RIP Rastafari Daraliay

[GeneChing]

How tragic.


11-year-old PH wushu athlete dead after falling from bunk bed (https://www.rappler.com/sports/by-sport/other-sports/213199-philippine-junior-wushu-athlete-dead-after-falling-off-double-deck-bed)
Junior wushu fighter Rastafari Daraliay died after a freak accident in the athletes’ dorm at the Rizal Memorial Complex
Rappler.com
Published 7:49 PM, September 30, 2018
Updated 10:17 AM, October 01, 2018

https://assets.rappler.com/612F469A6EA84F6BAE882D2B94A4B421/img/360754171B794CF5BF2B75360EC404BA/rasta-1_360754171B794CF5BF2B75360EC404BA.jpg
TOO YOUNG. Rastafari Daraliay was a promising wushu athlete. Photo from Instagram (@rastoogi_)

MANILA, Philippines – An 11-year-old junior member of the Philippine wushu team died after falling from the top bunk of a double-deck bed inside the athletes’ dormitory at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila early Saturday morning, September 29.

Rastafari Daraliay reportedly fell from his bed at around 3 am, but got back up and returned to sleep. Hours later, the victim was found with his mouth frothing. He later died at the hospital.

The Wushu Federation of the Philippines confirmed the incident to several media outlets.

The Philippine Sports Commission will hold a press conference on Monday.

Daraliay’s remains lie in state at Santuario de San Vicente de Paul in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. – Rappler.com

[GeneChing]

There's a vid. I'm going to split this into an indie thread off the Martial Arts Death (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52484-Martial-Arts-Deaths) one because there's more.


Parents of late wushu athlete convinced son’s death an accident (https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/23/18/parents-of-late-wushu-athlete-convinced-sons-death-an-accident)
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Oct 23 2018 11:57 PM

The parents of the late young wushu athlete Rastafari Daraliay said the Philippine Sports Commission and the Wushu Federation of the Philippines weren’t remiss with their duties in relation to the death of their son.

The 11-year-old died after a freak accident at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex wushu dormitory late last month. He stayed on and off at the dorm for the past three years as requested by his parents, Vincent and Hazel Daraliay.

“They responded pretty well. Commissioner Butch Ramirez came on the first day of the wake of Rasta. The Wushu Federation was at the hospital when they rushed him to the hospital,” said Vincent on ANC’s “Hardball.” Vincent, Hazel and their daughter Zion was at ANC’s studio in ABS-CBN compound to talk about Rastafari’s death.

Rastafari fell off the top bunk of a double decker bed. He reportedly went back to sleep after telling his teammates he was OK, but never woke up.

Vincent Daraliay said the PSC and the Wushu Federation of the Philippines probed the incident and were satisfied with the explanations.

“On our side we are convinced that it was an accident. For us it was nobody's fault,” Daraliay said.

READ: PSC, Wushu Federation to extend support to late athlete's family
“PSC has responded when we asked what took them so long to take him to the hospital, why they used a taxi instead of the ambulance, they had an explanation for everything. They shouldered a big part of the burial expenses.”

But Daraliay acknowledged the agency could have done a bit more to prevent such accidents.

“Probably if they were a little bit more strict and they cared a little bit more on the safety of the athletes, especially the junior athletes. But we're relatively OK with the explanation they provided,” Daraliay said.

Vicent said he wants the PSC to look after the welfare of his daughter, Zion, also a wushu athlete. He said she is one of the reasons why the family maintained peace with the PSC.

“We could have burned bridges with the PSC or the wushu federation when this happened by just blaming them, but the problem is we have a daughter who is also an athlete. We asked her if she still wants to do it, she still wants to be an athlete,” he said.

“So we just wanted PSC and wushu federation na lang to just help us and probably before we send her back to training to make sure the place is safe for them for the junior athletes. That's all we're asking. They still have a dream to fulfill.”

Daraliay said they are also working on putting up an advocacy group in the name of Rastafari.

