Landing in Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon

Though I’d been to Vietnam before, I’d never been to Ho Chi Minh City… which according to my friend Andy was “where it’s at” – so of course I had to give him a visit. I had been to Hanoi on a prior trip, but Andy said Saigon had more of a city life so for most of this trip we checked out a lot of cafes, clubs, and local spots.

When I got to Andy’s place, I was greeted with a red Vietnamese flag. It was a national holiday and if you didn’t put up the flag you would be fined Andy said. Haha very interesting, but not a surprise.

Right after I dropped off my bags Andy had some plans ready to go!

First dinner in Saigon

We went to a Japanese style bbq restaurant. It was pretty nice and the water and ice were drinkable without having to buy bottled water. We got too much meat in our system so had to do a little pumping iron pose… and we were getting pumped to go out! haha!

Anyways next up after dinner was a chill hookah place. It was strewn with red satin curtains hung everywhere and had a cozy feel. Andy said it would be nice to open up a place like that in the future. It was a good pre-party hangout location. After hookah we hit up Model Club.

Philip, Andy, and I

We had a group of friends at the table and it was my first experience going to a club in Vietnam. So how was it inside? Comparing to the clubs in China, it wasn’t as big or as packed.. I don’t like it super packed where you can’t move. We had a good group of people at the table and ate, drank, danced, laughed.. so it was definitely a good first night.

Of course afterward we got some late night noodles. It’s funny because normally after going out.. in LA.. I would get either korean bbq or pho.. but in Vietnam we got some other kind of noodles.. and I was totally craving pho. So even though I wanted to try pho immediately, the noodles were still good.. and when I got back to Andy’s place I knocked out.

The next morning however my wish was granted – I wake up all groggy the next morning around 11:30am and stumble out of my room… my eyes half open.. I walk downstairs. Halfway down the flight of stairs Andy opens his room door and groggily says “if you’re hungry just go downstairs and eat some food”. I have no idea what he is talking about.. but I am half awake and a little hungry so I just keep walking downstairs.

I get to the kitchen and Lo and Behold!

Pho Fantasy Feast

I see a freaking entire fresh cooked meal laden all over his kitchen table. There is a fresh steaming pot of beef stew ready to fuse with the freshly cooked pho noodles. There is sliced chicken, basil, fish sauce, and the oh so aromatic toasted garlic flakes. WOW! The smell, the first bite.. I had like 3 bowls.

Best Bowl of Pho

I can’t forget the taste of this bowl of Pho. I think I would have to go back to Vietnam just for this pho alone.

So eventually we all climb out of our half-awake states; I tell Andy I want to do at least one touristy thing and then we can do all the cafes and partying possible. There were 2 touristy things to do on my to do list. 1 was the tunnels + AKs, the other was the Reunification Palace.

Reunification Palace

Reunification Palace, formerly known as Independence Palace, was the equivalent of the White House for the President of South Vietnam. It was also the last stand and site for the end of the war. But yeah… unfortunately when we got there it was CLOSED! I think either we got there too late or it was due to the holiday… so I had no choice but to get some…

Vietnamese Coffee

…Vietnamese Coffee! Also known as ‘ca phe sua da’ is delicious iced coffee with condensed milk. It’s not a trip to Vietnam without some Vietnamese coffee! It’s super strong and got me pretty wired.

After I got all wired we went to dinner with Andy’s friend Tommy and Tommy’s wife.

Tommy throwin down some knowledge

Tommy was hilarious! He was an international model and traveled to all these different parts of the world in the past and over dinner and drinks he kept throwin down all this knowledge. It was interesting and he was comical at the same time. In the picture above we went to a local pub bar type place.. but it’s different from bars in the US because at this bar there are girls that work there that hang out by the bar and you can select for them to accompany you while you drink. The way it works is you ask some to join you and then at the end you give them a standardized tip. In Vietnam and many parts of Asia this is pretty commonplace. At the same time you don’t have to ask them to drink with you. We just sat for drinks and there was also live music so it was a cool spot to chat and hear Tommy’s stories. At night we went to Shadow Club. There are mainly a lot of tables all lined up in there, but didn’t really have a dance floor. Tri dropped by too and we ended going to some cafe afterward.. we ordered food.. the food came.. but by the time the food came we were passed out. hahaha..

