Self-proclaimed Tai Chi master, 69, gets knocked out by a kickboxing coach, 50

A 69-year-old self-proclaimed Tai Chi master who pledges to defend the honour of traditional Chinese Kung Fu has been knocked out cold by a 50-year-old kickboxing coach in 30 seconds.

Viral footage shows Ma Baoguo, the avowed expert, being punched to the ground three times within half a minute by Wang Qingming, a retired soldier and kickboxer during an amateur match on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Ma was knocked out unconscious after the final blow and immediately treated by medical staff, Chinese media report.

Viral footage shows Ma Baoguo, the self-proclaimed expert, being punched to the ground three times within half a minute by Wang Qingming, a retired soldier and kickboxer during an amateur match on Sunday afternoon 

The picture shows Ma Baoguo, the self-proclaimed Tai Chi master

The picture shows Ma's opponent, Wang Qingming, a kickboxing coach from Zibo, Shandong

A 69-year-old Tai Chi master who pledges to defend the honour of traditional Kung Fu has been knocked out cold by a 50-year-old kickboxing coach in 30 seconds

Mr Ma, who calls himself the ‘Tai Chi grandmaster’, said on his social media page on Sunday evening that he did not suffer any severe injuries.

The fight, which took place in the city of Zibo, Shandong province of eastern China, was part of an amateur tournament held by Yan Wu Tang, a private martial arts training camp.

In a social media post before the fight, Mr Ma vowed to ‘defend traditional Kung Fu’s reputation’ as he was up against Mr Wang, a kickboxing coach from Zibo, who was 19 years Ma’s junior. 

Mr Ma’s ambition to safeguard his craft’s prestige quickly vanished with embarrassment after he fell to the floor three times during the 30-second duel. He was immediately tended to by medics at the tournament.

The fight was live-streamed online and watched by over 40,000 people on the internet as the match took place, Chinese media report. 

The fight, which took place in the city of Zibo, Shandong province of eastern China, was part of an amateur tournament held by Yan Wu Tang, a private martial arts training camp

The fight, which took place in the city of Zibo, Shandong province of eastern China, was part of an amateur tournament held by Yan Wu Tang, a private martial arts training camp

Mr Ma¿s attempt to protect his craft¿s reputation was quickly halted in embarrassment after he fell to the floor three times during the 30-second match

Mr Ma’s attempt to protect his craft’s reputation was quickly halted in embarrassment after he fell to the floor three times during the 30-second match

Millions of social media users were amused by footage of the fight, which quickly became a trending topic on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Many netizens mocked Mr Ma for ‘promoting fake kung fu’ while others criticised the fight as a ‘ridiculous mismatch’ due to the two fighters’ age gap.

One wrote: ‘What a liar. Tai Chi can only be used as a health exercise, not in real fighting.’

Another commented: ‘How can an elderly man fight against someone much younger?’

In response to the controversy, the Tai Chi master claimed in a separate post today that it was not ‘appropriate’ to use traditional Kung Fu on a fighting platform.

‘Without real practices, [traditional Kung Fu] struggles on a match with modern fighting rules,’ Mr Ma wrote. ‘The practice of traditional Kung Fu is mainly used to maintain one’s health.’

'Mad Man' Xu Xiaodong was set to challenge the Tai Chi master, Ma Baoguo

Ma Baoguo of 'Hunyuan Tai Chi' accepted a duel challenge from MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong

The self-proclaimed Tai Chi master, Ma Baoguo (right) was challenged by Xu Xiaodong (left), an ex-MMA fighter nicknamed ‘Mad Man’, who arranged a duel with Mr Ma in 2017 to prove that traditional kung fu is a scam 

The self-proclaimed Tai Chi master initially rose to fame by claiming that he had previously defeated Peter Irving, a British MMA fighter as he posted a video as ‘proof’ in 2017.

The elderly master’s boast was challenged by Xu Xiaodong, an ex-MMA fighter nicknamed ‘Mad Man’, who arranged a duel with Mr Ma to prove that traditional kung fu is a scam.

The fight was cancelled by Shanghai police due to the venue being unlicensed and unlawful assembly.

Peter Irving also made a public post on Facebook claiming the video he made with the elderly master was an acting job in a vanity project for Mr Ma.

‘Recently, probably because of the tension about the MMA fighter challenging traditional martial arts in China, he decided to edit the footage and claim he’d beaten me in a real fight,’ wrote Irving.

‘When I heard I just thought it was a bit ridiculous and I felt sorry for him, and thought he was just rather sad.’

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