If you haven’t seen the viral video of Xu Xiaodong fighting a self-proclaimed Tai Chi master, the fight ended very quickly.
Xiaodong, who is an MMA fighter and MMA coach has been on a mission to expose “fake martial artists.” However, the Chinese government is apparently trying to stop Xiaodong’s efforts.
VICE did a short interview with Xiaodong as he was preparing for a scheduled fight against another Tai Chi master. The video gives you a little more depth into his personality and mission. With his viral rise on the Internet, the Chinese MMA fighter and coach seems to be loving his fame, which is likely giving him even more reason behind his mission.
“For many years in China, there have been very few people who dared to point out anything fake about Chinese martial arts,” Xiaodong says in the interview. “Now I have pointed out [what’s fake]. I ignited the pond of gasoline.”
According to Vice, this video interview was taken in early August as Xiaodong was preparing for his next match. On the day Xiaodong was set to fight another Tai Chi master, Chinese police swept in and detained Xiaodong prior to the fight taking place.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/6/2017.