chinese youth wang anzhu: the most disappointing thing about martial arts competitions is not not winning a prize
2024-09-26
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china news service, beijing, september 25th, title: chinese american youth wang anzhu: the most disappointing thing about martial arts competitions is not not winning a prize
china news service reporter men rui
"i hope to let more people know about chinese martial arts culture. after all, martial arts is really a beautiful and cool sport." after winning a gold medal and a bronze medal at the 14th pan american wushu championships which concluded recently, 19-year-old chinese-american youth wang anzhu told china news service reporters in a live interview.
he said that he hopes to be a sharer of martial arts culture and let more chinese teenagers and foreigners understand the charm of martial arts. "i always remember my first coach telling me that the most disappointing thing in a competition is not not winning a prize, but winning a prize but not many people know what it is."
wang anzhu won a gold medal and a bronze medal at the 14th pan american wushu championships, which concluded recently. (photo provided by the interviewee)
wang anzhu is currently studying at dawson college in canada and is also a martial arts athlete. in addition to completing his studies and practicing martial arts, he also works as a martial arts coach at the confucius school in montreal, canada. although he is still studying, wang anzhu already has a coaching style when talking about his teaching experience. "at this stage, the most important thing is to cultivate children's interest in martial arts. if i meet someone with great potential, i will also want to cultivate him well and hope to have the opportunity to participate in competitions in the future."
this is exactly the same as wang anzhu's martial arts journey. wang anzhu started learning martial arts at the age of 8. "at that time in toronto, when my mother first brought me to the martial arts gym, i didn't want to practice. the coach asked me if i wanted to see a backflip, and i easily did one while standing still." wang anzhu was impressed by the "coolness" and became interested in martial arts.
at the age of 13, wang anzhu returned to taiwan, china, after entering middle school, and began martial arts training. there, he had to practice hard every day, including weekends and winter and summer vacations. while his martial arts skills improved rapidly, his chinese level also improved. "although the training was hard at that time, i gained the affection of my teammates and a solid technical foundation," he said.
in 2021, wang anzhu arrived in quebec, canada. unlike toronto, the students in martial arts schools in quebec are mainly enthusiasts, and the business hours are relatively limited, which cannot meet wang anzhu's professional competitive needs. so he practiced by himself every day, stretching, splits, running and sprinting to maintain his condition. "here, i learned french, plus english, chinese, and spanish, i can now speak four languages." wang anzhu said.
today, wang anzhu participates in professional competitions while studying, and has won many national and regional honors. in the process of competing and practicing in various places, he experienced local life through different languages and made many friends. "recently, two argentine brothers and sisters came to the martial arts hall to practice. i helped them translate and often chatted with them to make them feel involved. when i went to the united states to participate in a competition last month, i also helped spanish-speaking friends translate and communicate. it feels great to be able to help others," he said.
wang anzhu during the competition. (photo provided by the interviewee)
when talking about how to balance martial arts practice and studies, he said that he felt overwhelmed in his busy study life when he first enrolled, but after adapting, he gradually found a way to efficiently use fragmented time, leaving enough time for practice, and also adjusted the focus of time allocation when exams or competitions were approaching. "so far, i have received a letter of commendation from the dean every semester, and i hope that i can continue to make progress in both academics and martial arts in the future."
learning martial arts also tempered wang anzhu's mentality and cultivated his resilience. "many things cannot be rushed, just like practicing a difficult move. if you can't succeed at the beginning, you will be frustrated, but as long as you persist, you will succeed one day, and the same is true when facing challenges in life," he said.
this summer, wang anzhu returned to sichuan, his mother's hometown, to practice martial arts. "there is a strong learning atmosphere there. in the more than 9 hours of practice every day, i learned a lot of techniques and also saw the gap between myself and others." he plans to go to sichuan again during the upcoming winter vacation to practice more.
when talking about his next goal, wang anzhu said frankly that although learning martial arts is not just for winning medals, he still hopes to achieve good results in every competition he participates in. he hopes to participate in the world wushu championships held in brazil next year and get the top three. (end)
