Chinese nunchaku master hit world records

江西南昌二十六中 黄舒伟

Driven by his fascination with martial arts(武术) legend Bruce Lee and nunchaku (双截棍), Xie Desheng has gone on to win not just one but three Guinness World Records.

The nunchaku practitioner from Guangdong Province earned his first world record in June last year when he extinguished 52 candles in a minute using the weapon.His second was earned in April this year when he hit 32 pingpong balls in one minute.The 28-year-old followed up that feat with another title the same month, unscrewing (拧开) 10 bottle caps with a nunchaku in 34.8 seconds.Xie may have been a nunchaku practitioner for a decade, but he does not simply enter these competitions without preparation.In fact, he says he trains for almost a year just to prepare for each Guinness World Records.

Xie first learned about this form of martial arts when he was a restaurant waiter in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, in 2009.“I love watching martial artist and actor Bruce Lee's nunchaku scenes in movies.Once, when watching one of my colleagues use the nunchaku, I was impressed by the neat movements and thought that it could be a self-defense skill,”said Xie.Since that moment, Xie has spent most of his spare time searching the Web for instructional materials.He has even traveled to Hunan,Hubei and Henan Provinces to attend classes and engage with beginners and experts.During his time in these provinces, he made a living by taking on part-time jobs.

“But life was less beautiful than I had imagined it to be.Constantly practicing the nunchaku made me too exhausted to work.With a rather unstable source of income, I basically depended on my limited personal savings.But I didn't want to give up,” Xie said that he draws motivation from his nunchaku, which has been with him through the ups and downs in life.He shares that his father died when he was 15 years old and his mother later abandoned him.“A child who grows up in an environment like mine might become cold-hearted when he enters adulthood and may do bad things.But when I hold my nunchaku, I know I have dreams and the desire to change my fate.I feel confident and driven.”

His persistence in the face of adversity (逆

境) eventually paid off.In 2016, Xie took part in the 14th Hong Kong International Wushu Championships and was crowned the champion from among 500 nunchaku contestants.He went on to win competitions in Taiwan and Macao that year.In 2018, he was awarded the gold prize at the 4th Malaysia International Wushu Tournament.These days, Xie earns a living by conducting short-term training courses in Shanghai every year.He has coached over 5,000 people since moving to the city in 2016.

Critical Thinking

What made Xie so successful?