Faces of Ashihara Karate #1 - Li Qian

Karate draws people from all walks of life – young and not-so-young, students and retirees, men and women, of all shapes and sizes. But why take our word for it? In this series, we hold a quick Q&A with our students to find out about them.

We catch up with one of our students, Li Qian, 30, who joined in 2016 and is a brown belt at the time of this post! 

Li Qian (far right), mingling with participants from other karate clubs at the K-Con 2019 at Nanyang Technological University.

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1. Why did you join Ashihara Karate?
 
I grew up with watching TV shows of Jin Yong’s martial art novels, and Jet Li and Jackie Chan’s action movies, I always had a dream of learning martial arts and becoming a “fighting hero”. However, this dream only came true after I started to work and gained more independence.
 
As to why I picked Ashihara Karate, it was because I thought the Gi and the whole culture of karate looks pretty cool, and Ashihara Karate was said to be very practical (which makes it even cooler for me).

Li Qian took part in the 2017 Singapore Full Contact tournament as a blue belt.

2. What is your favourite part of learning karate? 
 
My favourite part of learning karate is that it not only trains your body but also trains your mind. It makes me more confident, more aware, and even calmer. It makes me a generally better person, on top of just making me physically stronger and better at “fighting people”.
 
3. What’s your target/goal in class
​for now? 
 
My primary goal in karate now might be improving my flexibility. The more I learn it, the more I realise how important flexibility is for better performance. Also, better flexibility makes a person healthier, and less prone to injuries, which is important for martial art training.

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Osu! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Li Qian! 
 
Look out for more Q&As with our students in the coming months. ​​