Breaking News: 2010 Winter Olympics CTV Report

Last I left off, my friend Audrey and I were running into Olympic athletes by the Olympic Village. Well, it just so happens that we ran into a few more.

Canadian Olympic Aerialists

There were a whole bunch of street performances and we bumped into a couple of athletes on their day off. The guys above represented team Canada in skiing and aerials.

My old roommate Matt also kept raving about this delicious hai nam chicken at his friends restaurant so Audrey and I went to check it out.

It was in fact the most delicious Hai Nam Chicken I have ever had!

Hai Nam Chicken

Just looking at it makes my mouth water… =P

So crazy story- The crazy friends I ran into decided to invite me over to their apartment (right over downtown/robson st) to watch the US vs Canada hockey game. This was a huge game. The US started off with a lead and then the score tied, but right before each break the US would be up by 1. As you all know Canadians LOVE hockey and the streets were filled with Canadians (by the way I got love for Canada, but of course we were thrilled to be supporting team USA). We decided to run down to the local bar downstairs with blazing Red White and Blue cheering amongst the “Go Canada” cheers.

USA vs Canada Hockey Game

Well some drunk fans decided to follow us home after we drank our beers at the bar. At first no one else in my party noticed that people were running after us (2 guys and 1 girl.. and the girl was like the first to get aggressive with us) and then as we got to the apartment gate I said hey turn around guys.. as we turned around they slowed their run and then said.. “oh hey, u live here?.. umm you must know the score right?” Anyways, as the conversation progressed it got more heated. In the end the last part of the game was about to start and I told them to relax and and we decided it wasn’t worth it to argue with some drunk people who were looking to start shit. In the end the US won 5-3 and it was an exciting game. My friends had to go catch another game live so right after they packed up and head out. I think if we ran around the streets in hardcore USA gear after that game there definitely would’ve been more heated confrontations. haha all in all exciting day though!

The last day of my trip was a little more calm. Lydia’s mom works for Fairchild Media Group on a radio station FM96.1 and also has a TV show on channel 180 that broadcasts throughout Canada so when we met and she found out about what I’ve been up to lately with wushu and acting she decided to have me on air as a guest.

Here’s a clip of me in the studio.

The interview was mainly in Chinese and it made me continue to realize how important it is for me to practice my Chinese. We also did a separate taping for a TV show where she has guests come in. She has interviewed hundreds of celebrities including DONNIE YEN.. so yeah, I was excited to be a guest on her show! =)

Here is a pic of me and aunt Carmen.

Fairchild Media Group

If you’ll notice my shirt.. it’s pretty funny. I bought it in Vancouver, but its apparently a US brand – called David and Goliath. I bought some shirts for a few friends. Here is a really funny one that I didn’t  end up buying, but I had to take a picture.

gold digger

My return to LA was quite smooth because they check all your immigration information over on the Canada side. That was quite interesting. I’m back in LA for the third time this year and been getting back to work.

Upon my return I immediately jam packed my schedule and met up with a producer friend to watch a rough cut of a pilot we worked on. I was a little afraid of the outcome because it’s supposed to be funny and if I didn’t think it was funny, I would be pretty let down. It’s not done yet, but I was definitely laughing so I am looking forward to the finished version. We have to do some pick ups and film more next weekend, but then it should be done and ready to pitch to some networks in a month or two.

Lastly as a favor to my buddy Andy (CEO of an online gaming company), he asked me to help him get some professional pictures that he could use for newsletters and press releases. I wanted to put my Nikon D60 to use so I snapped away. He seemed pretty satisfied with the results and I feel a lot more comfortable getting the shots that people want and finding a look that people want to see. This is not the final profile shot he chose, but it’s a picture that I could imagine in some entrepreneur magazine, so I went ahead and slapped this picture together for fun.

Alright, that’s it for the epic last minute Olympic Adventure. I will update you on the latest work and business developments next time! Cheers!

Original post at: http://www.wushukicks.com/chinese-martial-arts/wushukicks-exclusive-interview-with-alfred-hsing-world-wushu-championships-gold-medalist/

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

Below is an article posted by Kung Fu Magazine. I was asked a set of interview questions which were used for this article. Anthony Roberts actually asked me a lot of stimulating questions that prompted me to think about my wushu training, career, and development. A lot of those responses are in the article below, but I will be following up with the direct Q&A on Casualiscool.com and WushuKicks.com as well.

—————————————————————————

Has American Wushu Finally Arrived?

A Report on the 10th World Wushu Championships
by Anthony Roberts

Wushu in America has had its ups and downs. Even with a large immigrant Chinese population on the West Coast and in the Northeast, the sport has not seen as much growth here as in many other parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, wushu is thriving, in Europe it is well-established, and even in the Middle East, governments subsidize it.

