Author: Mirin Fader
Occidental mascot Oswald the Tiger has an alter ego. He can back flip, leap and do the splits. He is a biology major from Hong Kong, and his name is Jason Li.
The sophomore sought the role within weeks of arriving at Occidental.
“I saw a flyer for the mascot position, and I was curious and was exploring everything around me and thought to myself, this could be fun, I could utilize my skills there. Why not go for it?” Li said.
Li surprised everyone at tryouts during his first week as a freshman.
“They saw me walk in and probably thought, ‘OK, I guess he can do a couple cartwheels’ — but they weren’t ready for me.”
The acrobatics and martial arts talent that amazed the judges is the result of years of training and practice. Although Li practiced martial arts and break dancing sporadically as a child, he began to seriously train and develop his skills only about four to five years ago.
“Martial arts, breakdancing and all of the things that I do are passions of mine. It makes me feel like a superhero. Ever since I was a kid, I watched Power Rangers. I saw what they were doing and wanted to do it. So I practiced in my room and then went outside to practice some of the moves that I saw. Once I did them, I loved it,” Li said.
Specifically, Li practices Martial Arts Tricking, which is a blend of martial arts and gymnastics. In his routines for college sporting events, he combines elements of breakdance with the martial arts, and in the Tiger suit, Li performs acrobatics. Whatever the style of performance, Li loves being the school’s mascot.
“It’s something about putting on a mask. When I have the mask on, I’m usually very silly and do silly things that I can’t do without the mask. That’s the best part. I love being silly, feeling school spirit, playing with the kids that come to games, high-fiving fans and representing our school,” Li said.
Li performs with the Occidental cheer squad throughout both football and the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. When Li accepted the position, Occidental bought a brand new Tiger suit for him to sport during games. “The old one was completely destroyed. It smelled disgusting. I was really happy when they got a new one,” Li said.
Even with the new Tiger suit, the job is demanding.
“When I put on the suit, after five to ten minutes of working, there is sweat everywhere. And it’s heavy. The helmet is so stuffy. It’s blazing hot in the suit, it’s ridiculous. These things multiply the level of difficulty for doing my moves in it, especially when we have back to back games and the suit is not washed. It can smell very bad.”
Despite these conditions, Li manages to give his best for Occidental’s athletes and fans at every event.
“After five minutes, I tell myself to man up and get the job done. It’s just the initial threshold of getting through those minutes,” Li said. “After that, I’m fine, and I do my thing.”
While in the suit, Li faces limitations performing certain acrobatic and martial arts moves. As a result, fans see Li switching in and out of the suit accordingly. However, when in the suit, Li mostly performs a back double full, which is a single rotation of a back flip, twisting 720 degrees.
“The suit really restricts a lot of my arsenal of moves. I have to blend movements to make other movements, using my creativity to come up with a good routine,” he said.
In addition to his commitment to performing during games of the fall and winter sports seasons, Li’s practice schedule is even more arduous and time-consuming.
On a typical training day for Li, he begins by warming up for 15 minutes with basic movements. When he reaches his “training peak period,” he challenges himself by trying new movements that he hasn’t mastered yet.
“This is where I usually fall on my face a lot; but when I see someone doing something really cool, I want to try it immediately. Even though I might not get it at first, it’s really fun for me to work on things that are difficult for me,” Li said.
Though currently in the off-season, Li practices with the cheer team during season. The team practices Monday through Friday, where Li participates in two hours of cheer practice and then trains on his own for an additional hour of mascot-specific practice.
“There’s tons and tons of practice involved. Improving skills as a team and practicing performance for myself takes a lot of time. There’s a lot of stress on the captains and teammates and myself, but it all works out because we enjoy it,” Li said.
After he practices with the cheer team, Li trains for acrobatics and other skills off campus in a martial arts studio in Northridge. Though the drive is quite a distance, Li relishes the opportunity to hone his moves.
Li is also the only male on the cheer team.
“At first it was weird for me. I never found myself in a situation where I was the only guy. Sometimes I found the girls gossiping and didn’t understand anything they were talking about. But over time, we’ve grown closer. Before I was outside the circle, and now I’m in,” Li said.
Spending a great deal of time with the girls’ team has taught Li many things.
“It’s a good experience for me. It expands my knowledge about girls. Great life skills,” Li said, laughing. “Sometimes I think of a guy thing to say and want to share it, but realize I can’t. It’s so fun, though.”
However great their initial differences, Li and the cheer team have coalesced into one cohesive unit.
“We’re all super close and comfortable with each other. It’s hard to get such a connection on a team. But we aren’t just a team — we’re a bunch of close friends,” Li said.
Even in the off-season, Li faces soreness and pain from constantly practicing and refining his art. “It’s very tiring, but I love it, so I continue to practice my hardest,” Li said.
His rigorous training schedule would be difficult to manage for most student-athletes, but Li’s dedication and time-management skills have helped him balance all of his activities.
“I have to get my stuff done early, so I space my work out. Every day, I have a set amount of homework, or pages of reading to get done. With this mentality, I get my papers done early, which gives me time to sleep and do my training,” Li said.
Outside the suit, Li also participated in Dance Production this semester, where he choreographed a portion of the breakdancing in one performance.
During his first year, Li was a member of the Track and Field team. But because of his demanding schedule between school and mascot, Li could not participate this year.
As a biology major, Li aspires to become a physical therapist. Initially torn between majoring in biology and kinesiology, Li chose biology. “It can be applied to other things. Biology covers a broader base, and I have a genuine interest in it,” Li said.
Li traveled many miles away from home in Hong Kong to come to Occidental.
“I really liked L.A. weather. Everyone looked so friendly when I got to Oxy, and I’ve found them to be even more friendly than I thought. Because it’s such a small campus, there are always people I know. I feel very comfortable here, and I’m really glad I came to Oxy,” Li said.
His favorite part about Occidental is the ease of getting involved as a student.
“I like how students’ voices are heard. Oxy is a smaller community and because of that, students get a chance to speak their minds in discussions, panels and even protests like the Coalition did last semester. Students get to do what they feel is right, and say what they want to say. I think that’s very important,” Li said.
Acrobatics, martial arts and breakdancing are all forms of expression for Li at Occidental, who finds meaning and self-understanding in his craft.
“The mascot and I are separate identities. People may know it’s me in there, but it’s my silly side, and I love doing it,” Li said.
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