Okay, so due to our failure of doing one tourist thing the day before the first thing we did the next day was to check out the Reunification Palace again. This time it was open and I got to check it out (Unfortunately I did not have time to check out the tunnels and AKs this trip because that location was about 2 hours away from where we lived and we didn’t have enough time).

Here’s a glimpse of what’s inside:

Helicopter at the Reunification Palace

Commanding Room is for Commanders

Pictures on the wall in the Reunification Palace

The inside is what you could expect – it’s just some different board rooms, offices, library room, theater room, etc. Then there’s a helicopter and tank on the premises. Walking through it was a little boring, but at the same time when you realize it was a part of history and then see all these pictures of the war and slaughter, it’s pretty moving that I’m standing in the same place where tanks crashed through and people fought with their lives and struggled through so much.

Upon leaving, I was however touristed into buying some over-priced useless artifacts. Anyways, we headed to meet up a friend and get some coffee. I wanted to try some more food and though it wasn’t dinner time I wanted to try the banhi me and beef stew which I often have in San Gabriel on Valley Blvd. I may have not ordered the exact thing I was looking for but it was pretty good. I was hoping the beef stew would be thicker and more suitable for dipping the bread in.. but overall the taste was still good. With that, I will note one thing – at least from what I saw, though Beijing has a lot more modern looking buildings and some bigger more developed establishments.. the one thing that always nags at me in China is that when I’m eating, I’m not quite sure what I’m eating.. I often get this it’s half food, half synthetic feeling… and I did not have that feeling in Vietnam. Everything I ate tasted good and tasted like real food.

Beef Stew and Banh Mi!

For dinner we went to a really local spot and had some other kind of Vietnamese noodles. I was pretty full after already eating like 2 hours before dinner, but I remember the soup and noodles were really tasty.

spring rolls

After dinner we went to a more western club lounge called Lush. It was my last night and I had to catch a flight the next morning plus we had gone out enough so we took it easy and then headed out around midnight.

look at the picture behind me

So the next morning I’m at the airport. I’m sitting by my terminal going doot da doot.. and then suddenly this URGE for pho starts rising and 30 minutes before it was time to board my flight I run upstairs to the restaurant area and frantically search for some pho. haha! I figured it would be a while since I could get some good authentic pho in Vietnam so I should get one more farewell bite. =P Though airport food is not known to be the best ever, I figure it is still a Vietnamese airport so the pho should still be pretty above par.

airport pho

airport fried spring rolls

I was wrong. The pho was very average. The fried spring rolls were slightly tastier. Not the best, but still tasty. The size of those spring rolls reminded me of filipino lumpia.

Anyways, overall had a good trip. I didn’t really go to Vietnam to do anything crazy or do too much sight-seeing. I just moved on from my job and finally had a chance to take a small vacation for myself and I hadn’t seen my friend Andy in a while so it was the perfect timing. I got to see his pad and personally see and hear what he’s been up to in Saigon (and he’s been up to a lot). It was a good breather in the sense that I didn’t worry about work, training, housing, planning, etc for those few days.

On the other hand it was still action packed because we squeezed in so much in these few short days. So the journey doesn’t end here. There was a reason this trip was cut short. Originally I was planning on staying 1-2 weeks, but life slapped me in the face and said I had things to do.

Find out what was so important that I had to reduce my pho eating days in my next post! – The Life of a Stuntman in China!

Source: http://alhambrasource.org/stories/wushu-world-champion-who-spars-jet-li-and-calls-alhambra-home Here is a re-post of a recent article on Alfred from the Alhambra Source. Thanks to staff writer Tim Loc and the editors at Alhambra Source for the enjoyable interview.

It’s every working stiff’s fantasy: saying goodbye to the daily grind and embarking on an exotic journey involving movie stars and occasional bodily harm. That’s exactly what Alhambra resident Alfred Hsing, 27, did two years ago. He left his finance job to focus on wushu, an athletic sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts.

So far, the risk is working out. In 2009 Hsing became the first American to win gold in the taolu (??) category, which focuses on form, at the World Wushu Championships. Now he’s jet setting around the globe to choreograph fight scenes for feature films (he’s even landed a small role in Jet Li’s latest project). He’s incurred a few bruises along the way, sure, but as he tells The Alhambra Source, it’s all part of a hectic life spent in airports, foreign countries and movie sets.

It doesn’t seem like a lot of people are familiar with wushu. What makes it unique? Physically and philosophically, what sets it apart from the other martial arts?

