Virally popular Chinese amateur MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong is a man with a huge target on his back, following a 10-second beatdown he gave to Tai Chi master Wei Lei in Chengdu last month. In a video that spread like wildfire, Xu is seen relentlessly attacking Wei with punching combinations. And then following him to the mat for some ground-and-pound when Lei crumpled from a right hand.
Now it seems Xu has angered the “traditional” martial arts community as a few have come up issuing challenges. There are a handful of “traditional martial artists” who have expressed interest in facing Xu. However, one incentive could really push things over the edge.
A video of Chinese MMA Fighter Xu Xiaodong’s beatdown of a Tai Chi master went viral
Chinese amateur MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong recently destroyed Tai Chi master Wei Lei. beating down the old man within 10-seconds in a viral clip that has taken social media. Now many ‘masters’ are after him and want revenge.
Chinese multi-millionaire Mr. Chen Sheng has recently offered over 10-million Chinese yuan (nearly $2-million dollars) to any traditional martial artist who can defeat Xu. Mr. Chen, who is known as the founder of the wildly popular non-alcoholic beverage “Tiandi”, said he wanted to “defend the dignity” of martial artists.
Xu’s one-sided beatdown of Wei Lei sparked intense debates over the effectiveness of traditional martial arts versus modern day fighting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUOXGQ0MqP0
Check out the original footage of the fight here…
Up until a certain point, traditional martial arts such as Kung Fu or Karate, or even Tai Chi, have been thought of to be lethal forms of fighting. However, MMA in the modern day, popularized by Bruce Lee, incorporated the best aspects of each style into one. Nowadays, MMA is seen as the ultimate and purest form of combat.
This apparently did not sit well with the traditional Chinese martial arts community. As soon as word spread of Xu’s destruction of Wei, various traditional martial artists have issued challenges.
Two more Tai Chi masters, Lu Xing and Wang Zhanhai have issued challenges. Lu has already invited Xu for a public duel and vowed to “teach him a lesson”.
A Shaolin Monk named Yi Long will be first to challenge Xu
Guangzhou native and Chinese boxing specialist Shangxian who practices Shaolin Meihua Zhuang also expressed interest. Yi Long, a Chinese monk known for his martial arts skill has also made his intentions known and seems to be the first in line to challenge Xu.
Now it seems their efforts will not go to waste and up to $2-million in purse is up for grabs. Mr. Chen explains that the prize pool will be split up over five matches. The winner of each fight gets $300,000 while the loser takes home $100,000.
Pretty sweet deal for Xu either way as he stands to take home at least $500,000 even if he loses each bout. However Chen remained adamant that he wanted Xu to learn some sort of lesson.
“I want him (Xu) to understand, he used this kind of extreme method to provoke Chinese traditional culture, and will need to pay the price.”
