TKU Chinese major sophomore Ling-gang Su took part in the Second Shadow Boxing World Cup Championship Tournament at Taipei Arena and competed with Taiji masters from 23 countries including Argentina, Brazil, France, Canada, etc. After having taken the second prize for the Chen-style Taiji last year, Ling-gang Su captured the second prize again and was awarded both the medal and the certificate.

The Tournament was sponsored and organized by Taipei Government and World Taiji Association. It was the biggest tournament outside Asian Games with more than 5000 participants. Ling-gang Su’s Chen-style Taiji was extremely flexible with explosive force attaining the judges’ favor with solid basic skills. He admitted that he was greatly influenced by animation cartons and TV, and extremely interested in Taiji boxing. He started learning Taiji occasionally during junior high years and followed Taiji master Fu-hua Dong at Muzha to practice Taiji boxing art in senior high years after his father’s advice. He consecutively won the national championships of Chen-style Taiji for high school students three years in a row.

Recalling his learning process, Ling-gang Su also came across frustrations. He said, “The repetitive practices of the Taiji actions are very boring sometimes, and I once wanted to give it up, but my self-willpower supported me to continue. Learning Taiji has helped me not to be impetuous and superficial. My father also joins me to learn Taiji which is very helpful for his health.” As for the future, Ling-gang Su shyly said, “I haven’t thought much about it yet. No matter what I will do, Taiji will be part of my life and a life-long interest, leisure and recreation.” ( ~Dean X. Wang )