I would summarize 2009 as the year of taking the leap and the year of pushing limits. It was a year filled with incredible experiences.

wushu training with the beijing wushu team

The day I made the US Wushu A Team

First of all 2009 was incredible in that it topped 2008 which was already a great year. In 2009 I yet again took a leave of absence and traveled to China to train for the US national wushu team trials. I was reunited with great wushu friends, beijing food, and intense training with the beijing wushu team. I can’t believe that was just this year because so much has happened this year. I came back to the US and enacted revenge on my 2007 Team Trials results. This year I finally made the US wushu team. In 2009 I fulfilled my LIFELONG dream to be on the A team of the US wushu team. There were moments of stress, fear, anxiety, friendship, excitement, ambition, and joy in all the millions of seconds that led me up to receiving my official certificate placing me on the 1st seat of the 2009 US wushu team. This alone would have made 2009 a memorable year among memorable years.

US Wushu A Team

2 Gold Medalists with JBJ reppin USA

To add to the excitement, this was the year I would finally take the plunge. I took a leap of faith to pursue my passions by quitting my stable corporate job. Boy do I not regret that move. It was something I thought of doing for a long time, but when I did it everything seemed to fall into place. It allowed me to devote more physical and mental energy to training for the World Wushu Championships! All the competitors at the 10th World Wushu Championships were eager to fight for their right to take home a medal for their country. Therefore, I think every extra second I trained helped me win my title as a World Champion in straight sword. There will always be a time to work on a career or make money, but this was my moment to seize a World Champion title and I did it! Fortunately for me my parents were there as well to witness that moment. I can’t describe how unbelievable it is to be able to think back on that day- especially since wushu has been such a big part of my life. This World Wushu Championships completed the circle on my wushu career. I wanted no regrets and I left with none. I wanted to be satisfied with my performance on ALL my forms not just straight sword and I was very happy with my performances in chang quan and qiang shu as well.

Smashing pots on Deadliest Warrior

butterfinger fight commercial

Playing the part of a sailor

In front of the camera I got on my first national and international TV show.  I got the part as the Shaolin Expert and lead shaolin monk protagonist on Spike TV’s Deadliest Warrior. My episode caught quite some publicity with the shaolin fighting and my eye gouging with the emei piercers.  It even aired in Canada and the UK! Aside from this show I also did my first green screen project with the History Channel and worked on 2 projects with good buddies David and Al Brocca. Projects followed projects and I got to do photo shoots and ended up getting featured articles in Masters Magazine and Kung Fu Magazine!

tea in store

Nicole promoting Angels Tea

In business WushuKicks has successfully grown from a project in the back of my head to an incorporated business that brings in consistent sales every month. We also got our google checkout badge, increased page rank, and made sales to well known clients such as Cirque du Soleil. I got my real estate license and am a recognized real estate agent. I also partnered up with a few entrepreneurs this year and learned and worked on many other business ventures including clothing, pokerbling, angels tea, and nutritional supplements. Angels Tea signed contracts with 3 retail locations that now offer our delicious flavors.

TST in Hong Kong

Friends in Taiwan

Mucho thanks to Ivy for looking out for me in business and entertainment in Taiwan

Big Thanks to Sarah and her family for making my Taiwan Adventures possible!

After the plunge to become an entertainer and entrepreneur I flew from Toronto to SF and before I could get over the time difference of Toronto and SF, I flew to Taipei.  During my stay in Asia, I went to Hong Kong and Macau as well. I met Daniel Wu and Victy Wong a member of the Jackie Chan stunt team. Both are people that I respect and people that have worked with Jackie Chan. =) I am still in Taipei as I write this, but will be heading home in 2 days. In Taipei I was interviewed by Channel 10 News and also interviewed on a famous variety show hosted by Zhang Fei. The friends and bonds I made here will definitely be lifelong ones. I achieved most of my goals for this trip which included getting more familiar with the entertainment industry, learning more chinese, and deciding whether I could or would like to live in Asia for an extended period of time.

