MMA fighter defeated Tai Chi master in less than 10 seconds

Speakers: Heyang, Ryan Price, and Liu Kun

[Photo: Google.com]

An MMA fighter has shamed a self-proclaimed Tai Chi master who challenged him to a duel to prove his kung fu is not a scam.

Xu Xiaodong, an MMA coach from Beijing, took down Tai Chi-practicing Wei Lei in less than 10 seconds in front of shocked spectators on April 27 in Sichuan Province, south-east China. The duel was witnessed by around 100 spectators, and was live-streamed on the internet.

According to a report from Sina News, about 6 months ago, Xu made a comment on Wei Lei's Weibo account, claiming that Tai Chi was a scam, and that the style had no actual fighting purpose. Wei, 41-year old, saw that as an insult and challenged to fight 38-year-old Xu.

The duel has sparked an outcry on Chinese social media. Netizens have started doubting the benefits of Tai Chi, which is considered a form of martial arts and has thousands of years of history.

Xu told the reporters that he used his influence to prove his claims that Tai Chi is a scam. He said: 'It costs over 10,000 yuan to learn Tai Chi, but it does not deliver in real combat. 

In the interview, Wei admitted to his defeat: 'I have to agree that what we teach does not match up with modern, competitive fighting, but we (Tai Chi masters) are not fraudsters.'

The MMA coach added: 'They (the Tai Chi masters) are just brainwashing people, and I have to show people it is a scam.'

Listen to the show and find out more about this duel between two famous martial arts. 

The audio clip is from Round Table, produced by CRI.