None of this is to say that wushu has done poorly or been neglected here. Past teams, in whom we take great pride, almost always posted good results at the biennial World Wushu Championships. At the 7th World Games in 2003, for example, Elaina Maxwell won the gold in women’s 65 kg sanshou. More recently (in 2007), six athletes finished in the top eight in one or more events at the 9th World’s.

Still, perhaps we can be forgiven for an American pride that leaves us unsatisfied with anything less than number one. When would the time come for a U.S. team to crush the competition – or, failing that, at least bruise them up a little?

It appears the time is now.

Kung Fu Fighting with Canucks
On October 24, 2009, over seven hundred competitors from seventy-four nations converged on Toronto, Canada for the 10th World Wushu Championships. The U.S. team had a rocky start even prior to the first day of competition, losing athletes and officials in the weeks leading up to the championships. Instead of twenty competitors, the U.S. fielded only nine for taolu and five for sanshou.

Compounding the uncertainty about America’s prospects was a new selection process adopted for the taolu team trials. For the past several years, the sole deciding factor for selection to the team was score; now, spots were reserved for specific events, such as taijiquan and nanquan (though there was still a minimum score requirement).

On the very first day of competition, however, it became clear that the U.S. had chosen a great team. Alfred Hsing, representing his country for the first time in a world championship, came out of the gate in style, scoring a 9.72 in men’s straight sword. Flawlessly executing degree-of-difficulty movements, he captured first place early on. When Etsuro Shitaokoshi of Japan also scored 9.72, there followed some tense moments for the U.S. team as the judges applied the tie-breaking rules. But Alfred came out on top, winning America’s first-ever gold in taolu competition at the world championships.

More great news followed on this banner day for American wushu as U.S. team veteran Colvin Wang captured the silver medal in men’s spear. This came not long after he had scored eighth in men’s straight sword (just 0.5 points behind Alfred).

The results for the U.S. team did not end with Alfred and Colvin’s medals. By the end of the tournament, seven other U.S. athletes (five taolu and two sanshou) would finish in the top eight in at least one event, for a total of ten top-eight finishes.

Portrait of a Life in Wushu
Looking back on the experience, Alfred Hsing says, “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. After I finished my form I felt really good. I knew I nailed everything. Winning the medal was everything I dreamed it would be.”

It had been a long road for Alfred. After failing to make the U.S. team in 2003, he almost gave up on wushu; but in 2006 he noticed that his friends had continued training and were making progress in the sport. This inspired him to begin chasing his dream again.

“I trained really hard in 2006 and 2007, which allowed me to catch back up to a top-level U.S. standard, but still it wasn’t enough.” Indeed, he only qualified for the C team at the trials that year (the second alternates, way down on the totem pole). “I was at a crossroads,” he says. “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.”

Even after making the team, it was not easy for Alfred. “I think a lot of other U.S. wushu team members would agree that after the U.S. 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… After three or four months of rigorous training, when you make the team, you realize you have to keep it up for another four or five months.” He compared this feeling to finishing a marathon only to see you have another 26.2 miles to run.

But Alfred stuck with it, showing the true power of positive thinking. “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.”

Colvin Wang had posted impressive results at the last world championships and competed at World Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 (the unofficial “Olympics” tournament). At the 2nd World Junior Wushu Championships in 2008, he had also won a silver medal in spear. The medal he earned in Toronto thus represents the evolution of a talented athlete, still in high school, whose wushu star is on the rise.

“Training wasn’t easy,” he says, “because I’m trying to balance a very crucial period in school and train at the same time. I never had enough time to do enough of both. I still tried to manage an hour or two each day. By competition time, I felt pretty ready.”

Colvin’s high expectations mean he could never be completely happy with his medal-winning performance. Still, he says: “It’s always good to let go of any expectations you have before a competition, so I made sure I had no expectations before doing my form. It was definitely nice to have my accomplishment awarded with a world championship medal – not something that is given to many people. I will keep the medal as a token of all the hard work I put in to earn it.”

Memories and Reflections
In addition to athletes, coaches, and other officials, family and friends were also part of the U.S. team. Keeping everything organized and all team members in-the-know was Malee Khow of Connecticut, team manager and chairperson of the USAWKF Competition Management Committee. “It was a great honor to lead this team,” she says, “and to watch as Alfred, Colvin, and all the athletes did such an outstanding job. It makes all the organizing work in the months beforehand feel worth it.”