I’ve fulfilled many goals this year including an 8 year long wushu dream, being on national tv, and watching the fireworks light up from the 101 building in Taipei. I think 2010 is a very bright year. I am looking forward with anticipation and excitement. I got my years of corporate experience and am ready to embark on a unpaved path as an entrepreneur. I have no excuses now and have put myself in a sink or swim situation. I predict success, but either way I am following my motto.. of living a life without regrets. On one path, I am more safe and know the outcome (which I know I will not be satisfied with), on the other I forge my own destiny to achieve greatness in the things I am passionate about.. in which I know that even without success, the memories built from doing something I am passionate about will already be more valuable than the safe path. In any case all I am saying is that 2010 is the year for this passion and excitement. It’s not to say that some time in the future, I won’t want more stability and calm.. but 2010 will not be that year. =)

alfred hsing gold medalist at world wushu championships

These are the full responses to interview questions for Alfred Hsing (First US Wushu Taolu Gold Medalist at the 10th World Wushu Championships in Toronto, Canada) posed by Kung Fu Magazine in Q & A form exclusive at WushuKicks.com

Let’s start the Q&A –

How did you train for competition?

It was actually very tough to train for this competition. I think a
lot of other US wushu team members would agree that after the US Team
Trial competition you feel a little burnt out from training. I trained
as intense as I possibly could to ensure I could make the US team
because making the US wushu team has been a lifelong dream of mine.
After 3-4 months of rigorous training when you make the team, you
realize you have to keep it up for another 4-5 months. Imagine running
a 26.2 mile marathon but right when you approach the finish line, you
are told you have to run another 26.2 miles non stop. That’s how I
felt.

Training for this competition became more of a mental challenge than a
physical struggle. I was already at the peak of my physical skill
level in terms of being able to perform the difficulty moves like 540
outsides, butterfly twist to tornado kick, and so on. Also, at the
time I was training for worlds I had a full time job, my own side
business, and classes to teach so it was very tiring getting myself to
practice.

I usually train by myself and it gets very boring sometimes. Something
that helped me the most was training with people who are excited about
wushu as well. When others are excited it helps to keep you motivated.
Also training with people who are at an elite level is also motivating
and it pushes you to want to do better.

In training for the World Championships I knew that there would be no
room for mistakes so I practiced focusing on perfection. Perfect
speed, perfect difficulty moves, perfect stances, everything. I did
not hit everything all the time, but whenever I would mess up on a
jump or spin or kick I wouldn’t let myself go until I re-did it and
did a clean successful one. Every time I practiced a full form, I
would pretend it was the real thing – that this was the ONE that
counted. We train so many hours and years just for that 1 minute and
20 seconds on the carpet which is why it is so important to over train
your abilities to the point where you could do all the moves 10 times
perfectly in your sleep.

What was it like to win the medal? What do you think of your performance at
the medal-winning event? What feelings did you have before, during, and
after the event?

Winning the medal was everything I dreamed it would be. It was also a
little unreal that such a big dream became a reality so fast. It’s a
little bittersweet that I don’t get to wake up chasing that big dream
anymore, but it just means I have to set bigger goals.

I am absolutely proud of my performance in my medal winning event. In
fact I am happy with all of my events. The day of my events I did not
think about medals or places. I just wanted to give my best possible
performance and enjoy the moment and I did that so I have no regrets.

A lot of people said it would be impossible to win a gold medal at the
World Wushu Championships, but the few people who didn’t know much
about wushu that said “go for the gold” made me think that it was
possible. I adjusted my mindset a few weeks before the competition and
felt that it was achievable. When you don’t believe you can do it of
course you won’t be able to.

Before my actual event I was relatively calm. I put in my time
training and I was prepared. I came to do my best and wasn’t competing
with anyone else there except myself so there was nothing else to do
but wait for my turn. After I finished my form I felt really good. I
knew I nailed everything. My score came out on the monitor and it said
9.72 and tentatively I was in first place after only four other
competitors. There were still many competitors behind me. It was
actually more nerve racking after my performance because each score
after mine could have potentially bumped me down. After all the
competitors had gone, “Alfred Hsing” was still 1st on the monitor. I
was relieved and excited that I had accomplished it. After
accomplishing such a goal, I realize what the saying “It’s not the
destination, it’s the journey” means.

You were selected to the C team in 2007. Do you feel that anything changed
(your training, your attitude, etc.) between then and now to enable you to
progress to the point where you could win a gold medal at the worlds?

