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

Tia Carrere Vagina Monologues

The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the off-Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at HERE Arts Center in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production; when she left the play it was recast with three celebrity monologists. The production has been staged internationally, and a television version featuring Ensler was produced by cable TV channel HBO. In 1998, Ensler and others, including Willa Shalit, a producer of the Westside Theatre production, launched V-Day, a global non profit that has raised over $50 million for women’s anti-violence groups through benefits of The Vagina Monologues.

Tamlyn Tomita Vagina Monologues

On April 25th, the Vagina Monologues were performed by an all star filipina cast at the Aratani Theater in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. They had Tia Carrere (Waynes World, True Lies), Tamlyn Tomita (The Joy Luck Club, The Day After Tomorrow and the upcoming Tekken), Lea Salonga (Jasmine’s Singing Voice in Aladdin, Laurence Olivier award winner for Miss Saigon), Leslie-Ann Huff (Sonny with a Chance), and more.

Without further ado here are the interviews from the aforementioned performers:

My Review of The Vagina Monologues

Leslie Anne Huff Vagina Monolgues

I had an idea of what it was about going into it, but at some points it was almost too much “vagina” for me. It’s kind of a blast of vagina to the face – performance after performance talks about different aspects of the area “down there”. However, that is kinda the point.. I came out of the performance pretty impressed though. These monologues are performed by women around the world and I think that the level of talent in that room was exceptional. They did not wear any crazy lingerie outfits or dress the set in any way. The audience focused solely on their performances and it was very impressive that they were able to capture our attentions based on their acting performances without the use of props or gimmicks. Because this subject and the pieces involved with it might be deemed a little racy I am sure there is criticism far and wide for it. I am however about the intention behind it.. and it’s about anti-violence and its also about pushing people’s comfortability boundaries. It’s also about being comfortable with yourself combined with simply being an entertaining piece of art. I am glad I had the opportunity to see this performed and performed by such renown talent.

Mike Shinoda

Source: www.casualiscool.com | Stunts: www.alfredrocks.com

Am I getting better at manifesting my dreams or was this coincidence? I was thinking about Fort Minor’s song and the next day I wake up and meet the guy behind it. Let’s not forget the time I had a dream I met Jackie Chan while I was in Taiwan and the next day I get an email from Robbie saying we are demo-ing for Jackie Chan. Here is the Mike Shinoda manifestation story:

I went to the East West Players Visionary Awards yesterday to do some interviews for Pacific Rim. There were a lot of great people there and talented Asian artists. =)

The strange thing was this: 4am the night before I was writing song lyrics for my business fraternity’s 10 year reunion event…

Past present blending through the ages
Destiny scripted on your manuals pages
From E-xi till DnI we cry and laugh
That sig on the back you can keep my autograph

A fraction inspiration, the rest is sweat
Building boats and memories we’ll never forget
In you and I got u.n.i.t.y.
Reach for those dreams the limit is the sky!

…and that line “a fraction inspiration, the rest is sweat” was inspired by Mike Shinoda or Fort Minor’s song “Remember the name”.

So at 4am I fell asleep thinking about Fort Minor’s lyrics:

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!

and the next morning (same day) I wake up to a text from Pacific Rim saying “hey I know its kind of last minute but can you help cover the East West Players Awards at 6:30pm today?” So I said yes.. and BAM! I’m covering the event and then get to meet and interview Mike Shinoda! It was awesome because I really like his music and style and he seemed like a very cool person.

If you guys don’t know, Mike Shinoda is an Asian American artist best known for his vocal and musical endeavors with two-time Grammy-winning, multi-platinum rock band Linkin Park who also has his own project Fort Minor. He also is an awesome graphic designer that graduated from The Art Center — and I happened to have just come back from The Art Center that day watching a screening for a grad program short film I worked on.

Other actors/performers were at the event as well. Here are a few other pics:

Joan Almedilla Miss Saigon

Kaba Modern was there too!

kaba modern and mike shinoda

I had a good time at the event for sure. I also was hanging out with a fellow volunteer, Michi, and she taught me some improv games. There’s one where you pick a random letter of the alphabet like.. “G” for example so then I would say “Go get me some apples” and then the next person would have to start with the next letter of the alphabet “H” and they would say “Hellll no I’m not getting apples for you”.. etc / There’s another game where you can only ask questions.. and that was fun too. I think I might try to check out some improv groups when I have more time. I heard about OPM (opening people’s minds) and a few other improv groups. It would be cool to work with some really good improv people.

In summary- it may have been a coincidence or it may be that I have my hands in so many things that I’m bound to “accidentally” meet people that I am inspired by, but part of me thinks that the universe definitely does work in such a way that if you go about it the right way, paths will cross and dreams can manifest.

Martial Arts:

Mooto Backpack

Got a sick white backpack from my sponsor – MOOTO! They are sponsoring me with gear that I shall be sporting at my next competitions such as at the 2010 Sport Accord Combat Games! Mooto is known for being a high end korean taekwondo focused brand. They are expanding and are already based in many countries like the US, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, throughout Asia, etc. Anyways, I can’t repeat enough times how cool that backpack is.. it has pockets and zippers everywhere and a mesh lining that keeps your back separate from the actual bag to prevent your back from sweating. More details at wushukicks.com

As far as training.. I have been consistently working out of course, but not as much as I’d like. I’ve been trying to nail down a lot of work and projects so I had my competition focus diverted. With taxes filed, 2009 year wushukicks finances done, and site upgrades completed I should be able to go complete focus the next 2 weeks.

On Saturday we also had a crazy photo shoot for Martial Arts Complete. A lot of good buddies came out to help including Adam, Robbie, Tamiko, Greta, Kim, and Travis. Much thanks to our 2 professional photographers that drove all the way out from Fresno – Shaun and Boone! I’ll post some picture after we sort through all of them.

Here is one just taken on Boone’s iPhone for fun. It still came out dope though!

kung fu sidekick block

In website news… I contracted a web programmer to clean up and make wushukicks.com even more secure. We got the ssl encryption working flawlessly. Made a few other cosmetic changes as well and I am a happy camper. This took me a grueling 3 days of ocd style managing because I really wanted to get this locked down.

Misc:
Got new dryer installed – had to ghetto rig the exhaust in the back. Might have to fix that in time. – Shin sen gumi with Ant.
Dinner and sake with Ryan – Ryan learns the meaning of “unfiltered”
In the process of helping Audrey purchase her first home! =) Putting my real estate license to good use!