First I would like to clarify the definition of wushu. Directly translated from Chinese it means “martial arts.” In the definition most used today, “wushu” or “modern wushu” is a particular style of martial arts created by China as an athletic sport. Modern wushu as a style is characterized by speed, grace, and power. The art form requires high acrobatic ability, flexibility and precision.

I think it’s one of the most physically challenging martial arts styles in terms of basic training. In competition, a standard form must be at least one minute and 20 seconds and have a combination of jump front kicks, aerials, jump inside kicks and more. These difficult moves must be performed precisely and without any extraneous movement.

My philosophy on wushu is that it has pushed me in regards to physical limits, but it has also helped enhance my mind. I believe that when you train in a repetitive motion—the same punch or kick a hundred or thousand times—it is a form of meditation and helps you grow. Wushu’s focus on rhythm and flow help make it a physically challenging martial art, as well as a meditative art.

You’ve recently landed some roles in action movies and short films. When you’re performing your own stunts and fight scenes, are you put in a lot of dangerous scenarios?

I have done high falls, wirework, fight choreography, et cetera, but I don’t think my response can do justice to the situations that many working stunt men and women face. There are many dangerous scenarios out there and that’s why the stunt profession is not for everyone. I have had bruises, fractures, and occasional injuries from my 15 years of martial arts and film work, but I believe I have been very lucky to have remained relatively safe.

I think the important thing is to know what you are capable of and have good control of your body. If you know how to control yourself and minimize risks then I think it’s possible to maintain your health in the field.

You’ve worked with the likes of Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Did anything about them surprise you when you met them? Or were they what you’d expected them to be like.

Yes and no. There are elements of their on-screen characters that really seem to match their real life personalities, but movies are still movies.

One thing that was surprising: Although I knew they were both incredibly successful and hard working people, until you see it in person, it’s hard to fathom the charisma, intensity and drive of both Jet Li and Jackie Chan. They have their own personalities, but one thing they both have is a special drive. Although they are of course physically skilled at martial arts, there is something special they have that has made them standout among the millions of other talented martial artists out there.

Do you follow a certain regiment in diet and exercise?

I don’t have a strict diet. In general the food I like just so happens to be relatively healthy. I am pretty much always happy with chicken and vegetables. I don’t have a strict rule with this either, but I usually avoid soda, red meat, and sweets.

As far as exercise, I used to work out twice a day six days a week when I was training for competitions, but now that I am working in Asia with a demanding schedule I work out whenever I have downtime from work.

You had a job in finance before switching to an entirely different career. Were you hesitant while making that transition?

Leaving something stable is not easy, especially considering that I had great co-workers and a good paycheck. At the same time the stability made the answer very clear to me. One path I knew exactly where I would be 10 years from now; the other path was uncertain—it offered opportunity, hope and excitement. I knew that I didn’t want to be behind a desk my whole life with a couple extra dollars in my pocket when I died. After that became clear, the decision was simple.

You travel a lot, but it seems like you return to Alhambra for downtime. Do see the city as a safe haven? Does it help you retreat from your hectic career?

I fly on average almost once a week—sometimes short flights, sometimes long flights. Traveling wears a person down after a while. It’s definitely nice to have some consistency and a home base. Even though I currently work in China, Alhambra is where my home is and it’s nice to look forward to coming back home. I really think Alhambra is a perfect blend for me—a combination of local businesses, good Asian food, proximity to main street, good location to downtown and Hollywood without being too close to the traffic, and great neighbors.

Follow Alfred’s journey through his personal website www.alfredrocks.com, and his business website www.wushukicks.com.

Welcome Back

This post is just for myself to vent so if you don’t want to read about venting you can just skip this post. haha..

So I returned back to the US after being away for over half a year! I was imagining all the fun, sun, and relaxation I would have when returning to Cali.. unfortunately there was something else waiting for me in Cali… – my mail.

What was in my mail?

Tons of things.. not good things.. bills, past due registration, notices, taxes related, etc.

I’m essentially back in the US for 2.5 weeks, but with the amount of things I have to do and with the time I have I am getting majorly overloaded. This is also in part my own doing so no one’s to blame but myself.

Just because I left for China does not mean all of my life and debt over here stops.. and just because I am not in China does not mean I don’t have work from over there as well.

