- ‘Let’s see if tai chi is fake, or if you are fake … don’t make up excuses,’ says tai chi ‘champion’ Fan Shuai Xin
- ‘Mad Dog’ accuses Fan of faking the final of a martial arts competition against his master on Chinese television – ‘they play around on the stage’
It looks like Xu Xiaodong might have his next fight lined up, with Chinese MMA's "Mad Dog" accepting the challenge of tai chi "champion" Fan Shuai Xin.
Fan called out the 40-year-old " who likes to expose "fake kung fu" by beating up traditional martial arts masters he believes are frauds " in an interview with Chinese media.
"Winter Melon," Fan said, using the demeaning alias given to Xu by the promoters of his last fight in accordance with China's censorship of him, "I'm not a tai chi master, just a national champion.
"Until you defeat me, then you can't talk smack about tai chi. Let's fight a match and see if tai chi is really fake, or if you are the fake. I represent tai chi and challenge you. Don't make up excuses and avoid this match."
Fan, who said he has "never stopped" loving and promoting tai chi, added that he was too busy to call out Xu before because he is an "entrepreneur".
"Those that use tai chi to promote themselves from obscurity should be ignored," he said.
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It didn't take long for Xu to respond. "Let's take a look at another tai chi idiot liar challenging me," Xu said on his Weibo account, posting the video of Fan's interview.
"It's all show! It's all fake! Liar! I told all of our team to accept your challenge! Please find the contact information of this child, we will find him to sign the contract!"
Fan is the apprentice of Chen style tai chi master Wang Zhanjun " who beat Fan in the final of a televised martial arts competition in China, the video of which Xu also posted on his Weibo.
"This video must be watched!" Xu wrote. "I don't know Fan Shuai Xin, the world champion of tai chi, but I said that I swear that as long as tai chi provokes me, I must kill it!
"The video is the final of the Chinese Wushu Championship. One is Fan Shuai Xin and the other is Wang Zhanjun. Wang Zhanjun is the master of Fan!
"Anyone who is a martial arts person can see that this is a fake boxing! A master versus apprentice fight, the apprentice loses, the master is champion. I accept this challenge, tai chi liar."
Fan responded in kind to Xu's Weibo posts, denying his martial arts is fake and criticising Xu for "the pursuit of your vulgar fame and fortune".
Fan also mocked Xu for fighting Lu Gang " "who weighs only 100 pounds" " and took a swipe at his social credit score which placed restrictions on his use of public transport, saying "you can't wait to sit on the green leather train to hit this person who weighs less than you".
"And then taking the opportunity to smear traditional martial arts as fake," Fan added. "You said that tai chi is a scam, but you dare not come to Chenjiagou to fight against Taijiquan … It is disgusting."
Fan fought an MMA bout a few years ago, but Xu responded by pointing out he himself is "the first person in China's MMA" and that he organised the first Chinese men's MMA competition in 2003 at Wanshou Road in Beijing.
"Some people have evidence, you are still nonsense, you are obviously shameless, you and your master's martial arts finals, a false match!" he said. "It has spread around the world! Thank you for helping me expose your master Wang Zhanjun, a tai chi liar. I accept your challenge."
In another Weibo post linking to the video of Fan's "fight" against Wang, Xu derided the final of the competition as "the biggest martial arts scam in China".
"The organiser conceals the true identity of these two people," Xu wrote. "Fan Shuai Xin's opponent Wang Zhanjun is Fan's master! Two people played the most fake game in China's most authoritative TV station and the most authoritative martial arts competition!
"Fan Shuai Xin and the master Wang Zhanjun are performing in the whole game! They play around on the stage and in front of thousands of viewers on the TV."
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