Think. Trust. Believe. Create.
TIGGER TIAN
Who I Am
I'm Tigger, a 14-year-old from Beijing, China. I'm a self-taught developer, passionate fencer, avid debater, and organizer of Tigger International Fencing Camp.
I scored IELTS 8.5 at age 13, reached the U16 Grand Final at the 21st HKPDS Workshop & Tournament, and I train on the fencing piste almost every day. Whether it's debugging an algorithm, landing a riposte, or making a rebuttal — I show up fully.
How Self-Directed Learning Changed My Life
Self-directed learning has been the foundation of everything I've achieved. It gave me the freedom to learn at my own pace, explore my interests deeply, and develop a genuine love for learning.
This flexible environment allowed me to balance fencing, debate, and coding with academic excellence.
No rigid timetable. I follow my curiosity.
Every skill I have — Python, English, critical thinking — I built myself, through projects and practice.
IELTS 8.5. HKPDS U16 Grand Finalist. National BP Champion. Camp Founder. The results speak.
From zero preparation to exam in one week. First attempt. And I haven't taken a single English lesson in my life, ever.
This wasn't just a score. It was proof that self-directed, interest-driven learning can compete with — and beat — any formal curriculum.
The Story So Far
A timeline of things I've built, competed in, and achieved.
Founded New News
Started writing English news articles at age 8. What began as a personal project grew into 650+ self-written articles over six years.
My Fencing Journey Begins
Started foil fencing. Interest became motivation, motivation became discipline, discipline became everything.
ETIC Advanced
Achieved a moderate score on the English Test for International Communication Advanced when I was 11 years old.
IELTS 8.5
Never taken an English lesson in my life. Yet I achieved a band score of 8.5 at age 13.
Coding Begins
Picked up Python out of curiosity. No teachers, no bootcamp — just building projects and figuring it out.
2× Oxford Schools' BP Champion
Won the Oxford Schools British Parliamentary Debate compeition twice at the China rounds. Oxford Schools' is the largest debating competition in the world.
HKPDS U16 Grand Finalist
Reached the Under-16 Grand Final at the 21st Hong Kong Parliamentary Debate Society Workshop & Tournament.
Founded Tigger International Fencing Camp
Organized my own international fencing camp in Beijing, focusing on bringing European fencing mastery to young Chinese fencers through a non-profit event.
Moonshot48 Hackathon — 2nd Place
Led my team to build a working product in 48 hours. Largest hackathon for middle & high-schoolers in China.
National B-Level Competition Bronze Medalist
Achieved bronze medal in the open category at the 2026 Changsha Youth Fencing Open, a China B-level Competition.
Synapse Debate — Coming Soon
A debate platform with structured resources, argument frameworks, and practice tools.
My Coding Journey
I picked up programming out of curiosity and never stopped. I love turning ideas into working software.
A platform for sharper thinking
A debate and critical thinking platform I'm building independently. Structured resources, motion breakdowns, practice tools, and a community — everything to think sharper and argue better.
Led my team to build a working product in 48 hours. Largest hackathon for middle & high-schoolers in China.
Build things that matter
I don't learn to check boxes. I learn to build projects that solve real problems, or explore ideas I find fascinating.
New News
My personal English news publication — covering everything from world events to my personal travel journal.
It started small during the Covid-19 Pandemic, when I was stuck at home during the lockdown, with just a trusty pen and a piece of paper.
Over six years, it has become so much more than that.
Six years of writing about the world
News that matters, stories that resonate, told in my own way with my own voice. I have also shared my study notes, travel journals, and more.
Read New News through my WeChat Official Account — search in the WeChat app for 'At Home 学习与实践'. Chinese translations and English audio are also available.
On the Floor
British Parliamentary has been so much more than just a debate.
It has taught me a series of methods on how to think, organize, and articulate ideas, as well as how to communicate and share those thoughts with others.
Format
British Parliamentary — fast-paced, structured, and demanding. Fifteen minutes of prep, no electronic devices, no web search, nothing. Just your brain, your thoughts, and your voice. Eight minutes to deliver a speech that counts.
Approach
Logic always wins over emotion, which I believe is not only true in debate, but in life as well. Thinking through everything, organizing your thoughts into a presentable case, and delivering it with calmness and precision is the key to success and actually pursuading your opponent, instead of just pummeling them with fast-based nonsense.
Experience
Before the HKPDS2025 debate workshops, I had never taken a formal debate training class ever. But after 4 days of training, I was able to transform the knowledge I had accumulated through many years of writing English articles and exploring the world into meaningful and impactful speeches.
On the Piste
Fencing is where I learned that discipline, strategy, and passion beat raw talent, power, and speed every time. Every bout is a chess match at full speed.
"In many ways, fencing is like coding and debate — you plan, you adapt, and you execute."
2026 Changsha Youth Fencing Open
China B-level Competition
Although results are undeniably important, I have discovered that they are just a temporary achievement that fades with every passing day, eventually becoming yet another memory in the past. The journey, the lessons, and the experiences I have learned along the way are what truly matter, as they can guide me forward and accelerate my future growth.
Tigger International
Fencing Camp
I founded Tigger International Fencing Camp with the goal of bringing together young fencers to learn the technique and art of European fencing through a non-profit fencing camp. I was even praised by two Olympic gold medalists, Valentina Vezzali and Zhong Man, for the quality, attention to detail, and non-profit nature of my camp.
Valentina Vezzali — 6× Olympic gold medalist.
Zhong Man — Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medalist.
Marat Khisamutdinov — Head coach of first edition of Tigger International Fencing Camp.
Let's Talk
Whether you want to collaborate on a project, talk code, have a fencing bout, or just say hi — I'm always open.
Living the best life by being me.