Lost path of Chinese Martial Arts

Antonio Corral
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read
Wei Lei and Xu Xiao Dong

Some months ago, an arranged fight took place in Chengdu, China, has futile has it was, it put some light on some dark secrets of today’s situation in Chinese Martial Arts.

The confrontation begun on the social-media sphere and then accelerated to end up on the mats.

The participants, Xu Xiao Dong (MMA coach in Beijing) and Wei Lei (Taiji master, claimed to be top 10 in China) weren't that famous in the West before that fight, and after the noise it created in the Chinese web and western press afterwards, they had quite the exposure.

This is not the first time in China or elsewhere that the traditional ways are criticize and confronted to a reality check, its healthy for the global martial art circle, the claims of the past need to be call into question in each generation, otherwise the field slowly rot to end up like any big business, old men claimed feats to keep their statuses and pride.

After a quick 10 seconds, the Taiji “master” was obviously kissing the ground, and the point was made, he was phoney.

What happened next is the interesting part, Wei Lei claimed to have slipped because he had new shoes, and maybe after he understood the ridicule of the excuse, he said simply that winning wasn't good for his karma and that he didn't want to kill Xu Xiao Dong…

On the other hand, Xu Xiao Dong was also interviewed and it was a big moment of truth in the Chinese media “lock”, he actually unveiled a lot of the practice of the traditional martial art sphere in China and probably pissed off a lot of people in the process.
After this interview, his gym was closed and most of his accounts in social-media have been disable, he disappeared for a few days, Chinese officials did that, the roots of the martial art association in China and some families are deep.

He later apologized for his behaviour, or was instructed to do so…

At this point the outcome is unknown, but all the facts have shine some light on what is really going on. It is a good thing for martial artists and fighters.

Gong fu families/association are very powerful in China, and they have an agenda, keeping the power, keep making money, keep people in the dark about their fantasy claims by faking most of what they show.
In that regards I hope young Chinese players/practitioners/fighters are going to question the claims of transmission dogma and try to seek the truth out of it. It is only for the better if the pressure to eradicate fixed fights and stupid demonstrations take place in China, where its constant since forever.

At the end of the day, martial arts are reality based, and since we don't carry blades or spears anymore and don’t have armours in our dressings, martial arts must change according to the reality we live in.

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