Photo by Until Chan for Hong Kong Tatler

The perfect moment in boxing comes when speed, timing and balance come together for optimum impact. It's that split second decision to come forward instead of back,  the ability to spy – and capture – that sliver of opportunity to use the full force of your momentum to send your opponent reeling. Like dance, and much of life itself, it is all about timing. 

For Nissim Tse, the journey to the ring has been about growing emotionally and mentally as well as physically. Since signing up to fight in charity boxing match Phenomenal: A Fight to Remember, which took place on February 20 at the Hong Kong Football Club, the 56-year-old hedge fund director of Sofaer Global Research has shed over 12 kilos, honing his physique and testing his limits, all while gaining a greater sense of himself. 

Photo by Tyrone Wu (Hong Kong Tatler)

For Tse, the rigorous training regime (at three separate gyms with different instructors, and at an aerial yoga studio which helps him to unwind and find his balance) has helped put the stresses of life – both personal and professional – into perspective. 

"Boxing is not for everybody," he explains. "It requires a lot of endurance and physical pain – after all, people are actually trying to take your head off. But what I've found is that it will help you to deal with problems in your life a lot better. Boxing requires a lot of very quick reflexes. Punches come at you at a very fast pace and sometimes you have to rely on certain reflexes to deal with it – just like in life."

In the week before the match, Tse was informed that his original opponent – already many years his junior – would be replaced by an even younger 20-year-old fighter trained by champion boxer Jay Primo Solmiano. If he was worried, it never showed. "The biggest challenge has been understanding myself and dealing with my own fear," he tells us. 

"Life, like the markets, is not always up. You feel like you get knocked down every day. But you've got to stand up and fight another day." 

Fittingly, in Hebrew the name Nissim is significant, meaning 'miracle'. However for Tse, it's not enough. "Don't look for the miracle. Be the miracle."

Watch the video below to hear more about Nissim Tse's philosophy and inspiring journey, then click here to see images from fight night.

Videography by Tyrone Wu | With thanks to Impakt Gym and Figure Balance Yoga Studio