Kung Fu Fighting:
Utahn Dreams of Olympic Gold

by Peter Thunell
Deseret News Staff Writer

Salt Lake native Tyehao Lu, 23, began studying
kung fu moves at the age of 2.
(Michael Brandy/Deseret News)
While most people have trouble setting goals for something a year in advance, Tyehao Lu, a 23-year-old Salt Lake native, has definite plans as to where he'd like to be in 2008: Beijing, China.

The International Olympic Committee recently announced that kung fu, the national sport of the People's Republic of China, will be included in the Beijing Olympic Games, and Lu — who recently won some prestigious medals of his own — is preparing for the competition.

In what he hopes is a precursor of things to come, Lu won gold and silver medals at the United States Kuoshu International Kung Fu Competition in San Francisco. Lu won the gold in the open-hand competition using the moon and palm style and won the silver for the swords competition using the rainbow sword style.

"In the competitions, they really look at quickness, speed, power and sharpness," Lu said. "For the swords, its the same thing, and they watch for how fast you are with the sword, like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'"

It doesn't take too long to figure out why Lu is where he is. His mother, Elaine, and father, Cheng Tsang, run The Health Center in Salt Lake City, where Lu's father teaches the Northern China Shaolin style of kung fu. In fact, Cheng Tsang Lu, who holds the title of grand master, was a two-time national champion of Taiwan 40 years ago.

When Ty Lu was 2 years old, his father began training him, teaching him how to move and practice the forms.

"I remember Ty in diapers carrying swords around," Elaine Lu said. "I also remember coming home once when Ty was still young and finding him in the back yard standing in a hole that was chest-high. His father had dug the hole so Ty could practice jumping out of it."

His preparation only became more intense as time went on, but Lu said he was always an eager pupil. These days, he trains four hours a day, six days a week, to stay on top of things. He begins by stretching for an hour, then he practices tai chi for an hour, which is done with slow, meditative movements.

After the warming up, Lu repeatedly practices the 30 different forms of kung fu, then conditions himself by hitting his arm against and punching a tree. To finish off, Lu practices punching and jumping with weights.

When he has time to himself, or when he is wandering around the campus of Brigham Young University, where he is majoring in international studies, Lu said he always has kung fu on his mind.

"I'm always doing something little with my body to practice," Lu said. "I even dream about kung fu."

For now, Lu wants to finish his degree and hopefully carry on the family tradition by opening his own kung fu studio in Provo.

In fact, on the west wall in the studio where he practices, there is a picture of Cheng Tsang, a master pupil of Cheng Tsang, T. Pat Leary, Cheng Tsang's teacher, Chian Ho Yin and his teacher's teacher, Yungtzou Chan. Lu hopes a picture of himself won't be too far behind. He just hopes that the picture will be of him holding the very first kung fu Olympic gold medal.

Tyehao Lu exercises at the Health Center his family operates in Salt Lake City. He trains four hours a day.
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