, it will at least be a benefit to myself. If it helps anyone else, that's a bonus, but I always believe that to make any change, you must first hold yourself accountable. https://towbsss.mli.st/p/told-you-so-vKwPdk4 Link in bio.

It was a pleasure playing with Ella for the 2022 NWBA Yonex Cup this past weekend! Thank you for playing and I hope you had a good experience! I know you were probably really nervous but I admire your courage in taking the challenge and you played really well! It was really fun playing with you and best of luck in your future tournaments 😁 It's always great to see familiar faces and I am grateful for the local badminton community for their support in hosting tournaments like this where players of different levels can interact and compete against each other. Thank you to Northwest Badminton Academy for hosting this event and providing prize money! πŸ™πŸΌ Thank you everyone who came to watch and cheered for us (mainly for Ella... you know who you are 😁), and thank you Ella, Dennis, Scott, and Carmen for the πŸ“Έ this weekend πŸ™πŸΌ #badmintonlife #badminton #yonex #amorfati #tournament #nwba #northwestbadmintonacademy