An empty stage with thousands of people watching in the stands is a scene that would be frightening to many, but for junior Ashton Yim, it is an opportunity to flaunt his skills. Yim has demonstrated immense dedication towards his development in Wushu (a traditional Chinese martial art) with countless hours of competition and training.

Yim began participating in soccer before he was five years old. However, as he grew older he was encouraged to explore different sports, leading him to Wushu.

“[My parents] just wanted me to be athletic at first,” Yim said. “I started playing soccer, but later they wanted me to do something with acrobatics and combat. In a way, Wushu became a way for me to connect with others and stay healthy in general. It was my mentor. It taught me everything I know, and it’s what made me who I am today.”

Whenever he has practice, Yim reflects on the skills he’s honed from his time doing Wushu throughout the years to ensure he brings out the best of himself when training.

“I’ve learned through my experience that clearing your mind before doing anything sports related is super helpful,” Yim said. “On days that you don’t feel great or at your peak, the first thing I do is clear off your mind and take deep breaths. My whole goal is to think of nothing.”

With the majority of his time spent training, wushu has helped him grow not only as an athlete, but as a person too.

“Indirectly, it [wushu] was my teacher,” Yim said. “It was the way I learned, not just discipline [or] strength, but it was really how to communicate with people. How to share and enjoy [his passion for wushu] with others. That’s really how my personality became what it is today: because of wushu. I didn’t get my confidence because of other things. It came from wushu, and I’m very thankful for it.”

Thanks to the extensive and diverse wushu community, Yim has had many opportunities to meet and connect with new people from different countries who love the sport just as much as he does.

“For me it’s the friends that you make in international competition,” Yim said. “Because rather than saying I want to be better and get the gold, it’s more like I want to meet people and have fun. Just meeting new people inspires you during competition. I meet people every so often in international competitions and learn their story and background in wushu and I always get excited about it because everyone’s story is different. ”

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Meeting people who work hard to do what Yim does has served as an inspiration for his own journey. It inspires him to work hard and compete to achieve the same level of success as he sees others achieve when competing.

“My biggest inspiration is all of the athletes from China,” Yim said. “My sport originated in China, so there’s a heavy number of people who do Wushu. When I went there over the summer, I learned a lot. Watching 12 year olds practicing my sport six hours a day, doing crazy acrobatics, and flawlessly doing their techniques was an eye shocker. That was probably my favorite memory, but most importantly, my greatest inspiration.”

While the wushu community has been inviting for him, competing in tournaments can be nerve wracking for Yim.

“It’s [Wushu competitions] tons of stress,” Yim said. “If it’s a local or national competition it’s not as stressful as when you go to an international one with the top of the top athletes. Recently, I went to an international competition and I was very stressed, probably the most stressed I ever was in my life because it was a big stage. You’re in front of thousands of people, and you’re on a live stream with thousands of people watching you from around the world. If you make a single mistake, you risk embarrassing yourself.”

As stressful as competitions may be, Yim makes an effort to calm himself before performing to stay prepared for whatever may occur on stage.

“Just working out and warming up kind of takes away that stress,” Yim said. “And one thing for me, at least, to cope [with stress] is to not watch the other athletes. If you see an athlete that’s ten times better than you, you’re definitely going to be stressed. It makes you overthink and just puts so much unnecessary thoughts into you. So I just look away, do my own stuff and compete.”

After doing wushu for 11 years, Yim believes that achieving personal growth is one of the most key factors that has contributed to his development in Wushu and as an Individual.

“One piece of advice I would give out to everyone, even if you don’t do wushu, is that making progress for yourself should be your biggest motivation,” Yim said “ You should always enjoy how much experience you’ve gained and continue to strive for more.”