Xu Xiaodong has called tai chi master Lu Hang a “cheat” for backing out of a fight after offering the Chinese MMA fighter 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) if he beat him.
Sichuanese Yang-style master Lu, who claims to be the No 1 martial arts fighter in China, said he still wants to teach Xu Xiaodong a lesson – but only after he has completed three years of intense training, which he plans to showcase on a daily live-stream.
“I think Lu is a cheat,” Xu told the Post. “He wants to become an influencer using my popularity.”
Their original beef came about after Xu posted to Chinese social media a list of 17 “fake” tai chi masters he had compiled, with Lu ranked at No 7.
Xu also shared a recording on his Weibo timeline of a phone call between the two, where Lu challenges him to a fight and says he would give “Mad Dog” 10 million yuan if he lost.
The 41-year-old Xu had told the Post last week that he and Lu were still discussing details for a fight date, but Lu appeared to back down in a lengthy statement posted on Toutiao, another Chinese social media platform.
Lu wrote that after he finishes three years of training, he plans on challenging all different kinds of martial arts masters from around the world, including Xu.
Xu wrote on his Weibo timeline that Lu should be fired or resign from his role in the Chinese Yang-style taijiquan general assembly after his comments.
“We are not competing for the length of wordings,” Xu added, poking fun at Lu’s Toutiao post. “Sorry, I can’t finish reading this, my eyes feel pain. Please tell me Lu Hang whether you want to fight or not, and when.”
Users on Toutiao seemed to share Xu’s sentiment. “Write so much? Do you still have time to practice?” one commented on Lu’s post. “After reading it, I felt that tai chi gave my mind a stupid practice,” another said.
In another Weibo post earlier this month, Xu said Lu had invited him as a guest to his training room to take photos.
“Two days later, suddenly there was news on the internet saying I came to challenge Yang-style taiji master Lu Hang but lost, and after the fight we took photos together,” Xu said. “Using this kind of dirty little tricks, taijiquan is so shameful.”
Xu told the Post that if he fights Lu he will need to wear face paint and adopt an alias again, as he did for his last bout against wing chun master Lu Gang.
The 41-year-old was billed with the demeaning nickname “Winter Melon” for that fight in Karamay last month, with organisers saying the bout could not be live-streamed unless Xu concealed his identity.
Xu also wore a Spartan helmet in one of his latest social media live streams, where he said he wanted to leave China and seek Australian citizenship. He said his social media accounts get taken down more frequently if his face is visible in his videos.
Inkstone’s Qin Chen contributed to this article.
