Alan Li
Sport: Taekwondo
Course: Mechanical Engineering
Ambition: To compete at olympic games
Sporting Achievements:
WT style:
BSTF national composite team,
Bronze medal, student national championships 2019, 68kg,
Bronze medal, Universal Taekwondo Federation British International Open, 74kg,
Quarter final, EUSA championships, 68kg,
ITF style:
TAGB Wales senior national team,
Individual:
Gold medal, Welsh open championships 2018, 70kg,
Quarter final, World championships 2018, 70kg,
Team:
Bronze medal, world championship 2018
Bio:
My name is Alan Li, I am a second year Mechanical Engineering student and a 1st dan black belt in taekwondo. I started ITF style taekwondo at the age of 10 and achieved the status of black belt at 14. It was only after this that I became interested in competitions. Despite having no experience in competitions, I was entered into the British championships against more experienced black belts. I was fortunate enough win a silver medal, including winning my semi-final by knockout. From this point on I became obsessed with competing. I trained over 4 times a week, including weekly sessions with the welsh senior squad. For the next 4 years I consistently trained and competed with the national team, and represented Wales at junior, cadet and senior level. My more recent achievements in ITF style taekwondo include winning the Welsh national championships in my first senior tournament and representing the welsh senior team at the 2018 world championships where I reached the quarter finals.
In September 2018 I began my studies at UCL. I started training with the UCL taekwondo club where I was given the opportunity to explore WT style taekwondo. This style is famous for featuring in the summer Olympic games. My biggest regret so far at UCL was to take a break from taekwondo for the majority of first year. When I finally decided to return at the start of second term, I was hit by a severe knee injury which meant I would spend the next 2 months on crutches. With the student national championships fast approaching, I was itching to fight. Despite having no fitness and no experience in WT taekwondo, I was thrown in the deep end. With very little knowledge of WT rules and scoring, I was fortunate to reach the semi-finals where I lost to the gold medallist. This then led to me being chosen for the BSTF national squad to compete at the 2019 EUSA combat championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
In preparation for Zagreb, I had to overcome many obstacles. The first of which was my weight. Since I was not expecting to qualify at student nationals, I was entered into the under 68kg category. However, since recovery from my injury, I returned to my natural weight of 76kg. For me to cut 8kg whilst also building muscle meant I had to stick to a very strict dieting plan for the whole summer. I still suffer from post-traumatic panic attacks whenever I hear the words ‘boiled eggs’ and ‘kale’. When we arrived in Zagreb, I still had 2kg more to cut. When I say the next 3 days were hell on earth, I am not exaggerating. With temperatures reaching over 35 degrees and a humidity of 98%, I was forced to train for 4 hours a day with minimal food and water. Needless to say, I was relieved when I weighed in successfully. The other main struggle was to become accustomed to WT style rules and tactics. Since I had only 2 months of WT experience under my belt (no pun intended), it wasn’t enough time for me to work on multiple game plans and use them effectively. I had 1 solid game plan which I was confident in, however, when faced against the eventual bronze medallist in the quarter final I could not adapt quickly enough to other strategies. Despite not winning a medal, this competition showed me the standards that I need to reach and what I need to do to reach it.
For the coming year I will be training regularly with the BSTF university composite team and UCL taekwondo. I aim to progress tactically and physically with the help of the weekly high-performance team strength & conditioning sessions. I will also be representing UCL taekwondo at every opportunity at national competitions, as well as competing in national & international (G1) competitions.