Ma Baoguo

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68-year-old tai chi “master” knocked down 3 times in 30-second match against MMA fighter
Despite appearances, he is still claiming victory
by Alex Linder May 19, 2020 in News

https://i2.wp.com/shanghaiist.com/wp...guo4.jpg?w=999

An elderly tai chi “master” has become the latest of his cohort to not last long in the ring against a more modern martial artist.
The fight staged on Sunday in the Shandong city of Zibo pitted a 50-year-old MMA and kickboxing hobbyist named Wang Qingmin against 68-year-old Ma Baoguo (马保国).
Ma claims to be a master of Hunyuan Tai Chi. He also claims to have a ball of energy in his hand and to have defeated a British MMA “champion” a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5PU...ature=emb_logo

His fight against Wang, however, didn’t quite go so well. He was knocked to the ground three times in 30 seconds after being repeatedly punched in the face.
Fortunately, Ma was okay after the match and suffered no significant injuries. It’s unclear if the fight promoter will face any trouble for organizing a match where a senior citizen was KO-ed.
Despite appearances, Ma has gone on to claim victory, claiming that he stopped the match before breaking his opponent’s nose.
Here’s how his face looked while making that argument:

https://i0.wp.com/shanghaiist.com/wp...size=527%2C750

The trend in China of unmasking self-proclaimed kung fu masters by knocking them out was started by MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong who infamously beat one such tai chi “master” to the floor in 10 seconds in 2017.
Xu went on to issue a challenge afterward to any traditional Chinese martial arts masters who believed that they could take him down in a no-holds-barred fight. He even bragged that he was willing to take on two or three “masters” at the same time to prove to the world that they are nothing but frauds.
Ma Baoguo was one of those to accept Xu’s challenge. However, their match was stopped by police in Shanghai just minutes before it was set to take place back in 2017.
Ma has always been outspoken about his own abilities. He has bragged that he would be able to beat Chinese MMA champion Zhang Weili without hurting her or even breaking a sweat.
He has also claimed to have beaten British MMA fighter Peter Irving in a match.
As proof, Ma has showcased footage of the two sparring. Irving says that he was paid to be an actor in the video, which he understood as some sort of vanity project for Ma.

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THREADS
MMA Challenges to Kung Fu
A Challenge

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Ma Baoguo’s opponent ‘scared’ before KO’ing tai chi master in 30 seconds – and had to pay to fight
Wang Qingmin tells local media he used Chinese kung fu style to knock out 69-year-old tai chi master in first interview since viral fight
Amateur boxer has received no prize money and paid US$92 to fight Ma, who reportedly earned US$28,000 for 30-second bout

Jonathan White
Published: 10:48am, 27 May, 2020
Updated: 11:29am, 27 May, 2020

However, Wang said he beat Ma with a traditional Chinese kung fu style. He was registered as an MMA fighter but used the Chinese style of Xing Yi Quan, rather than Western martial arts as media reported.

Referee asked tai chi master Ma Baoguo to show mercy before embarrassing 30-second KO
Pre-fight footage emerges on Chinese social media showing referee expected tai chi master to deliver a one-sided beat down
Referee appeals to 69-year-old to show mercy to his opponent – ‘when I say stop, you can’t continue to hit him’


Jonathan White
Published: 4:02pm, 21 May, 2020
Updated: 6:25pm, 21 May, 2020


https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...D&v=1590550167

A still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo (right) talking to the referee ahead of his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Hupu

The knockout of 69-year-old tai chi master Ma Baoguo by a former martial arts coach 20 years his junior in Shandong has been watched around the world, with fans in China and overseas ridiculing the older man for taking on the challenge.
Ma was knocked down twice before being knocked out within 30 seconds and taken to hospital, where he recovered and has since left.
However, footage from before the fight that shows a conversation between Ma and the fight referee shared on Chinese social media seems to indicate that they were expecting the fight to be one-sided the other way.
The referee apparently appeals to Ma to show mercy to his opponent, telling him three times: “I have just one requirement, when I say stop you have to stop, you can’t continue to hit him.”

Ma for his part warned the referee ahead of the fight, “I am afraid of my [tai chi] routine hurting you” to which the referee replied, “I am not afraid”.

As it was, they were right about it being a one-sided fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GdqJ_wj2nE&feature=emb_logo

Ma had built a reputation for outlandish statements, calling UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili “stupid” and claiming that he could beat her in a fight.

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THREADS
MMA Challenges to Kung Fu
A Challenge
Zhang Weili

This guy really needs his own indie thread but I'll do that some other time maybe...

