How This Vietnamese-American Fighter Has Excelled in Wrestling, San Shou, and Now in MMA
If you have never heard of Cung Le, it would have only been a matter of time before you did. Cung Le is a mixed martial artist and San Shou kickboxer who has been rising to the top in each new area of fighting that he takes on.
He was born in Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam, on May 25th, 1973. When he was only 2 years old, he and his mom were able to escape Saigon just three days before the city was taken over by the communists. This only happened because his grandfather was able to secure a flight on a
United States military plane because he worked for the government. They still had to wait 10 hours to be able to get onto the plane, and even then, they had to run outside to get to the plane which was a half-mile away. Anne Le, his mom, said "We had to run. It was windy and it was dark. You could see the two sides shooting. . . You could see where the bullets came out - the spark - and you didn't know if it was for you. And when we got on [the plane], they started shooting for us."
After arriving in America, Cung Le and his mother eventually ended up in San Jose, California. In high school, he really began to enjoy wrestling because of its physical contact and competitive spirit. He was named an All-American in wrestling for both his junior and senior year, as well as for two years in junior college. After that, he began studying various martial arts and began to quickly excel. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Cung's first major tournament win came in 1994 at the U.S. San Shou Open, where he knocked out his first two opponents and won by decision in the finals despite breaking a hand in the first fight and his instep in the second. Over the next five years, the quiet, mild-mannered Le earned three bronze medals at the Wushu World Championship tournaments - Baltimore in 1995, Rome in 1997 and Hong Kong in 1999."
If you have never heard of Cung Le, it would have only been a matter of time before you did. Cung Le is a mixed martial artist and San Shou kickboxer who has been rising to the top in each new area of fighting that he takes on.
He was born in Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam, on May 25th, 1973. When he was only 2 years old, he and his mom were able to escape Saigon just three days before the city was taken over by the communists. This only happened because his grandfather was able to secure a flight on a
United States military plane because he worked for the government. They still had to wait 10 hours to be able to get onto the plane, and even then, they had to run outside to get to the plane which was a half-mile away. Anne Le, his mom, said "We had to run. It was windy and it was dark. You could see the two sides shooting. . . You could see where the bullets came out - the spark - and you didn't know if it was for you. And when we got on [the plane], they started shooting for us."
After arriving in America, Cung Le and his mother eventually ended up in San Jose, California. In high school, he really began to enjoy wrestling because of its physical contact and competitive spirit. He was named an All-American in wrestling for both his junior and senior year, as well as for two years in junior college. After that, he began studying various martial arts and began to quickly excel. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Cung's first major tournament win came in 1994 at the U.S. San Shou Open, where he knocked out his first two opponents and won by decision in the finals despite breaking a hand in the first fight and his instep in the second. Over the next five years, the quiet, mild-mannered Le earned three bronze medals at the Wushu World Championship tournaments - Baltimore in 1995, Rome in 1997 and Hong Kong in 1999."
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