About

I’m Tom Liu, a software engineer and cloud architect with 25+ years of experience, currently based in Australia. This site is where I practice learning from public — writing about what I build, what I study, and what challenges me.

Why I Write

Writing has frightened me since childhood. For years, I avoided it — and that avoidance quietly held me back as a communicator and a thinker.

The turning point came when my manager Krishna encouraged me to document my work for a senior promotion. Through multiple iterations and honest feedback from mentors like Johnny — who would question every assumption until I truly understood what I was saying — I discovered that writing isn’t just communication. It’s a thinking tool. It forces clarity in places where fuzzy thinking hides.

I don’t write because I’ve mastered it. I write because I haven’t. At my level, quantity matters more than perfection. Every published piece is practice — a snapshot of who I was 3 to 6 months ago, and a marker of how far I’ve come. If something I share helps someone else along the way, even better.

BJJ

In October 2024, at age 44, I walked into Gracie Barra Carlton and started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. What began as a nudge from a persistent training partner became one of the most meaningful pursuits of my life.

BJJ taught me things I didn’t expect. I learned to put my ego down before stepping on the mat. I learned that submissions come from proper positioning and control, not brute force. I learned that facing hard problems repeatedly — until they become manageable — is a skill that transfers to everything else in life.

Early on, I sparred with anxiety, relying on power and speed to avoid losing. Months later, through deliberate practice and guidance from generous training partners, I started to understand the why behind each movement. The fear faded. The joy of learning took its place.

As Carlos Gracie Jr. said: “There is no losing in jiu jitsu. You either win or you learn.”

I now see BJJ as a mutually supportive journey — physically and mentally — where helping your training partners grow is inseparable from your own growth.