Dashing, valiant Peng Wei-chua strikes a warrior stance. This is the result of the tough training he underwent after entering National Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy in fifth grade. (Jimmy Lin)

Ten years of preparation, one minute on stage. Peng Wei-chua, Wushu (Chinese martial arts) contender at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, leapt and pirouetted with power and grace, drawing strength from his qi, clinching the championship in both Nanquan ("southern fist," a form of unarmed combat) and Nangun ("southern staff," a style of stick fighting) in one stroke.

Behind the spectators' near-frenzied cheers, the road to Peng's success in Wushu has been a tortuous tale. If not for the stern advice of his mentor Chang Shi-po, and if not for Peng's key habit of "practicing with a smile," Peng may have missed his chance to become "the pride of Taiwan."

Growing up as part of the Sheng Gong Yue Hakka opera troupe and touring frequently during his youth, Peng describes himself as a "child of the theater tent." In fifth grade, his parents sent him to study drama at the National Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy (now the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts).