She finishes her straight sword routine, bows to the judges and turns around to see her score of 9.100 out of 10 displayed behind her. She just became third in the world for jianshu.

Sophomore Elaine Wang competed in the 2024 World Junior Wushu Championships in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Wushu is a collective term for martial art practices that originated in China, and is more popularly referred to as Kung Fu. Wang competed with the USA Junior Taolu A Team in the changquan (hand form), jianshu (straight sword) and gunshu (staff) categories. She won bronze in jianshu and sixth in gunshu.

“I was really excited, but obviously very nervous too, because I’m representing the USA,” Wang said. “I [had] to do [well], and all those athletes [were] really amazing..”

To make the Junior A Team, Wang attended a competition in Santa Clara, California. The top three scorers formed the Junior A Team. Tryouts for the team were every two years, and Wang first made the team in 2022. During the 2022 World Junior Wushu Competition, Wang placed fifth in changquan.

“[The competition] was really eye-opening,” Wang said. “It was just a really cool experience because you were meeting people from outside the US. It’s crazy to think, ‘Oh, these people are like me, just in another country.’”

Wang started the traditional style of Kung Fu when she was 4 years old, ever since her dad took her to the Houston Shaolin Kung Fu Academy.

“My dad used to go to this place to play ping pong, and I would just watch the big kids do kung fu,” Wang said. “I would just think it’s really cool so I started [wushu].”

At the age of 9, Wang met her current coach, Li Qiang, at a traditional world competition she attended in China. At the time, Wang practiced both traditional and modern styles to bolster her Kung Fu. She decided to fully transfer to modern Kung Fu with Qiang when she was 12.

“At that time, my dad and I were thinking it [was] time to transition into modern,” Wang said. “We wanted to train with her and get to know her. Then, that following winter break, I went over to Chicago, and I trained with her. It was really different and I really liked it.”

However, Qiang lived in Chicago, creating another barrier to Wang’s training. Through a connection with the Sticks Baseball Academy owner, Wang was able to find a practice space. For a year after the transition, Wang had weekly 7 a.m. Zoom calls with Qiang at the academy. In May 2024, she moved to four to five-hour calls at Integrity Kung Fu, a school that provided a better training space. On top of her practices, she regularly flies to Chicago to practice with her coach at Bei Dou Kung Fu, and has a personal trainer in Houston for conditioning classes.

“Elaine has grown a lot physically and mentally, and after experiencing so many competitions, she has grown to be resilient and strong, able to control emotions and perform well under pressure,” Qiang said. “She is able to implement a growth mindset in both wushu and life, allowing her to be more positive.”

Attending the World Junior Wushu Championships in 2022 helped alleviate Wang’s nerves for the 2024 competition.

“Honestly, every single time, I just feel so honored,” Wang said. “The first time, I was really excited, and I think I was more nervous. My second time, I was calmer. There were a lot of people that I already knew the second time, so that made the experience more fun.”

When training for the 2024 competition, Wang’s training regimen became more intense as the competition grew closer. When Wang visited Qiang over long weekends, Qiang would give her “tests” where Wang performed her forms back to back as if she was at a competition.

“[The tests are] a lot of cardio, and it makes you nervous,” Wang said. “It gives you a feel of what competition is going to be like to help you prepare for when you actually compete.”

Wang arrived in Brunei one week early with her coach to get over jet lag and practice for the competition. This was the first time she placed in the top three at this competition.

“I just chose the ones that I felt like I had a better chance in getting a medal in, and I got a bronze medal in straight swords, which was really shocking,” Wang said. “I was really shocked, [to me] bronze is like a gold medal because these Asian countries are very competitive.”

The 2024 competition was the first time Wang competed without her dad attending.

“Usually he’s at all the competitions to support me,” Wang said. “I think that was my first time competing just with my coach, and at first I thought I was gonna be fine. But after the first day, when I didn’t do really good, I was feeling really down, and then I had to call him, and we talked. Then the next day, I got bronze in straight swords. He really helps me emotionally.”

Wang’s friends have recognized how Kung Fu has affected Wang as a person. Sophomore Olivia Leung, who has known Wang since eighth grade, believes that Kung Fu has made Wang more “disciplined.”

“She takes so much time into Wushu, and she’s a very committed person,” Leung said. “I admired her for that. She is very respectful towards others, and she shows that in her everyday life.”

The World Junior Wushu Championships are only the beginning for Wang. She plans to attend the Youth Olympics as well.

“My goal is to stay on the National A Team, and hopefully, I’ll be able to attend the Junior Olympics in Dhaka in 2026,” Wang said. “It’ll be perfect because I’ll be 17 that year.”

Wang’s dedication and hard work over the years has paid off.

“I think it’s made me a much more resilient person,” Wang said. “I think that’s one of the biggest benefits from martial arts in general, not just physically but also mentally. I feel like I’m a lot stronger, and I can handle a lot more stress because you have to go through that in competition and training.”