Tai chi Master: MMA fight does not signal death blow to Tai Chi

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By CGTN’s Ding Dai

In Chinese movies, Tai Chi is always portrayed as a martial art discipline with deep philosophical meaning. This week, a video showing a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from Beijing knocking down a self-proclaimed Tai Chi master within seconds went viral on Chinese social media. But it also raised heated debate on whether traditional Chinese martial arts are practical in real combat.

Most analysts think the fight was just a publicity stunt, plotted by Xu Xiaodong to win fame.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba group, is also a big fan of Tai Chi and Chinese martial arts. In his opinion, the K.O. was just a show between two amateurs, arising from a personal grudge. He believes that Tai Chi can be used in fighting, but it was not born for combat. MMA, however, as a combination of fighting disciplines such as boxing, judo, Muay Thai and wrestling, is for fighting.

cCGTN Photo

“The Tai Chi school is not defeated,” said Xu Chengzhi, a 13th Generation Chen Style Tai Chi master in a discussion with CGTN.

“None of us can represent a Tai Chi school. We can only go on the process of learning and make some progress. Lei Lei (the Tai Chi master from the video) may be defeated, but it is a good thing for the whole Tai Chi world because we need to rethink about this issue,” Xu added.

Anthony Goh, executive vice president of the International Wushu Federation, also suggested that the traditional Wushu community should not feel threatened.

“I think all forms of martial arts could co-exis,” Goh told CGTN.

There was a time when Chinese kung fu gained worldwide fame for legendary figures, like Ip Man with his Wing-chun, Wong Fei Hung with his Hung Kuen, Bruce Lee with his Jeet Kune Do, who has also been called by some the father of MMA ... Shaolin kung fu and Tai Chi are also extremely influential and well known worldwide.

Though originally conceived as a martial art, Tai Chi in modern society is mainly practiced for health and longevity. But it seems that Xu's recent challenge is leading to second thoughts about Tai Chi nationwide. The question is how to defend the dignity of traditional martial arts, in this modern civilization that no longer needs combat.