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Disgraced Chinese tai chi master Ma Baoguo ‘walks away from kung fu’ after fresh online ridicule
Ma Baoguo, who went viral in May after being knocked down three times in 30 seconds, announces he has ‘returned to peaceful life’
Tai chi master again trending on Chinese social media in spoof videos, with humiliated German football team also mocked
Jonathan White
Published: 11:38am, 18 Nov, 2020

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...u&v=1605690938Photo: HandoutA still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo talking to the referee before his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Handout

Disgraced Chinese tai chi master Ma Baoguo has apparently walked away from martial arts after a resurgence in online ridicule over the weekend.
The 69-year-old became an overnight celebrity in May when he was knocked down three times in 30 seconds in a fight with 50-year-old amateur boxer Wang Qingmin in Zibo, Shandong.
Ma’s official Weibo account posted on Sunday for the first time since May, writing that “Ma has returned to a peaceful life, away from the martial arts circle of right and wrong. I hope everyone can understand it”.
This came in response to a renewed interest in the martial artist as netizens created spoof videos, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of his viral loss to Wang.

Ma’s account addressed the rise in videos, which had also seen him trend as a search topic on Weibo once more.

“Recently, a lot of various clips about Ma Lao have appeared on the internet. The information on the internet is very messy, so everyone must be able to distinguish clearly.

“This is our only window platform to the outside world. All information is subject to this release. Thank you.”
That was the first post on the account since a similar denial in mid-May following the dramatic knockout by Wang within 30 seconds.

Chinese netizens have been creating videos inserting Ma into well-known action films or doctoring images to place him in films such as The Godfather , where he replaced Marlon Brando.

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Ma Baoguo at the start of the fight with Wang Qingmin. Photo: YouTube
The ridicule has come from all corners. Even Ke Jie, the 23-year-old Go world champion, released a video on Chinese-platform Bilibili spoofing Ma.
Another video, posted by PP Sports, showed Germany football coach Joachim Loew, whose side were thrashed 6-0 by Spain in the Uefa Nations League on Tuesday. It had been edited so Loew explained why his face was swollen, much like the posts Ma made after his defeat to Wang.
It has been pointed out that videos spoofing Ma on Bilibili have been viewed more than 100 million times.

Such videos often focus on sayings from Ma’s own videos, including “rat tail juice”, “sneak attack” and “young people do not speak martial arts”.
Many users have set up fake accounts pretending to be Ma, which he denounced on his official account back in May.
“There are now many people on the internet pretending to be Mr Ma Baoguo to post false news,” the official account posted back then.
https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...770_171530.jpg
Ma Baoguo is tended to by medical staff after getting knocked out. Photo” YouTube
“We have not accepted any interviews with anyone. All the news is based on the official Weibo account of “Hunyuan Xingyi Taijiquan Ma Baoguo” that has been certified with V. Yes, the picture below shows some fake accounts, please tell the netizens clearly.”
Elsewhere, another edited photo saw Xi’an’s Changan University move to deny that they had employed Ma to teach martial arts to students.
Someone had doctored images of the “announcement” and shared them on social media – the giveaway being the real university has a blue “verified” logo rather than the red “V” in the pictures – as reported by Chengdu’s Red Star News.

“We don’t know who sent this picture and there is no way to verify it,” a staff member was quoted as saying. They also refused to confirm whether Ma Baoguo was an alumnus of the university.
Earlier this year, the China Wushu Association issued a proposal to clear up the definition of martial arts.
This came in a response to Ma and other self-proclaimed “masters” going viral online after humiliating defeats.


Jonathan White

Jonathan White joined the Post in 2017 after a decade reporting on sport from China. He originally moved to Beijing to coach football in 2007 and later spent two years in Shanghai.

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Ma Baoguo gets his own indie thread now, separate from the A Challenge thread. I'll be amused if we ever hear from him again.

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Ridiculed ‘tai chi master Old Man Ma’ retires
NATION
Thursday, 19 Nov 2020

https://apicms.thestar.com.my/upload.../19/942100.jpg
Compiled by ALLISON LAI and C. ARUNO

SELF-PROCLAIMED tai chi master Ma Baoguo (pic), who courted online ridicule after he was knocked out by a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in 30 seconds earlier this year, announced that he will be retiring from the sports, reported Sin Chew Daily.

“There have been lots of edited videos of Old Man Ma online. The messages being spread are chaotic and everyone needs to discern truth from fiction.

“Old Man Ma wants to return to a quieter life and stay away from gossip in the martial arts circle, ” the 69-year-old wrote on Weibo on Sunday.

However, his post was met with scorn by Chinese netizens.

“How can you retire, Teacher Ma, when you are our daily source of humorous content?” one quipped.

Ma became notorious online after boasting that Chinese traditional martial arts were superior to MMA and that he could even beat UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili.

He was soon challenged by several MMA fighters and his first match against amateur hobbyist Wang Qingmin ended in a 30-second knockout.

This time, the 41-year-old posted a photo of himself on Instagram dressed in an outlandish jacket, spotting a beanie and oversized glasses in what was viewed as an attempt to make a comeback to the entertainment scene.

“I came to a familiar place, met familiar people, and everything was no longer strange to me, ” he wrote.