So far my work has consisted of the following 4 categories:

Personal
Property taxes, mortgage payments, switching statements to e-statements, insurance, vehicle registration, reversing bank charges, opening/closing bank accounts, working out, shopping for things I need to bring back to China, selling my car, making payments…. and even blog posts.. yes believe it or not there are many things I’ve had in mind that I wanted to write about and journal, but haven’t had the time to sit down and capture in writing.

My Business
Bank fees, dealing with attempted fraud, chargebacks, shipping, renewing licenses/permits, accounting, paying taxes, paying contractors, processing custom orders, sorting refunds/returns, tracking orders, etc..

Overseas Job Duties
Though I am in the US I still have to maintain communication with certain business that is in motion. I have been scheduling meetings, playing tetris with flight times and events, tallying up expenses, responding to requests, reading scripts, and so on…

Film
I am making a short film. I know it’s pretty crazy to jam this in in an already busy schedule and on relatively short notice.. but its happening! This is so happening. This has been the excitement in my return to LA. I am working with a friend/director and we are putting together a concept we had 10 months back. This is going to represent just a taste of what we have in mind.. but it should be pretty exciting. For this I have been helping with my part in the casting, story, script, and direction. Where most of my responsibility falls though is on the action choreography and my acting. The audience will essentially be following my character’s narrative.

Now aside from the above 4 things.. I have of course wanted to and needed to hang out with my family, have new years dinners with family/relatives, meet up with friends I haven’t seen in over 6 months, grab drinks with my brother, and… sell my car.

I got the chance to hang out with Andy, Eliver, Jurka, E, hue3, my bro, Hurricane, Mcflyii, Connie, and my cousins since I got back… but there are so many other people I’ve been meaning to see but just not enough time.. plus selling my car didn’t make transportation an easy thing.

Last Day with Lisa

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that… I am grateful and thankful for seeing all my friends and being back in the states, but I just have sooo much to do (a lot I put on myself) that I am feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. Also I wanted to post a sample of all the things that are going on and kinda express the strain it’s putting on me because there’s ALWAYS the good and the bad. Right now I feel kinda stressed, but I’m sure when the film I’m putting together is finished I will post about it and feel really good.

The other point I want to make is that when you see something really cool and awesome, keep in mind, that there is probably another side to that coin.. which is that you have to give up something or some things to get that result.

The last thing I want to remind myself and it was a good friend that recently mentioned this point – “stop and smell the roses”. It sounds sooo played out to say that.. in fact, what does it even mean?? …and yes, I know it means ‘take the time to enjoy the journey’ or ‘calm down and realize what is truly important’. However… it’s easy to spit out those regurgitated words without truly internalizing what it means. So for me, in my life today, I especially need to stop and smell the roses and stay passionate doing what I’m doing.

If you’ve read this far… thanks for reading and sharing in a part of my spouting for today.

- Alfred

So I guess I finished off 2009 with a bang by quitting my desk job, winning gold at worlds, and then taking off to live in Taiwan for 2.5 months. I finally broke free of this “path” that seemed carved since birth. Once I had walked this path of getting good grades, graduating college, and getting a corporate job, I felt I could finally venture into what the rest of the universe had to offer. I just started truly discovering the endless possibilities of life towards the end of 2010.. but 2011 was the year that I would start learning more, questioning more, and pushing the envelope on what is capable in life.

Let me take a look back at the fruits of my labor for 2010.

It was definitely a year of meeting people! Not that I ever cared too much about merely “meeting people” but if there were ever celebrities or idols that I wanted to meet, I more than definitely got that out of my system this year. So to start out.. right after watching the fireworks at Taipei 101 I finished my enjoyable trip to Taiwan and headed back to LA. I headed straight back to LA just in time to rehearse and perform at a demo for Jackie Chan!

Jackie Chan at the Lionsgate's Movie The Spy Next Door Premier

Immediately after the demo before my body had even cooled down I caught a flight back to SF bay area to perform with my brother at an event my mom was helping out with around the Civic Center in San Jose.
Here I am with my brother working on our fight choreography for the performance.

Aside from all these demos, 2010 was also a new year for “wu shu” for me. Taking a gold at the world games was as far as I could have ever hoped to go with competitive taolu wushu. Immediately when I got back to LA I started training with world games sanda medalist Jason Yee. I was really excited to hear that he had moved to LA and was also working in entertainment. Including some wushu private lessons that I started teaching, I basically trained every day of the week – sometimes 2 times a day. My training would consist of sanda with Jason, wushu at LA wushu, tricking at white lotus, and gym time at LA fitness.