Not too much really changed with how I train. It was more about
preparedness. I tried out in 2003 and did not make the team and after
that I almost gave up. Also I became really busy with college and
work. I basically stopped training and competing until 2006 when I
noticed a lot of people I knew continued to advance in wushu. My
hunger to make the US team and compete at worlds never died. I trained
really hard from 2006-2007 which allowed me to catch back up to a top
level US standard, but still it wasn’t enough. I was at a crossroads-
get back to reality and focus on my career or risk my corporate job
and focus on wushu for another 2 years. I chose wushu. Instead of
giving up, my hunger to make the team only grew. Failing to make the
“A” team in 2007 infuriated me to the point that I vowed I would be so
much better that there would be no doubt I would make the A team at
the next team trials. I went to a lot more competitions, got more
experience, and made sure to fix all my mistakes from 2007. By the
time 2009 rolled around I was a lot more confident because I prepared
off the competition carpet. I think since I wasn’t willing to settle
and I made a point in my practices to not make a single mistake that
the training carried over to my results at worlds games as well.

What memories do you have of the championships? The city? The rest of the
team (other athletes, officials)? The organizers? The venue?

I am going to have great memories of my trip to Toronto, Canada for
the 10th World Wushu Championships, not just because of the victory in
my competition but because of all the interlaced positive memories I
have had in the city. It just so happened that along with bringing
home a good score, I also had great teammates that all got along, a
good roommate on the trip, a venue in Toronto that was close enough
for my parents and friends to come watch, and so on. I was very
honored that I had the fortune of having my parents there witnessing
such an important moment in my life. I also met great people from
around the world and ran into international friends that I had trained
with from abroad. I have not been to past World Championships so I can
not compare, but the organizing committee aimed to be as professional
and organized as possible. I want to thank everyone who was involved
in the event, my US wushu teammates for being awesome, my parents for
all their help and support, and all coaches far and near who have
given me advice and help whether it was for a day or for many years.

Thanks again everyone for your support!

-Alfred Hsing

*you can see more clips of alfred at his personal website www.alfredrocks.com

10th WWC Gold Medal - Alfred Hsing

Alfred Hsing, member of the US Wushu Team brings home the first US GOLD MEDAL at a World Wushu Championships. The US has not taken a gold in wushu taolu at this tournament since the 1st world wushu championships over 20 years ago.

Alfred Hsing placed first in the jianshu or straight sword event with a 9.72 edging above competing Asian countries – Japan and Indonesia who took second and third respectively.

Hong Kong national wushu team coach remarked to Alfred Hsing “It’s an amazing day. You have been etched into history, the wushu history books, as the first USA wushu athlete to win a gold at the World Wushu Championships and become a World Champion. Congratulations.”

The straight sword (1st) and spear (12th) events were on day 1 of the competition. Hsing also competed in Chang Quan or longfist (9th) and placed 9th out of 83 enrolled competitors. He is also the first US team member to beat China in the World Championships. China chang quan team member made some very slight mistakes which bumped his score down. Hsing completed perfect nandu and technical requirements for a final long fist score of 9.65.

Here are both his longfist and straight sword videos:

This year was a great year for the US wushu team. Other notable achievements were Colvin Wang who took 2nd in spear only losing to China’s Wu Di. Peter Dang placed top 8 in broadsword. Sarah Chang placed 8th in women’s longfist… and Stephanie Lim, Joanna Pei, and Max Ehrlich all took top 8 in one of their respective events! Congratulations to all!

10th WWC Alfred Hsing Takes First First Place for USA

World Games with Parents

Official medals are tomorrow, but according to the scoreboards I took GOLD in Straight Sword at the World Wushu Championships!

Today was a crazy day! I was the 5th straight sword competitor to compete and when I finished I was 1st on the scoreboard. I was actually MORE nervous AFTER after I competed because every time a score came out I was afraid it would bump me to 2nd. Alas.. after all the competitors went, my name was still first! I was in disbelief because things just happened so quickly.

A little back story- Everyone I train with in US wushu understands that Worlds is such a big tournament with competitors from around the world and most asian countries train professionally so its very difficult for US wushu athletes who work/go to school/and have busy lives and wushu schools that dont have top of the line professional wushu equipment/carpet. Therefore, once I made my dream of making the team, my next goal was to place top 6 at worlds. I thought this was a pretty legit goal to finalize my wushu career and let me retire happily. Afterall, the requirements to attend the 2008 Beijing Wushu Olympic Tournament required that you place top 6 in an event to qualify.. that would prove that I was at an Olympic caliber of wushu. However, thanks to people who didn’t understand wushu MANY people would say things like.. “dont come back without the gold” or “good luck on your tournament.. we will be awaiting news of you taking gold” and stuff like that. Well.. at first I would try to explain, but after a while I got tired and then said.. “okay, thanks! I am going to get gold!”

