Vera Koo: Advice from Ancient Chinese Culture

Having known and worked with Vera Koo for many years, I am always intrigued by her unique point of view. These four posts highlight Vera’s stories influenced by her Chinese heritage and how they relate to her life today.

For those who don’t already know Vera, she is a first-generation Chinese American. She’s a wife, mother, grandmother, author and retired pistol competition shooter/champion who is now a shotgun competition shooter. Vera has published two books: ., a memoir (now available as an audiobook) and

, a collection of lessons she learned throughout her life and as a champion female shooter. 

On Ming

Have you ever seen the opera “Madama Butterfly? In her article “Shooting and the ‘Ming’ Thing” Vera fondly recalls her experiences seeing “Madama Butterfly” six times and how it resonates in both classical Chinese culture and her shooting career. Read how Vera found her “ming.”  

In classic Chinese culture, a woman has no ming – no fate. Her ming is determined by her man.

Vera’s journey from her early Chinese upbringing to her current beliefs is a true testament to her growth. As she eloquently puts it in her final sentence, “Today, we have the chance to become whomever and whatever we want to be, and on that path, to find our own ming.” 

Philosophy of Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu, was a military strategist and general who served the state of Wu (one of the three ancient kingdoms of China) during the 5th century BCE. He is most known as the author of “The Art of War” which contains teachings that Vera wove into her competitions. Even though Vera wrote “Applying the Philosophy of Sun Tzu to My Life” 10 years ago, she still follows these philosophies in her current training. 

Whether you believe his words to be irrefutable proverbs of wisdom or better found within a pressed cookie, for more than 2 millennia, Sun Tzu’s work has emphasized that detailed, precise planning will inspire success.

Vera explains how Chinese families view success and the routines she uses to succeed in competition. 

（ （原文出处为线上读书俱乐部　 to continue reading this post, originally published at 《女性户外运动新闻》.