Me and Jason

A little sampler of my training at White Lotus.

For me, it was also a really meaningful year for wushu in another sense. 2010 was my last year doing competitive wushu. I was invited to the 2010 Sport Accord Games in Beijing, China based off of placing top 6 in a qualifying event at the world games.

My Last Wushu Competition

After more than 10 years of training wushu and competing, part of me looks back and thinks, it’s hard to believe that this part of my life is over. A couple years ago I couldn’t imagine a day where I wasn’t focusing on making the US wushu team. Of course everything has it’s time and place. I am so happy to have finished off my final competition at the Sport Accord Games. It was a high level first of it’s kind event recognized by the IOC to be held like an olympics for martial arts. I got my chance to compete in Beijing – a birthplace of modern wushu. Best of all I got to spend this trip with my US wushu teammates Sarah Chang and Peter Dang as well as my Canada wushu buddies. =)

Plus I finally got some espn-like wushu coverage with one of those high flying dolly-ing cameras. Check out my final performance.

Jackie Chan even congratulated me after the tournament. He ended up being an honored invited guest performer for the 2010 Sport Accord closing ceremony. You can still see my competitor badge below.

Alfred Hsing and Jackie Chan

It’s amazing how things are all connected. Before getting a job in Beijing, I was going to fly to China anyways because I was invited to compete at the Sport Accord games. Then I happen to attend the games to compete AND for work because Jet was an honored international wushu ambassador. Meanwhile Jackie Chan was singing as an honored performer.. and I had just happened to perform for him earlier on in the year for his movie premier at The Grove in LA.

As I mentioned earlier, this was a year of meeting people – part of that was because I became a News Correspondent / Interview Host for Pac Rim baby!

I had the opportunity to interview a lot of artists and performers that I have a lot of respect for.. such as: Mike Shinoda, Cung Le, Tia Carrere, ABDC dance crews, and many others.

Cung Le Interview

Mike Shinoda

Outside of meeting some awesome peeps on the Pacific Rim team and on the red carpets.. my celebrity streak didn’t end there… but first! let me do a little summary on my business developments.

2010 was actually a very interesting year for WushuKicks.com – my online martial arts business. Aside from acting projects and training all my other time was focused on WushuKicks. WushuKicks went through some good clean ups. The site design and functionality was improved; it was the first year we were incorporated; sales increased month to month; vendor relationships developed; and I grew new lines of business. WushuKicks was also a sponsor of CMAT this year. Overall the scale of WushuKicks definitely grew.. and in fact I am looking for another person to possibly join the team to help out in a learning and assisting capacity (contact me at alfredrocks(at)gmail.com).

WushuKicks sponsors CMAT 18

Martial Arts Complete

One of the new lines of business under WushuKicks was Martial Arts Complete. My good homie and buddy Adam McArthur and I had this idea to promote martial arts nutrition. I started talking to him about this in 2009. Finally in 2010 our idea came to fruition and was finalized. We set up the site www.martialartscomplete.com (after being scammed by some guy who only half finished our site). Then we finished the designs, product pictures, legal work, certifications, and got our first sale not too long after our product was completed. =) Look forward to more development for 2011.

I guess the most interesting part was that in the middle part of the year I ended up moving to the other side of the world and still fully remotely managed WushuKicks. With less time spent I even noticed sales continued to increase! Life is good!

NOW.. why did I move to the other side of the world? I guess most know by now. I got a life changing email (and skype call) that landed me a job to work for my childhood role model Jet Li.

andy alfred jet clinton

The job has had it’s ups and downs in terms of how draining and demanding it can be… but I never regret making this decision to up and move from LA to China. Oh yeah, so the picture above is with Clinton at a Clinton Global Initiative event in Hong Kong. Also the reason I shaved my head is because I landed a small role in a movie WITH Jet. I shaved my head to play a monk. I actually got lines, a close up, and some work with the stunt team as well. I mean.. wow.. from driving hours in traffic just to audition for scattered roles in LA to working with China’s most famous directors and being in a scene interacting with Jet Li… this alone made 2010 an amazing year for me! Unfortunately I’m not allowed to post up pics from the set yet, but when the movie comes out I will definitely post up some news.

