Boys and their toys: Family converts HDB common area into Nerf combat zone

The last thing you'd expect to see when coming out of an HDB lift is the common area completely transformed into a combat zone.

A mock combat zone that is, made up of cardboard boxes placed strategically and stacked on top of home furniture. 

For those who happen to be part of the Problem Solving Club, this isn't all that peculiar. It's probably just a regular Thursday evening.

Martial arts trainer Mohamad Munir Rohani told AsiaOne on Monday (July 12) that this training began when his family was challenged by a group of friends – some were ex-military – to a game of paintball.

“The chances of winning are very slim, but I wanted the children to put up a fair fight for the opponents,” the 54-year-old said.

Inspired to conduct tactical training, so came the Nerf guns as they trained at the HDB lift landing outside their home at Pasir Ris St 72.

[embed]https://twitter.com/MunirRohani/status/1412959050506010627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1412959050506010[/embed]

From the tweet posted on July 8, the training session – also known as G.H.O.S.T. – occurs weekly. Judging from the video, it seems like the quartet has been training together for quite some time.

Decked in seemingly full army gear, in what looks like military vests to pixelated jungle hats, the team lines up in a stack-up formation as they await further instruction.

The man recording the video gives the green light for operations to begin and with that, Nerf toy guns start firing foam projectiles. 

"Go, go, go!" Each team member can be seen moving in sync as they slither through this HDB common area.

Foam projectiles were dispatched in a calm and synchronised manner as the team ends along a staircase, on the other end of the corridor.

This might bring back some nostalgia for those who had gone through urban operations training during National Service. 

The 44-second clip has gone viral after an Instagram account reposted this video on July 8, with over 79,000 views. Some netizens were excited at this combat roleplay scenario.

Here is a different view of their tactical prowess and also what G.H.O.S.T. stands for.

[embed]https://twitter.com/MunirRohani/status/1358806278676467712[/embed] 

The Problem Solving Club also conducts self-defence classes using a variety of martial arts demonstrations and non-lethal techniques. Formed in late 2007, the club is an interest group that aims to enrich the lives of others and have them learn life values through self-defence training. 

Munir felt that holding training sessions at the HDB lift landing would be beneficial due to the large space, he told AsiaOne. This allowed him to drill team movements as the quartet put the work in their pseudo-paintball field.

[embed]https://twitter.com/MunirRohani/status/1414148796632559619[embed]https://twitter.com/MunirRohani/status/1414148796632559619[/embed]

There hasn’t been any pushback from neighbours from his training sessions, Munir said.

“We have been well regarded as the warriors or guards of our neighbourhood," he added.

“We have to also do our part to ensure that we do not disrupt or disrespect any of our neighbours.”

ALSO READ: 5 affordable enrichment classes for primary and secondary school students in Singapore

amierul@asiaone.com