Well you know what? On the plane and on the john I had a lot of time to think.. why go for 6th when I can go for first? Why limit my mentality to top 6th.. that sounds wack anyways.. “hey guys I am shooting for third”.. how does that sound anyways? So literally by 2 days before my actual competition (look at the poem in my previous entry) I convinced myself that I was GOING TO GET GOLD. I was convinced… and somehow I did it! I will have to say that a lot of people and factors definitely helped me. My parents were here on the first day and they gave me a ride to the competition, my friends and coaches gave me really good advice and support before I competed.. and so on.. every little bit helped in my opinion.

Another interesting story about changing my mind set – When my parents found out that I made the US Wushu Team and would be going to Worlds in Canada.. they decided to make a vacation on the same time just so we could fly out to Toronto together.. then they would visit Niagra Falls and New York. At first my mom said she would just drop me off at the hotel and wish me luck because she gets too nervous watching me compete. I also thought that I would be MORE nervous knowing my parents were in the stands so I said that would be a good idea. THEN I thought to myself – Hey! Am I preparing for failure or for success? How are my parents going to see me WIN GOLD if they arent there to watch it? So when I started convincing myself I would win first, I told them “you know what? you have to come watch my first event… since you guys are already there and its the first event in the morning, just stay and watch.. no worries =)” and of course they did and then they got to see me do my best straight sword competition performance ever.

In bad news I sprained my ankle warming up for spear. Some judges said that we would start at 7pm exactly and we would have all the way until 7 to warm up. I JUST started warming up at 6:30 and they kicked everyone off the carpet at 6:40 so I had NO time to warm up. I ran back on the carpet quickly to run through a few jumps, but in my haste and cuz the carpet was a lil slippery I fell and sprained my ankle on my aerial takeoff.

Check my ankle out:

Sprained ankle

Just some updates for those on the other side of town. Colvin took 2nd in Spear losing only to Wu Di from China. Congrats to my wushu brother Wu Di who became world champion in spear today. Peter Dang got 9.58 in staff. He’s been my roommate at worlds and I’m glad I got to kick it with him more on this trip. We are both naruto junkies. lol. Sarah Chang got top 10 (8th i think) in Chang Quan.

Big thanks to my parents, Shahaub and Collin Lee (who I summoned naruto style) for cheering for me like crazy mofos. I am so glad I got to share this moment with you guys!

Straight Sword World Champion and Spear World Champion

Sorry for the nudity =P but I just wanted to post this pic again because this was around April of this year before I even made the US Team and before Wu Di made the China Team. I just think it’s crazy that about 7 months later we both realized our dreams and became Straight Sword World Champion and Spear World Champion. Anyways, congrats to everyone. I’m just really excited about placing first at worlds and want to inspire others by letting them know in the power of believing… and when others doubt, dont talk back, just SHOW them.

Beast Mode

I’m going beast mode is a phrase I commonly used during the 2009 US Wushu Team Trials. What is going beast mode?

During practice beast mode often occurs 45 min after warm up while I’m into my last sections before I do full forms. Beast mode can also occur on your third section after you have done 2 full sets already.

Beast mode is a switch that can be turned on and off in the user’s mind. Typically it converts the user from a sane modern civilized human into a primal animal with beast strength and rage. This switch must be learned to be controlled and not used at the wrong place or wrong time. Typically for me it is turned on at full power during competitions and even during parts of the warm up phase. Some such as He Jing De have so much beast that beast mode is maintained on while performing normal functions such as walking around or putting on an everyday shirt.

Opening Gates

Being able to turn on beast mode is a requirement for opening gates.

There are eight wushu power gates. These gates are the different barriers of logical exertion that your body can sustain. These gates block the body from over exerting themselves. But some wushu athletes are so advanced that they can break open these gates. The gates in order are: initial gate, heal gate, life gate, harm gate, limit gate, view gate, wonder gate, and death gate. Breaking the initial gate allows the user to increase his or her natural abilities. Opening gates causes extreme physical damage, but grants the user almost exponential power. The 10th World Wushu Championships held this October 2009 may require use of the Death Gate.

8 Celestial Wushu Gates - Don't use death gate unless you have to protect something dear to you.

Typically beast mode is not highly activated in the straight sword event, but in this case I fully turned it on. See example below: