San Jose teen shines in international martial arts competition
Shalini Singh’s skill with a broadsword earned her a gold medal last month at the Pan American Wushu Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The San Jose teen is an eighth-grader at Stratford School Raynor in Sunnyvale. (Photo courtesy of the Singh family)
By JAKE RICHARDSON |
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2018 at 7:26 am | UPDATED: December 3, 2018 at 4:31 am
She’s only in eighth grade, but Shalini Singh knows how to wield a broadsword. She proved her skill recently by earning two gold medals and one bronze at an international Chinese martial arts competition.
At the Pan American Wushu Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the San Jose teen competed against other 13- to 15-year-olds from 15 nations in the “hard” martial art, a full-contact sport where force is met with force.
Her gold medals were in Daoshu, a routine where the participant uses a broadsword, and Gunshu, a routine involving the use of a staff. The bronze medal was in Changquan, a routine where no weapons are employed, but there are kicking, running, leaping and whirling.
“It was truly an honor to participate in an international championship and represent the US,” said Shalini, who attends Stratford School Raynor in Sunnyvale. “It was a wonderful experience because I met athletes from many different nations and got to see how they practice and how they perform.”
The Pan American Wushu Championships, held Oct. 31-Nov. 5, was her first international competition but not her first Wushu tournament. In order to qualify for the Pan American championships, she competed at the US Junior Wushu team trials in Lubbock, Texas in April. Over the last several years, she has competed in the Chinese Martial Arts Tournament at UC-Berkeley, Tigerclaw in San Jose, and at a Las Vegas tournament in August 2016.
She was 7 years old when started at Wushu Central on Coleman Avenue in San Jose and loved it immediately. In 2016, after four years of intense study, she earned a first-degree black belt. Now, she has been practicing Wushu for almost seven years, and currently trains about 18-20 hours per week at Elite Kung Fu Academy in Fremont.
“I really like the focus and discipline that Wushu has instilled in me,” Shalini said. “Wushu has taught me that failures are an opportunity to learn and improve yourself. I used to lose in all of my initial tournaments, and at first, it made me upset and dejected. But the advice of my coaches helped me identify where I was weak, and helped me improve my performance.”
At the Stratford School Raynor, she is involved in speech and debate; math and biology are two subjects she most enjoys. For her, the lessons she has learned in Wushu carry over into her academic life.
“Sometimes when I am exhausted after waiting several hours for my event to take place, or when I am suffering from an injury that makes me reconsider my decision to participate, I have found that I am able to gather the strength and courage to forge ahead and try to do my best,” Shalini said. “This spirit of perseverance has helped me at Stratford School also, especially with its value of exceeding expectations for both the teachers and students.”
In 2019, she has plans to compete again at CMAT and Tigerclaw, and is adding the Golden State International Wushu Championship to her schedule. She also hopes to qualify for 2019 World Kungfu Championships in China.
She knows her academic load will increase when she enters high school, but she wants to continue balancing classroom time and homework with Wushu.
“Yes, I definitely want to stay involved with Wushu even in high school and beyond, because it is one of my best passions that I really want to pursue.”
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