Profound learning

The experiences enabled him to learn wushu in a profound way, said Mendez. To him, wushu went beyond physical fitness.

"There is also a philosophical aspect and culture in wushu," Mendez said. "To truly learn wushu well, you have to understand its philosophy and culture components."

Mendez said he is focusing on learning more about tai chi. "It's all about Taoism, empty your mind, flow like water, simplify your life. I incorporate that into my daily life."

Mendez said his life is all about learning, practicing and teaching wushu.

He married his girlfriend from Ukraine a couple of years ago, and the couple settled down there. He was in the process of opening a wushu school in Ukraine when the conflict started and upended his plan. They moved back to Mexico, and then to Canada. Now he is trying to set up a wushu training center in Toronto.

"Life can be tough sometimes, just like training (in) wushu, but life can also be harmonious like wushu," Mendez said. "Like the Chinese saying, life is full of four tastes — sweet, bitter, sour and spicy. We can enjoy the whole process and all the tastes. Wushu offers me that."

Since the International Wushu Federation was established in 1990 and the first biennial world championships were held in Beijing in 1991, wushu has come a long way more than 30 years, as witnessed by Shi Xinghao, one of the 32 generations of Shaolin disciples who runs the Houston Shaolin Kung Fu Academy.

Shi was at the 16th World Wushu Championships as one of the volunteers who were instrumental in organizing the competition. He has taken his students to various competitions and watched how the scene of wushu has changed over the past decades on the world stage.