Some other good memories on the job include: meeting other celebs like Rob Cohen, Ekin Cheng, Jay Chou; working with top entrepreneurs and philanthropists like Jack Ma, Wang Shi, Ma Hua Teng; emailing Bill Gates and Warren Buffet; shaking hands 6 times with Bill Clinton; helping choreograph Jet’s Adidas Q4 clothing line poses; hitting up movie premiers; changing history (watching the One Foundation achieve status as a public NGO in China).

Jack Ma and Alfred Hsing

adidas front kick pose

Despite all the cool people and fun sounding events… moving to China and working for Jet was one of the most draining and demanding jobs I have ever had in my life. For the first 3 months, every day I passed out from exhaustion. Within the first 3 weeks on the job one time in Shanghai I woke up in a hotel and didn’t know which city I was in for about 2-3 minutes. When I got here, I couldn’t read Chinese as well and I was much more unfamiliar with how everything works. I am so thankful that my reading ability has improved and my listening comprehension for business and philanthropy terminology has increased as well. I still feel I have a ways to go, but I sincerely want to make a push to improve my Chinese to a near-native level this year.

It has definitely been a year of accomplishing goals. I got the chance to work with both Jackie Chan and Jet Li this year.. and that’s a goal I had set upon achieving since the 7th grade. Also I had always wanted to move to Asia and live here for 6 months – 1 year and now I’ve made that happen as well.

I rounded up the year and made everything come full circle as we finished up 2 movies by the end of December and I took a short vacation to Taiwan. So again, for the second time I spent my New Years Eve watching the fireworks at Taipei 101. This year was a 100 year celebration for Taiwan and it was also 2010, a nice round number, so apparently double the money was spent on fireworks. The firework display was in fact AMAZING this year! Fireworks zigged and zagged and flooded up and down the 101 building. It also lit the sky with all kinds of shapes and lights! I think this was a great great great way to kick off 2011.

Taipei 101 2010 NYE

New Years in Taiwan with homies

It was great to spend the end of 2010 in Taiwan with friends. Ngan, Sarah, and I joked about all the former US wushu team members moving to Asia and kicking it in Taiwan. It was a fun vacation and my Taiwan trip will surely have it’s own post.

Overall this year I think I reached new heights in my understanding of the universe. If last year I pushed physical limits of the human body (training and training and more training till it hurt all over) this year I started to push the limits of the mind… my mind.. human minds.. and questioning more deeply on how our human minds limit ourselves. I hope and sincerely believe that the relationships I have developed this year were many and far reaching. I believe the fruits of labor that will be sown in 2011 will be seismic!! even in comparison to past years. I hope for success in the acting and entertainment field for 2011. Even beyond acting developments.. I think I am growing in knowledge around spirituality and life’s truths. I know there will be further developments in this area as well. If 2010 was pushing boundaries.. 2011 is where we break the tipping point for goals and possibilities.

I hope you enjoyed my recap of 2010. Welcome 2011!
- Alfred Hsing

My June 2010 Tricking Sampler!

10 days before the BIG DAY! Got tons going on. So for this week I am teaching 3 classes, training, doing a demo, tying up loose ends, and then heading up to nor cal to visit family and support the wildaid / kung fu magazine tournament in San Jose.

An update on my previous to do list:
(completed)
UPS shipper account company testing trial period
update FAQ
find customer support staff
book flight up north
book flight to china
buy new laptop
buy new luggage case (maybe also buy one of those traveler backpacks)
optometrist appointments
acting classes

(in progress)
transfer business email forwarding
find new roommate
clean house
get visas
sell car
martial arts training
teaching lessons
buy new camera lens
buy new phone (thinking unlocked iphone)

There you have 2 samples of our pictures from the martial arts complete photo shoot. I’ve been posting a lot about my meet ups/interviews with people in entertainment, but I’ve been neglecting blogging about the other work that I’ve been up to. Lately at MAC we’ve been continuing with sponsorships and our ad campaigns. This all led up to some big meetings. I just had a meeting today discussing the distribution of Martial Arts Complete. I am happy with the progress we have made so far and expect more to come in the next month. We are at a pivotal development point!

With WK I just got a huge shipment of budosagas so I will be shipping out some backorders next week. The shoes look great and I finally got this prototype wushu shoe that I will be trying out next week. I already wore it and it feels totally comfortable so far… and this is without wearing it in. I plan to upload some more products and videos next week as well.

