Nick Atkin

You would think the kung fu frauds who get royally embarrassed by Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong would learn their lesson. Alas, one of the wing chun “masters” came back for some more punishment. Ding Hao was one of Xu’s most memorable victims – dropped on his backside multiple times before the referee mercifully stepped in after a few minutes. He blamed his performance on not being fed enough rice by event organizers before the fight. The judges also somehow inexplicably scored the fight as a draw last year. Perhaps that gave Ding some misplaced confidence because he got back in the ring this weekend to fight another Chinese MMA fighter nicknamed “A Hu.” On paper it seemed like an easier f

Chinese mixed-martial arts fighter Xuan Wu has followed in the footsteps of his friend and fellow MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong by knocking out a “fake” kung fu master – in 12 seconds. Xu, 41, has made a name for himself in the past few years by winning bouts against self-proclaimed practitioners of kung fu, or Chinese martial arts, in high-profile matches. His challenge to old-school kung fu masters was interpreted in China as an act of defiance against traditional martial arts. This time, the challenger was a man called Tan Long. He said he was representing the wing chun style of fighting. He was dressed in a yellow jumpsuit similar to the one martial arts icon Bruce Lee wore in the film Game o

Quentin Tarantino is defending his controversial depiction of Bruce Lee in the new film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. The film featured a scene in which Bruce Lee, played by actor Mike Moh, was challenged by Brad Pitt’s stuntman character to a two-out-of-three rounds fight. The fight didn’t produce a winner, but it was implied that Pitt’s character would have won.  “Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy,” Tarantino said at the film’s Moscow press conference last week. “The way he was talking, I didn’t just make a lot of that up. I heard him say things like that to that effect.” Shannon Lee, the only daughter of Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Caldwell, said it was “disheartening” to see her fat

Shannon Lee says she’s saddened by the way director Quentin Tarantino has portrayed her martial arts superstar father in the new film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. In the film (spoilers ahead), the Bruce Lee character, played by actor Mike Moh, challenges Brad Pitt’s stuntman to a best-of-three-rounds fight. Each character wins one round, but it’s implied that Pitt’s character gets the better of the kung fu icon. Lee, the only daughter of Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Caldwell, told The Wrap that it was “disheartening” to see her father characterized as an “arrogant a**hole.”   “I can understand all the reasoning behind what is portrayed in the movie,” she said. “I understand that the two char

You may know Jet Li from such films as 2000’s Romeo Must Die, but the film that launched his career in Asia was Shaolin Temple. What’s not widely known is that the 1982 movie also essentially created Shaolin kung fu as we know it. The actual Shaolin Temple is now a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the heart of tourism in central China’s Henan province. Scores of martial arts schools lie on a mountain. Ticket sales bring in tens of millions of dollars a year.  But when a film crew from Hong Kong’s Chung Yuen Motion Picture Company turned up in 1980, they found an abandoned site in disrepair after decades of neglect. “When I was working in Shaolin there were no monks... only three monks... and

The international swimming community is in mourning after Kenneth To, a star Hong Kong swimmer, died at the age of 26 in Florida. “Words cannot express how saddened I am at the passing of Kenneth To,” Ryan Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, said in a social media post. “I’m so grateful to have been able to call him a friend and to have gotten to know him over the past several years,” Lochte said. Words cannot express how saddened I am at the passing of Kenneth To. The world has lost an incredible human being. I’m so grateful to have been able to call him a friend and to have… https://t.co/5lnnGzYHOG — Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte) March 19, 2019 One of Hong Kong’s best hopes in the 2020 Tokyo O

Xu Xiaodong, the outspoken mixed martial arts star who has made it his mission to expose “fake kung fu,” is back doing what he does best. The man known as “Mad Dog” took on another kung fu “master” in China last weekend, this time under kickboxing rules, and left his latest victim heavily bandaged and bruised. The MMA fighter has outraged many in China and caused debate in the traditional martial arts community with a series of brutal knockout wins in fights against kung fu masters. He had most recently beat self-proclaimed tai chi master Zhu Chunping in November – with a single punch. A Chinese tycoon reportedly put up 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) in prize money for self-professed kung f