I figured it’s time that I post something, too. I’m never to sure what to say when someone asks me, “So, tell me a little bit about yourself.” I have a couple “elevator speech” answers, but I have some room to blog out my thoughts. So, let me tell you about some things that I am passionate about and why.
Wushu: When I first told my dad that I wanted to take martial arts when I was eight years old, my reasoning was 1) I liked the Power Rangers, and 2) I am Chinese, so it wouldn’t make sense for me not to take classes (STEREOTYPE WIN). Needless to say, I have stuck with it better than most things in life, and I feel that I’m the better because of it. Most recently, I have been taking Chinese Wushu. Here’s a little video demo of the style:
When I studied abroad in Xiamen, China in 2005 for a semester, I took some private lessons from a master who turned out to be the best all of the south east provinces. He stretched me so well I thought I was going to tear my hamstring nearly every time, seriously. About two years ago I joined up with a club that meets at the Wheaton Park District.
I sometimes wonder why I do love martial arts so much, especially wushu, which is not the most practical style to learn. I mean, if I were to be attacked in a dark alley, I probably wouldn’t spin twice in the air and kick the guy in the head. This has been discussed many times over with my best man from my wedding, Dhiraj Masih. To paraphrase my genius (at the very least in this realm of philosophy, that is) friend, there is something very cathartic about the movements. When you get to the point where you are aware of your body and you feel the punches, kicks, and blocks effortlessly glide out from your body like water, you feel a sort of self-expression that is unique to wushu. It’s like dancing or running, you feel the flow when you do it well. So, I’m not opposed to learning more self-defense, but I’ve really taken to the forms.
Well, I’ll write a little more about stuff that I’m passionate about… but right now it’s dinner time.