On August 1st, 2003, the world of martial arts was dealt a devastating and tragic loss.

Alex Gong, Muay Thai sensation, and friend and beloved trainer to many, was shot and killed outside of the Fairtex Muay Thai gym where he was training on that fateful Friday afternoon in San Francisco.

The events that lead to Alex Gongs untimely death were as such. According to those present, it began when the driver of a green Jeep Cherokee, which had just struck Gongs parked vehicle, attempted to flee from the scene of the accident. Alex Gong, still donning his training gloves and shorts, sprinted after the hit-and-run driver, and caught-up with him at a red light where the driver was forced to stop. It seems that he tried to stop the driver and get information from him, at which point he proceeded to shoot Gong at point-blank range, killing him almost instantaneously. Then, to the horror of many onlookers, the driver of the green SUV sped away as the light turned green, and left Alex Gong 32 years old to an undeserving death.

To those friends and family that had known Alex Gong the friendship, the mentoring, and the love that he had shown them the biggest question seems to be why? why did the driver of the SUV shoot him over such a small matter? Why did he have to shoot him somewhere that was fatal? Why was he taken away from us at such a young age, with so much life and potential still ahead of him? Undoubtedly, all of these questions will plague those same friends and loved ones for a long time to come with few satisfying answers. But let us not forget the legacy and many accomplishments that Alex Gong was able to leave with us and let us remember him for the caring and inspiring human being that he truly was to so many.

Growing up in Boston, Alex Gongs early life was anything but easy. At age 8, after a difficult divorce, Alexs father, James Gong, took him away from his mother and fled to Asia, where they eventually settled in India. During his time in Dharamsala in the Indian Himalayas, Alex found himself suddenly left to fend for himself in a Tibetan boys school. During his time at this school, Alex and many of the other boys obtained a steady stream of films featuring such martial arts legends as Bruce Lee and this initial exposure had a tremendous effect on young Alex. As a result of it, Alex would soon have one thing solely on his mind to someday become a great martial artist himself.

Abandoned by his father, life became very difficult for young Alex. For his mother, Nita Tomaszewski, the pain of wondering what had become of her young son was also tremendous. For three years, she used all of the resources available to her in an attempt to discern what had become of him, until one day, he appeared at the U.S. embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal young, parentless, and unsure of who he should go to. To further complicate matters, Alex wasnt able to remember his mothers maiden name, which she had reverted to after the divorce, therefore delaying their impending reunion. But, after further investigation, and an amazing stroke of fortune, Nita Tomaszewskis search was finally brought to an end. She and her long-lost son were together again at last.

After this, Alex returned to America with his mother, and the two of them lived in New Hampshire. As a teenager, Alex struggled to finish high school, attending several different schools, and even dropping out. But eventually, Alex graduated from high school, and moved to California, where he continued his education at San Francisco State College. It was there that he graduated with a degree in Business.

But graduating from college was only the first in a series of life-changing events that were about to happen to Gong. It was in California that he began to seriously pursue his long-time interest in martial arts. Karate, tae kwon do, aikido, and judo initially formed the basis of these studies, and Gong especially excelled at the former, under the tutelage of Seido Kai Kan karate instructors.

Indeed, it wasnt until almost a year later that Alex discovered what would become his first true love in martial arts Muay Thai kickboxing. Lured to the national sport of Thailand by its fluid, graceful movements and its emphasis on balance, Gong decided to take a chance on it and in 1994 he flew to Arizona to discover what Muay Thai was all about. An extremely bright future lay in store for Alex Gong, and American kickboxing would soon be changed forever.

Alex Gong jumped right into Muay Thai with both feet kicking. Beginning his training with the Thailand based Fairtex Muay Thai training camp, Gongs trainers quickly realized that he had a natural gift for the sport. Undoubtedly, Gongs potential was easily visible in the fact that he became the IFCA Light Middleweight Amateur US Champion after less than a year of training, followed by three more subsequent North American and Inter-Continental championships during the next three years. Clearly, here was a true warrior whose potential was waiting to be tapped and Alex F-14 Gong was on the verge of exploding.

In 1999, only five years after the beginning of his Muay Thai training, Alex Gong would achieve his greatest Muay Thai accomplishment in competition, becoming the ISKA Light Middleweight Champion of the World. Later, in 2001, Gong would also ultimately be awarded the National Siam Award for best fighter of the year.

Having trained with some of the worlds finest Muay Thai teachers, including Fairtex head trainer Phicheat Dr. Knee Arunleung, and Muay Thai Fighter of the Century Master Apideh Sit Hirun, Alex Gong now had plenty to offer the Muay Thai world. However, at that time, American Muay Thai was still in its infancy if not virtually nonexistent.

Appalled by the lack of Muay Thai training facilities available especially in the San Francisco area Gong took upon himself the task of establishing the San Francisco branch of the Fairtex Combat Sports camp in 1996. Later, Gong would go on to establish another branch based in Daly City, California as well. Today, Gongs Muay Thai camps have developed into the most excellent training facilities in America and some of the best training facilities in the world as well.

To those who came to train at the San Francisco Fairtex branch people from all walks of life, and numerous professions Gong and his elite staff of instructors offered a unique blend of training and genuine care that is rare today indeed. As Gong once put it, the four things that one could receive from training at the camp were fun, fitness, friends, and fighting. Clearly, a strong sense of community and support were priorities to Alex Gong, and the success that the school still enjoys today truly reflects this feeling.

To his students and friends, Alex Gong was more than a teacher. To so many, he was a big brother and a mentor and leader, bringing to the center a sense of family. He was an instructor who cared not only about the physical health and well being of his students, but also for the health and well being of their minds and hearts. In the eyes of Alex Gong, there was nobody who was beyond training beyond help. He was a teacher who was able to see the potential in anyone, and strived to make the improvement of his students as well-rounded human beings their most valued achievement.

To those that knew him most intimately, Alex Gong was also a playful big kid, who wasnt afraid to show his love for those that were close to him. This was especially true of Gongs relationship with his mother Nita Tomaszewski, and with his long-time girlfriend Mai Tran. To Tran and her 9-year-old son CJ, Alex was especially giving of his whole self, loving CJ as if he was his son. In CJs eyes, Alex was not only his big buddy, but was his role model and truest hero.

The premature passing of Alex Gong has left a void in the lives of so many that hes touched a void that time and healing may likely never fill. When such a genuinely caring and young-hearted soul is taken away from us in this way, reconciling the reasons often seems all but impossible. One wonders what potential may have been in store for Alex Gongs future a future that was stripped away from him for such a petty reason.

But let us not focus on the negative, and let us not focus on questions of what the world has most likely lost. For in the short time that he was given to those he touched, Alex Gong was a tremendous success story, and a fighter against all odds. He was an overachiever whose gifts to the world of Muay Thai especially in America have left an impression that will never be forgotten by those who love the sport as much as he did.

Alex Gongs memory will live on one doesnt need to look very far to find the many websites that have been created in his memory by members of the Muay Thai family around the world. And its no surprise after all. As Alex Gong so often said The family that kicks together, sticks together. Alex you are greatly missed.

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