Hong Kong callisthenics athlete on how the sport changed his life and what makes it special

Yau Ka-wing was once a self-described “ordinary, gaming-obsessed nerd” who was teased for being skinny and lacked confidence. Today, the 26-year-old is a champion callisthenics athlete who has represented Asia on the international stage and runs his own training studio. Two factors motivated Yau when he was in his final year of secondary school. “I was laughed at. I was bullied for being scrawny, and all I did was game [online] all day. I had no confidence and wanted to try working out to change myself,” he says. The second was the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exam, Hong Kong’s main university entrance test. “I was no academic. I wanted to rely on my physical abilities to pull up my grades,” he says, referring to the physical education section of the test in which candidates are assessed on their ability to do sit-ups, sit-and-reach movements, pull-ups or flexed-arm hangs, and running or walking. Yau could not afford a gym membership, so he and his friends applied for access to Hong Kong’s public Leisure and Cultural Services Department facilities. His friends’ applications were accepted, but his went unanswered, so Yau taught himself workouts by watching videos online. That was when his passion for fitness and movement was truly ignited. “I saw a video of someone doing a pull-up with their whole body horizontal to the bar … I’d never seen that. I really wanted to try [it to learn] what that felt like.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yau Ka Wing｜Calisthenics ｜街頭健身冠軍 (@_w1ng._.sw) In Hong Kong, the Cantonese name for callisthenics is “street workout”, which reflects the city’s unique geography, history and the specific way the sport evolved in local public spaces. Yau says that the expensive gym memberships in Hong Kong – one of the world’s most densely populated cities – are a luxury, and living spaces are often too cramped for home equipment. Like many Hongkongers, Yau turned to parks and public playgrounds for workout spaces as he began his fitness journey in 2018. A key part of callisthenics’ appeal, Yau says, is its accessibility. He points to the “very low threshold” for beginners, a factor that enabled his own entry into the sport without the need for expensive memberships or specialised equipment. “Even ordinary push-ups are considered part of a callisthenics workout, so getting started is a lot easier than all the fancy moves you see online,” he says. Newcomers to the sport should not feel discouraged if their early moves do not look too impressive. Yau strongly recommends perfecting basic movements first. Rushing to try advanced moves, he says, short-circuits the process. Allowing adequate time at the foundational level is essential for building pronounced muscle definition. When Yau first started, he could only do two or three pull-ups. He practised daily, sometimes for six to seven hours at a time, building up to over a dozen within six months. “I got a little too excited, and I entered my first competition then, which I obviously lost. But that was the push I needed.” Over the next few years, he made fitness a full-time commitment. During the Covid-19 pandemic, though, many of the open spaces he frequented were closed. So, in 2020, he opened his own studio, offering beginner- to advanced-level classes. Since then, Yau has won multiple titles and awards across Asia at local and international competitions in places including Malaysia and Singapore. He was even chosen as a judge for the XiaoLong Asian Street Workout Championship in Taiwan earlier this month. His skills earned him an invitation to the International Strength Nights (ISN), a prestigious callisthenics competition in Toulouse, France, in July. Yau was the sole Asian representative among 12 global athletes at the competition, which included representatives from Spain, Israel and Chile. The winner was chosen based on audience votes. Though Yau did not secure any major wins from that competition, he says it was one of the best experiences of his life. “Five or six years ago, my dream would have been to be world champion,” he says. “Now, winning or losing isn’t so important. The only thing that matters is how you grow from it.” What began as an attraction to a “cool-looking sport” has evolved into a life philosophy. “Callisthenics changed my whole life,” he says. “It trains not just your physique or physical capabilities, but also your mind.” “It changed me from being very impatient to now being much more composed … it really taught me how to take my time, whether to understand the art or to accept my failures, one step at a time.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by AUDACITY (@audacity_hk) But it was not always so smooth for Yau. He openly discusses the difficulties of pursuing callisthenics professionally in Hong Kong, a city with deeply ingrained cultural attitudes in which careers in sports are often overlooked as financially precarious and lacking in prestige. Hong Kong has a long way to go in this regard compared with places such as South Korea, where there are government subsidies for training facilities and a robust community. “It’s not like that in Hong Kong, where we have to create everything ourselves,” Yau says. When he first started his career as a full-time athlete and coach, his parents were far from supportive. “My dad was really, really not happy. It wasn’t until I started bringing home trophies and medals from fancy places that he started bragging about me nonstop to his friends. “I really want callisthenics to become a culture here, not just a sport.” After seven years of rigorous training, Yau says he cannot imagine what he would be doing without callisthenics. It has unlocked a life of purpose far from the office job path he might have taken. Despite the “freedom and amazing opportunities” that callisthenics has given him, Yau’s ambition has evolved from chasing titles to a simpler desire for a stable, grounded life. “Hong Kong is a very realistic society; you have to earn money,” he says. “Being an athlete, or even chasing a dream, is actually a very difficult thing.” Now that he is a little older, he just wants to earn enough to live and have an ordinary life. Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.

Hong Kong callisthenics athlete on how the sport changed his life and what makes it special

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yau Ka-wing went from ‘nerd’ to ripped Hong Kong representative at contests in Asia and Europe. He shares why callisthenics is so accessible

Yau Ka-wing went from ‘nerd’ to ripped Hong Kong representative at contests in Asia and Europe. He shares why callisthenics is so accessible