几年前我在密苏里州哥伦比亚的比安奇杯比赛中遇见顾方蓁女士；我想可能是十五年前左右，在她射击生涯鼎盛时期。比安奇杯名盛一方，而方蓁是比安奇杯历来唯一一位八次夺得女子组冠军的女性。她坐在我旁的木凳上；她当天的比赛还没赛完，但她跟我交谈起来。后来，我才知道这是她少有的动作。我记得当时我她的禅定般的光环所吸引；更坦白的说，被她的专业精神所吸引。
时光快转到几年之后，我们成了朋友，为她杰出的系列专栏定期在《女性戶外运动新闻》刊出，我们开始合作。
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在我深入研读她的处女作、说明它给我带给我的启示之前，我想多说一点那天我遇见她的情况。方蓁是一位纪律严明的运动员，她有一套特别的预备比赛公式，一丝不苟，射击界大多数人都知道并且尊重。她在她射击专用眼镜旁套上小“屏风”，挡去会干扰她射击的人事物；她会一遍又一遍地在脑海里演练如何射击、想象真正射击时会是什么样的场景；有时她会临事不乱的先做伸展，有时她可能在某项射击阶段展开前为定心而静坐冥想...；但那天，她坐下来和我说话，因为有人介绍我们认识，她觉得她有话说，要一吐为快。
她告诉我，那一天是第一次有人问起她是否会把她的一生写下来。那人是谁？是我！我到今天都很高兴那天我在她心里播下那粒种子。我相信无论我有没有说什么或有没有问什么她都会写这本书，但想想也许——只是也许，在她写书、出书的事上我担任了一个小角色，就足以让我高兴半天。
书成之后，我看到书中包含的远远不止于射击运动，远远不止是射击如何丰富了她的人生。这本书关乎方蓁，关乎她如何通过射击运动为我们带来一个出色又相关的人生故事，鼓舞大家，让我们思考、运用在我们的生活里。
I read the first copy that she signed and sent to me. Then, I sent that special book to one of my favorite women, Il Ling New, who happens to be a Gunsite Academy range master (instructor). Il Ling also reviewed the book later, and then, she met Vera and Carlos Koo while at an NRA meeting in Indianapolis this past spring. Il Ling told me that she and Vera have Yuan Fen.
I knew they would have a connection beyond their common heritage. Vera once wrote, “In the Chinese culture, we belive in a concept called Yuanfen, whichis when fate brings 2 people together. If you have
Throughout the years, Vera has written many pieces of great advice that I have taken to heart. When I read her book, I ran across more, and decided to pair them with photos that we have in our gallery. I hope you will enjoy the gallery and quotations and, buy Vera’s book.
Excerpts from Vera Koo’s The Most Unlikely Champion: A Memoir
“With nothing to distract me, I can achieve that rare form of perfect concentration, the kind that all competitors know well. My solitude is my strength.”
“With nothing to distract me, I can achieve that rare form of perfect concentration, the kind that all competitors know well. My solitude is my strength.”
“My mother was very honest … she repeatedly told me, ‘Vera, you are more plain-looking, so you have to develop your inner beauty.’”
“My mother never did. She never complained … Although she often claimed that life was one hardship than happiness, you wouldn’t have known it from her attitude. She taught me that you see the doughnut, not the hole.”
“I learned a lot from my mother, but above all I think I learned that your first responsibility was to your family. No matter how tired you might be, you still had to do right by them.”
“Kai Fang, the man who raised me, must have known I wasn’t his biological daughter. But he loved me in the same way he loved his biological children. He spoiled me, taking me to beaches and on hikes. He showed me that family isn’t just about blood; it’s about love.”
“This country could take you in, and you could turn nothing into something just through hard work. I’ve always believed – and always told my children – that if you work hard in America, anything is possible. My life is proof of that.”
I met Vera Koo several years ago at a Bianchi Cup match in Columbia, Missouri. I’m thinking it might have been about 15 years ago, when she was at the height of her shooting career.
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