I’ve got a few other projects cookin as well, but I think I’m gunna turn my focus to the entertainment side of things now. You know.. originally I wanted to start an online business to give me a little side income to “free” myself from being tied to work and thus allow me to pursue what I enjoyed.. which was self expression / acting / martial arts performance… but lately I’ve been getting more and more tied up with business meetings and setting up sites and such that I am strongly reminding myself that the clocks ticking and I should be focusing on Plan A instead of Plan B.. because then Plan B becomes Plan A.

So speaking of entertainment – I am in fact making plans to shoot a few projects. I wrote a treatment for an action short film. Optimally I’d like this to be a 2 day shoot in June. I am also working on a web series with a friend. I love the concept, but we are still in the script writing stages. Last among my production projects is a youtube quality commercial for a gymnastics facility – more on this later.. but this one should be fun and less daunting than the other projects. This is all on the producing end – On the acting end, I am going to start hustling more once I get back from Nor Cal (I am up north for the weekend to help out at the CMAT tournament) and also auditioning and submitting myself more. Plan is to hit it hard before I go to China in August.

I’m still teaching a few students and things are going well with that. I also now teach at LA wushu more regularly. Good vibe there and we always get boba afterward! My workout schedule is: Mon, Fri tricking, Tues, Thurs sanda/kickboxing, Wed purely wushu. I always try to get in some wushu throughout all the workouts and also I do it when I’m teaching, but Wed is the day where I strictly focus on wushu. I feel like weekends I could also add in a wushu workout.. maybe Sunday. I’ll just have to work it in so that it becomes a routine. I am also feeling more and more comfortable with various back flips, wall flips, etc.

Lastly, travel – Although I usually operate on a last minute go with the flow basis, some pre-planning needs to start right now for my asia trip because of the Shanghai expo. Since there are so many people flying to China around that time.. I have to book my trip in advance.

Okay, I’m getting really tired and gotta wake up to go to CMAT tomorrow. I’m off!

stapler gun

Hey guys, I’ve still been a little sick. Here is a quick update.

Martial Arts/Stunts
Haven’t been training much because I was sick the past week or so. I’m in a recovering mode and just got the sniffles. Hopefully it will be completely gone by the end of the week.

I helped coach at LA wushu today and I’ve still been staying active training my private lessons. Also got a new student starting next week so we will see how that goes. This sets me in line with my goal of having a max of 3-5 private lessons. I really enjoy teaching, but keeping it one on one – this way I really get to see someone’s skills develop and provide them direct attention and custom training. Meanwhile, it keeps me active without turning martial arts training into a full-time thing that prevents me from focusing on other areas of my life.

Sam called me the past week and mentioned helping her out on a crouching tiger hidden dragon fight set for 8711, but the scene required 2 girls instead of a guy so it fell through. However, I’m sure some other cool opportunities will arise. =)

Film
Finished shooting pick up scenes for Barry Baz (www.barrybaz.com). There’s nothing really on the site yet, so don’t get too excited. However, I am quite excited because it’s been about 6 months since I finished shooting the main stuff with them and they’ve been editing (with the editors from the same studio that edited the Bourne series) and cleaning it up so that it’s a masterpiece. It’s about an Australian that comes to America. He meets me and I am an award winning film maker of sorts.. but I can’t say much more… so let’s just say it’s a comedy and a whole lot more. Should be done within a month. I’ll post more details when it’s done.

Business
Tons going on over here. Continued working on wk mock ups. Created 2 versions that I like right now.. just trying to decide on a layout. Also got the martial arts complete site in progress. The layout is good just need to get the content up there and adjust the color scheme. I filed for the dba and am still waiting on the paper work.

Corporation’s taxes are due March 15, so I started cleaning up my finances. Feels good to really sit down and see everything from a numbers perspective and then watch how it’s grown over the years. I know this is something that I should actually be looking at quite often, but as a start up you worry about a million things and hardly want to deal with the number crunching. Anyways, it’s looking good for 09.. now just to stay on top of things for ’10.

Other
Major thing going on is that the front porch is finally getting remodeled and getting tile put in because the old material was starting to crack from the rain. Should be done by Sunday.

Also started doing a few fun raps/freestyles/covers if you hadn’t noticed on my previous posts.

Casual is Cool has our official youtube page which can be checked out at http://www.youtube.com/user/casualiscoolyo (SUBSCRIBE if you are cool)