"Overpowered by Palm Strikes" Chinese Martial Arts Masters Humiliated by MMA Fighters... Fierce Backlash

China Martial Arts Association "Fake Masters Damage Image"
Self-Proclaimed 'Sabeom', Unauthorized Matches Sanctioned

From Taijiquan, Shaolinquan, to Wing Chun, China is a country of 'martial arts.' At one time, Hong Kong martial arts films and wuxia novels gained worldwide popularity, capturing the attention of a global audience for these Chinese martial arts.

However, for about three years now, the Chinese government and official martial arts organizations have been struggling to crack down on martial arts masters (?) who claim to be 'quanfa masters.' This is due to the proliferation of self-proclaimed martial arts instructors following the advent of smartphones and social networking services (SNS). The government's position is that those who claim they can control opponents by pressing pressure points or shoot energy blasts are damaging the centuries-old tradition of Chinese martial arts.

'Fake Chinese Martial Arts Masters' Rampant Using SNS

Chinese martial artist brutally defeated by Chinese martial arts fighter Xu Xiaodong (right) / Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP), a large-scale crackdown on fake martial arts masters was first announced in June 2020. The official Chinese martial arts organization, the China Wushu Association, stated that it planned to regulate so-called 'Kung Fu Masters' who exaggerate the effectiveness of martial arts to promote themselves to the general public.

The association emphasized at the time, "In recent years, some martial arts practitioners have made absurd claims for monetary gain or personal fame," adding, "We aim to strengthen martial arts culture within China."

According to the association, self-proclaimed Kung Fu Masters promoted themselves by showing 'fake martial arts demonstrations' through SNS and other platforms. Videos became popular where elderly men in traditional uniforms subdued robust men by poking them with their fingers or burst the inside of a hard watermelon with a single punch. While some Chinese netizens were enthusiastic about these videos, others expressed skepticism about the actual existence of such martial arts techniques.

Self-Proclaimed Martial Arts Masters Brutally Defeated by Martial Artists Provoking Them

Actual martial arts demonstration at Shaolin Temple. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News

As skepticism toward exaggerated martial arts reached its peak, some even began challenging martial artists directly. A notable example is mixed martial artist Xu Xiaodong (40), known as the 'Martial Arts Master Hunter.'

Since 2017, he has appeared on Weibo (China's version of SNS) variety shows, making harsh remarks such as "Chinese martial arts are fake," "They are outdated and have no practical value," and "They are a scam," provoking Kung Fu Masters.

Provoked by these remarks, self-proclaimed Taijiquan master Wei Lei publicly fought Xu Xiaodong at a gym in Sichuan Province, China, and was defeated in just 20 seconds, shocking Chinese netizens. Since then, numerous self-proclaimed martial arts masters have challenged Xu Xiaodong but were all brutally defeated.

Association Draws Sword... "Traditional Martial Arts Image Damaged"

As this situation continued, the association appears to have taken direct action. Along with cracking down on fake martial artists, the association decided to sanction Chinese martial arts practitioners who call themselves 'masters' or participate in unauthorized matches.

Specifically, this includes acts such as founding fake martial arts schools and proclaiming oneself as the head of such schools, staging fake sparring matches for commercial purposes, and similar behaviors. According to SCMP, the association emphasized that such acts "seriously damage the image of traditional Chinese martial arts" and "must be strictly prohibited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.