Over the years a man named Xu Xiadong has rocked the Chinese martial arts world by openly challenging and fighting various kung fu masters, all of which have ended promptly with the kung fu masters being knocked out or giving up. Many have targeted Xu as a bully, and just trying to prove MMA superiority over traditional martial arts, but it is not a good vs evil kind of battle as many try to make it. Xu Xiaodong is an MMA fighter, but he is not trying to prove superiority of MMA, but more to silence the self proclaimed "Masters" who often perform no touch knockouts and proclaim that their death touch can defeat any MMA fighter. As long as there's money to be made, there will always be a conman to take it, and martial arts has had plenty of those over the years. Xu's path is similar to McDojo Life, to out the con men and keep the martial arts legitimate.
However, following the fame of such matches has brought a new generation of fakes into the spotlight, staging fights and boasting their martial arts just to be beaten, and get publicity and money. To call yourself a kung fu master and fight in the ring these days is seen the same as WWE is seen in the United States.... just worse, because these guys are jumping in with no skill, and getting beaten up by real fighters. Kung fu is becoming a joke, and it has hit the point that now the Chinese government is stepping in to put a stop to self-proclaimed "masters." I'm not sure how this will end, but I do know that one defining element to distinguish the self proclaimed guys from the legitimate kung fu exponents is through verifiable lineage. In the traditional martial arts world it's very common to hear people boast about their lineage and teachers, which I used to think was kind of silly... you could have a world famous teacher, but you could still be an awful martial artist. Now it is true, your chances of being an exceptional martial artist go way up when you have an exceptional teacher, but clinging to the name doesn't automatically make you good. I always looked first at skill rather than lineage, but it looks like after all of this, both will be equally as important.
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Sifu Kuttel
Thoughts, memories, lessons and the little tidbits of martial philosophies I stumble upon along my journey. Archives
February 2022
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