The team took away many great memories from the championships, meeting friends old and new from all over the world. “I think we worked well as a team,” says Colvin Wang, “had a lot of fun, supported each other, and all have valuable memories to take away from this experience.” Alfred Hsing concurs: “I am going to have great memories of my trip to Toronto… 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.”

Many team members remarked that the Chinese were not as dominant as in previous championships, where the taolu team in particular always takes first place. This year, while still leading all countries in medals won with six in taolu and eight in sanshou, China posted more modest results than in previous years. Whether this signals a true leveling of the playing field in worldwide wushu or, more likely, a decision by China not to send its best athletes, is a question others can concern themselves with. Let us Americans not speculate on what we cannot know – rather, we should be filled with pride and joy for the accomplishments of our athletes.

Indeed, Americans were not the only ones to notice that our athletes made a breakthrough this year. “Many people from other teams mentioned to me how much our team has improved,” says Malee Khow, “even though our athletes are all students or have regular jobs. Many other countries are able to send career athletes, whose job is wushu, or hire coaches to train their athletes full-time. Here in America, wushu is still very much an amateur sport – but that makes our accomplishments at the world championships this year even more special.”

Does this mean, then, that American wushu has finally arrived? Will future teams continue the successes of Toronto? If we look at the results of recent U.S. teams, the indications are that this event was no fluke. At the 9th World Wushu Championships, held at the end of 2007 in Beijing, China, six athletes finished in the top eight of one or more events. In 2008, at the 2nd World Junior Wushu Championships, the young U.S. athletes won four medals, including one gold. The same year, the U.S. brought home eleven medals from the 7th Pan American Wushu Championships held in Brazil.

In wushu as in life, fortunes can change quickly. However, Americans now have good reason for optimism about the future of wushu in our country. Only time will tell.

The U.S. Team Officials

• Delegation Leader: Anthony Goh
• Deputy Delegation Leader and Taolu Team Leader: Malee Khow
• Championships Vice Referee of Taolu: Xiaolin Lu
• Taolu Coach: Zhang Guifeng
• Assistant Taolu Coach: Bangjun Jiang
• Assistant Taolu Coach: Stephon Morton
• Sanshou Team Leader and Coach: Ian Lee
• Sanshou Coach: Jeff Chow
• Assistant Sanshou Coach: Carmine Downey
• Sanshou Judge: Anthony Sims

Taolu Team

Male

• Alfred Hsing
• Peter Dang
• Colvin Wang
• Max Ehrlich

Female

• Sarah Chang
• Joana Pei
• Ashley Chung
• Stephanie Lim
• Elaine Ho

Sanshou Team
Male

• Michael Lee (65 kg)
• Maximillion Chen (70 kg)
• Alex Cisne (80 kg)
• Kasey Corless (90 kg)

Female

• Sonia Mejia (52 kg)

Medal-Winners

• Alfred Hsing (gold medal, men’s straight sword)
• Colvin Wang (silver men, men’s spear)

Other Top Eight Finishes
Taolu

• Sarah Chang (8th place, women’s chang quan)
• Peter Dang (8th place, men’s broadsword)
• Max Ehrlich (7th place, men’s southern broadsword)
• Elaine Ho (8th place, women’s taiji sword)
• Joana Pei (5th place, women’s broadsword)
• Colvin Wang (8th place, men’s straight sword)

Sanshou

• Maximillion Chen (8th place (quarterfinals), men’s 70 kg sanshou)
• Alex Cisne (8th place (quarterfinals), men’s 80 kg sanshou)

Original source: http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=859

I got an email today from an editor for MASTERS magazine (http://www.mastersmag.com). Apparently my article and interview is out on newsstands for their winter edition. =) I think this is the first magazine where I have a featured section.

Alfred Hsing Masters Magazine Winter 09

I am getting mailed a copy soon so I actually haven’t even had a chance to read the actual article yet. I hope I didn’t say anything too ridiculous. This was actually done BEFORE I made the US Wushu Team so I don’t think I had a chance to talk about Worlds or training for team trials. Dan Inosanto (Game of Death, Big Trouble Little China) is on the cover I believe.

I also received the photo shoot pictures from my Kung Fu Magazine shoot. I posted up a few proofs last time, but here are some of the good ones. I don’t think these have been posted in kung fu magazine yet… and this jump straight sword one is my favorite so I’m posting the higher res version!

Alfred Kung Fu Magazine

Hammerfist!

Aside from those magazines, I trained straight sword and spear full forms today. I played around with 2 small combos that I might fix up in my spear form, but basically it will be the same form as during team trials. I also changed my brake pads and worked on some martial arts nutrition research. Now I am going to eat. Ciao!

Spike TV Deadliest Warrior Interview for SciFi Channel

Original post here – http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/we-get-an-exclusive-behin.php