Nichoyyk

Rex Tso is a name that’s synonymous with victory. Often referred to as 'The Wonder Kid', Rex recorded an undefeated professional career from 2011 to 2017 with 22 consecutive wins. His bout against Kohei Kono in 2017 – the last fight of his professional career – left a lasting imprint (and a swollen ‘egg’ on the corner of his left eye) in Hong Kong boxing history. Later that year, he announced his shift to amateur boxing, aspiring to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. However, in March 2020, Rex faced disappointment in the quarterfinals of the Asian and Oceanian qualifiers. Then came the pandemic which had put the world to a halt, leading the International Olympic Committee to cancel the qualifying events, thus marking the first time his Olympic dreams slipped away. Photograph: Nichoyyk "Winning was everything to me in Tokyo," Rex recalls, still haunted by the memory. The night before his match against world champion Misha Aliyev, Rex had severe insomnia as his mind was consumed with thoughts of winning – losing was not an option for him. Rex continues, "My brain was constantly thinking about different strategies, and by the time of the match, I was already exhausted and could not perform well..." After the match, Rex allowed himself to cry and regroup before finding ways to start his journey once again. "I used to care so much about winning, but now I just focus on the journey." Last year, after being eliminated in the round of 32 at the Hangzhou Asian Games in the men's 57 kg

有人追求生命高度，高薪厚職和頭銜越多越好、越高更好。惟在庸庸碌碌生活中的某處，仍有人以人生展現盡力到問心無愧，用持之以恆努力，追求生命的深度。曹星如（Rex），自2018年宣布轉戰業餘賽後曾迷失拳擊，在求勝與懊惱間他一直掙扎。走過兩屆奧運資格賽，Rex 有着兩種截然不同的覺悟，在拳擊路留下來的腳印，亦不再只限在擂台裏。 連勝有如曹星如的代名詞，綽號「神奇小子」的他曾在2011至2017年間錄下職業生涯22不敗。2017年與河野公平一戰，Rex左眼角那腫脹「雞蛋」成為香港擂台的印記；該晚，亦是這名香港拳王職業生涯最後一戰。隨後在2018年尾宣布轉戰業餘賽，力爭出戰東京奧運，惟2020年3月曹星如於亞洲及大洋洲資格賽上八強惜負。未料疫情令全世界體壇停擺，後來國際奧委會宣布因而取消遺材賽，首次爭取奧運資格飲恨告吹。 Photograph: Nichoyyk   東京奧運資格賽嚴重受挫　壓力大到「冧樓」 「東京那次，勝負對於我來說是一切，求勝欲無限放大」，曹星如回想起來也心有餘悸，特別提及八強面對世界冠軍米薩夏利諾夫一戰，只要取勝奧運入場券隨手可得。不過幸福在前變相負擔，他直言那時候「壓力大到『冧樓』」，賽前一夜嚴重失眠，腦海只充斥着「一定要贏，輸咗搞唔掂」。曹星如續道：「個腦不停思考該要怎樣打，賽前精力已消耗，無力睡不夠，上場越急發揮越差......」Rex 賽後用了一陣子嚎哭與振作，惟宣洩過後他總能重新出發。     「以前很在意勝負，現在着重過程」 去年杭州亞運男子57公斤級32強縱然出局，從他在社交媒體上的撰文也能察覺，他慢慢放下對勝利的執着。他說：「路，要一步步去行出嚟，亦有好多未知數，中間嘅跌倒、失敗，是一個教訓、一個經驗。唔知道最後結果如何，但我知道自己努力過。」在俗世眼中，爭取出戰奧運，放棄的不只職業拳手的身份，還有22戰全勝紀錄、世界排名第一、金腰帶等榮譽；惟對於曹星如，卸下金腰帶更是重新定義拳擊與成就的過程。「以前很在意勝負，現在着重過程。聽起來有點老土，但現在我更渴望打好每一場，而過程間能全程投入，認真面對自己的選擇。」 Photograph: Nichoyyk    學懂重新定義拳擊與成就 為準備巴黎奧運資格賽，曹星如在去年亞運後成為「空中飛人」，先到韓國集訓再到歐洲三地訓練及比賽。然而首站世界資格賽首圈惜負未能出線，其後於泰國舉行的遺材賽同樣吞敗，面對再一次失利，Rex 今次感慨亦感激。「踏出過、嘗試過、努力過、失敗過。由打職業轉到國際（業餘）賽事，感激把我帶上這兩個擂台的所有人。種種的經歷，畢生難忘！失去了便是失去了，但我對拳擊的熱情，絕不會因此而熄滅。20年走來，不簡單！用生命影響生命，希望我仍能做到。」 「踏出過、嘗試過、努力過、失敗過」 往往選擇都是在檢視我們的價值觀和理念，而關鍵非在「對與錯」，Rex 認為過程中訓練自己思考才是成長細節。「以前教練提出要求，我便會不停做、不停執行；但現在我要先領悟，再去想回否有別的方法，要清晰地了解前路是什麼。」說到領悟與生命影響生命，曹星如在巴黎奧運遺材賽後更感受到自己對拳擊的熱情，而這份熱情讓他覺醒休息的重要。回望追尋勝利的過去，我笑言 Rex 大部分時間被「拳擊」恐嚇，認為自己必須幹出實務才能進步。這沒有什麼不妥，只是在過度自我警惕下，生活未免缺乏放鬆時刻。 Photograph: Nichoyyk   休息為了走更遠的路 「所以到六月，我決定休息！」舊患「呼喚」、腦袋塞滿了拳擊，就在今年六月 Rex 決定暫遠離擂台，讓身體恢復也讓思緒解困。在休養的數月，這名拳王一直心郁郁想