“Gelba” - Vincent Tseng becomes a Wrestler

Bokhin ayin refers to a “wrestler’s journey”, and today we’re here to share another one’s story. Vincent Tseng is a Taiwanese American martial artist. He began his martial journey with Praying Mantis Boxing (螳螂拳 Tángláng quán), a style of Chinese pugilism from Shandong. Starting at age 16 he dedicated himself to learning this art - while also cross-training a little in Western Boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ. His passion for the martial arts was originally born out of fighting, abuse, and bullying but eventually matured into a life purpose. In the process of training hand to hand fighting, he fell in love with clinchwork. He eventually realized that at the core of clinching is wrestling. Elbows, knees, short strikes - they all damage, incapacitate, and unbalance the enemy but the raw skill of destabilizing and toppling the enemy - with or without striking and submissions/breaks - that is wrestling. If one can wrestle well, the rest can be added on. At the same time, now in his late twenties, he was getting burnt out from a workaholic’s life in corporate America and it was taking a toll on his health. He needed to change his life - he began wandering.

Vincent in the small sum (village) of Renchinklhume, Mongolia 2018

Deep in his heart, Vincent knew he needed to get to Mongolia. As a child he watched Sumo with his 阿公 a-gong (grandpa) and witnessed Mongols like Asashoryu  and Hakuho dominate. The impression of Mongolian wrestling and respect for it was deep. So he committed himself to exploring arts like Mongol Bokh and Shuai Jiao. In 2018 he visited Taiwan and Mongolia and experienced a deeper level of fall-based wrestling. He connected with Lavell Marshall, then in NYC, and began wrestling. In 2020 he moved to Taiwan to learn the Taiwanese style of Shuai Jiao from some of the experts there.

Lavell, Coach Huhe (RIP), and Vincent

With the covid measures subsiding, he scraped together the funds to visit Inner Mongolia in the summer of 2023 to compete in the Mongol Naadams. The foreigners who do go to these are almost all just tourists. Most normal people would have just done it once to experience it. Awe at the Mongol skill level would be understandable. Trying it and getting swiftly toppled could be (understandably) very discouraging.

That said, Vincent is not “most normal people”. There he competed again and again - getting thrown and swept, and standing back up and showing up to the next naadam. Eventually he began to get advice from other wrestlers, and was given the name: Gealva/Gelba - meaning bright, lustrous, flash of lightning, etc.

Inspired by this rare opportunity to be amongst the best, he promised to return. 

Here, two friends, Lavell and Vincent, discuss his impressions at the tail-end of his trip to Inner Mongolia to experience this level of competition and skill: 

Now Vincent is preparing to train Mongolian wrestling in Xilinhot alongside Lavell Marshall, under the watchful eyes of Mongolian wrestling coaches. Training is held in the winter - a brutal season that forges a savage survivor out of anything here on the steppes. Although he’s 33 years old now - young but also a bit late to BEGIN grappling amongst professionals - he remains undaunted. He is committed to the life of a wrestler.