“It's gonna be called ‘RASTA’. After my son's name, it stands for Rastafari Advocacy for the Safety of Today's Athletes,” he said. “Basically we want to do something on the safety of athletes especially young athletes like my daughter.”

[GeneChing]

My wushu journey (https://opinion.inquirer.net/117273/my-wushu-journey)
By: Rastafari U. Daraliay - @inquirerdotnet 05:03 AM November 06, 2018

I started wushu because I’m homeschooled. My Mom wanted me to find something I could do similar to physical education.

I knew nothing on my first day of training. I wasn’t really an active kid, so I felt like a fish out of water.

After doing wushu for a few months, my sister Zion joined me. She was doing ballet at the time, but she said it was too easy and boring. When she joined me, that’s when I really had to up my game and prove to my coach that I was better than her.

A year later, this kid Alex joined the club. That was when I really became competitive. Alex was my best friend and my worst enemy at the same time. Outside of wushu, we were the best of friends. In wushu, we were enemies, always trying to beat each other.

Another year passed. Alex, Zion and I were drafted to become national athletes. We had to sleep at the athletes’ dorm for an entire week. I was scared that I would be away from my parents for so long, but I had to do it.

Then summer was over. There was an upcoming competition and our coach had to pick who to drop and keep. They were supposed to get rid of me; but my sister Zion was chosen, so I had to stay, too. She was going to compete in the 6th World Junior Wushu Championship in Bulgaria. Sadly, I wasn’t going, because there were more qualified athletes.

After the competition, our head coach got mad and sent me out of the gym. I almost quit and was about to say goodbye to
everyone, but our coach stopped me and apologized.

Another competition came. It was the 9th Asian Junior Wushu Championship. But I still wasn’t picked to join the competition because the coach still didn’t think I was ready to compete. Fortunately, the competition was held in Korea, so the whole family could go!

Then a miracle happened. There was another competition and I was finally joining! But the wushu gods must hate me,
because the competition in Brazil was canceled.

Nevertheless, wushu has taught me a lot. I might not be the best and I might even forget my corrections. But I have become disciplined, and have learned to think when presented with a challenge. Wushu has taught me how to handle that challenge head-on.

Train like there’s no tomorrow.

A few days ago, our coach scolded me. He is known to sometimes say mean things to his athletes. He said I had no future and I was lazy. I was really struck by his words. When we got home, I was so sad and frustrated that I planned on quitting.

My parents and I had a serious talk about it. We made the decision that we would ask my coach to take me out of the team, but I was hoping that I would still be able to train at my own pace and with less pressure.

When I went to training the next day, our coach asked to have a meeting with my Mom about my decision. He wanted to talk to her to stop me from quitting. He said that I just needed to focus more and exert more effort, since I was clumsy and needed more time to get the moves right.

I was really shocked by this, because I thought he would be difficult and not let me train, or just say “okay.”

When I trained that day, I really gave it my all to prove to him that I was worthy of being part of the team. We did the usual warming up and stretching, then we did routines. The thing I did differently this time was that I gave it all.

I made sure my punches and kicks had power. I kept my shoulders relaxed and tried to do the stances properly. I paid attention to everything he said, and practiced on the side for every correction he demonstrated.

I really felt a difference when I did my routine. I felt more powerful and relaxed. I tried to impress my coach, and I did.
Afterward, he said it was my best performance since the time I was there. From his reaction, I felt I was out of the woods.

The thing that I really learned from this experience is that I have to give my 110 percent and full focus in training. It will be a bit of a challenge, since I can sometimes be easily distracted. But with willpower and determination, I am hoping that I can overcome the challenge. Jiayou!

* * *

Rastafari Daraliay, 11, died on Sept. 29, 2018, in a freak accident when he fell from the top bunk of his bed at the athletes’ dorm in Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. These two pieces, part of his output for homeschool and originally handwritten, were sent to Young Blood by his father unedited.


So tragic. I don't know how his parents can go on.

[David Jamieson]

Poor Kid.
:(