An amateur kickboxer knocks out his opponent, a practitioner of traditional martial arts tai chi, in a matter of a few seconds after the match begins in what may be considered as one of the fastest knockouts in kickboxing.
The fight took place earlier this month and was organized by the Shanghai-based Shengshi Yinghao Club in Suzhou, eastern China, according to South China Morning Post.
Zhu Chunping, a tai chi master who has been practicing for decades, only lasted five seconds into the fight against his opponent, Yao Hantian, a 22-year-old amateur kickboxer with only six months worth of practice.
After exchanging respects and shaking hands, the kickboxer went for a straight punch into the face of the 47-year-old tai chi master. And just like that, the fight was already over when Zhu hit the canvas.
Doctors were quick to rush in to check Zhu’s status. Fortunately, he recovered from the punch, said Shengshi Yinghao Club director and coach of Yao Li Yong, who had admitted that the organizers did not expect the fight to end this quickly.
“Upon examination, Master Zhu was fine. He recovered for one minute then walked down the ring by himself,” Li told Daily Mail.
The director also made it clear that the purpose of this match was mutual improvement for both fighter and practitioner, not to determine which fighting form was superior.
“Tai chi can improve one’s health and temperament and has a lot of philosophy of martial arts in it,” Li said. “A lot of the kick-boxing techniques come from tai chi, such as shoulder roll and the way you use your strength while kicking. It is an important part of modern boxing.”
While Chinese martial arts are extremely sophisticated, profound and rich in culture, many modern martial arts masters have do not know how to best convey their arts.
“All they do is boasting that they could fight, which leads to the opposition between modern boxing and those ‘fake’ kung fu masters,” Li pointed out. “Chinese kung fu is great, but it has been used in the wrong place by people with their own agenda.”
Images screenshot via YouTube / Mitch mma.
