Striking a blow for martial arts

When he returned to his country in 2011, Russian led efforts to establish the Liberia National Wushu Association. His persistence continued to attract interest from the Chinese embassy after he won an international medal on behalf of his country in 2016 at the Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival.

Since then, as a master, he has been inspiring others to share his enthusiasm. But he continues to have difficulties, including his non-stop search for more support for the sport and his mission to inspire his compatriots who might be interested in Shaolin kung fu. Russian is now the face of martial arts in Liberia.

Every weekend morning, Russian trains over 100 people and his open gym is a magnet for those seeking physical fitness. His wushu school is teaching several children.

"I can assure you that in the next five years, wushu is going to be different," he says. "You are going to be seeing Chinese martial arts in all of the counties; you are going to be seeing wushu all over this country."

In fact, martial arts is the only individual sport that has won an international a ccolade for Liberia and Russian is confident that, once the sport gains more support from Liberians, it will thrive even more.

However, Russian still regrets failing to attend the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He was the third best martial artist on the African continent that year but lack of finance kept him away from the games.

To compensate for this lost opportunity, he is working diligently to train the next generation of champions, ensuring that he keeps the spirit of wushu alive in the country.