However, his posts only garnered ridicule from Internet users.

“Don’t come here. We will resist you, ” one wrote.

Lo has maintained a relatively low profile after a scandal erupted in April when he was accused of cheating on former girlfriend and Internet celebrity Grace Chow with multiple women.

The scandal was reported to have caused him to lose nearly TW$600mil (RM86mil) in axed celebrity endorsement deals.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium.

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Really?

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Disgraced Chinese tai chi master Ma Baoguo comes out of retirement for kung fu film
Film company announced 69-year-old agreed to appear in Young Kung Fu King a day after retirement message on social media
Ma says film will ‘break box office records’ as online ridicule continues, with one newspaper saying ‘acting is his real strength’
Jonathan White
Published: 5:23pm, 24 Nov, 2020

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...J&v=1606209796
A still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo (left) talking to the referee ahead of his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Handout
Fresh off retiring from martial arts after being ridiculed online in videos spoofing hit films, disgraced tai chi master Ma Baoguo is set to make an appearance on the big screen.
In an interview on Monday, Ma confirmed he would be playing an aged kung fu master in the upcoming film Young Kung Fu King and that he was confident in his acting skills.
Ma also added that he expects the film to break box office records. “If you wait and see, it will definitely be popular,” he said, as per Sina’s own Weibo account.
The 69-year-old retired on November 15 in an announcement on his Weibo account, which followed thousands of videos editing him into mainstream films that racked up hundreds of millions of views and him trending in online searches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB43_vxX2lI&feature=emb_logo

Just two days later the Weibo of the Shandong Yanwutang Film and Television Media Company posted that Ma had agreed on November 16 to film scenes for the upcoming release.
Ma then responded with his own video on November 17 explaining his decision to make the film despite walking away from martial arts to “return to a peaceful life”.
“Many film companies have asked me to make films, but I did not agree,” Ma said, but he was convinced by director Zheng Yang that it would promote Chinese kung fu. “I am willing to make the real Chinese kung fu shown in this film.”
Ma, who shot to notoriety after being knocked out inside 30 seconds in a fight in May, added that this was not backing down from his retirement. “No contradiction,” he said. “I will not participate in martial arts.”
He added in his video that his “love for the country” and the film’s desire to promote traditional kung fu meant he had to take part no matter the salary.
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Tai chi master Ma Baoguo and his opponent at the start of the fight. Photo: YouTube
Many reports on Chinese social media quoted an insider to say that Ma will be paid 50,000 yuan (US$7,600) for his appearance in the film.
Ma’s announcement that he will play an old kung fu master in the film, which has brought further ridicule and criticism.
ThePaper.cn, a Shanghai-based newspaper, suggested that Ma would be able to play a fake kung fu master “as acting is his real strength”.
In the aftermath of his retirement Ma’s official Weibo also launched a fan club “Ma Baoguo True Love Fan Club”. It was reported that members paid to join but once Ma found out he asked the assistant who set it up to return the money.
Ma also trended after netizens noticed that his “rat tail juice” saying had been registered by someone as a trademark.

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Ma-Baoguo
Young Kung Fu King

This record here will live on as a testament, at least as long as we can keep the forum running...

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Bilibili, Weibo remove Ma Baoguo videos amid state media criticism of tai chi ‘master’
Bilibili and Weibo have removed user-generated videos of a self-proclaimed tai chi master after state media accused companies of hyping him up for profit
‎‎Ma Baoguo went viral in May when the 69-year-old was quickly defeated in a fight, spurring countless viral videos
Xinmei Shen
Published: 5:00am, 1 Dec, 2020

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...R&v=1606782109
A still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo talking to the referee ahead of his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Handout
Streaming-media platform Bilibili and microblogging site Weibo have removed user-generated videos of a 69-year-old tai chi master, Ma Baoguo, who state media accused of “poisoning” China’s values.
The two popular internet platforms said over the weekend that they are trying to stop people from hyping up Ma after a People’s Daily report criticised companies for trying to profit off of Ma.
While Ma has promoted himself as a martial arts master, his fame online is largely due to his sensationalist remarks and stunts. In recent months, Ma has shown up in spoof videos, with some platforms looking to use Ma to draw attention.
“If someone can make waves by grandstanding and expand their business by swindling and bluffing, what kind of value orientation is this?” wrote Qin Chuan, the author of the People’s Daily article. “For those internet platforms that crave traffic and fuel the flames, if they have a basic sense of social responsibility, they should immediately stop facilitating the spread of this kind of ‘disgraceful conduct’ and ‘farce.’”
In a statement published on Saturday, Bilibili said that it is “vehemently against such values and behaviour” and that it would “leave no opportunities” for people trying to hype up the topic. The company said it will check and manage videos related to Ma. Weibo said it would also check related videos and disband fan groups for Ma.
Ma, known for taunting and challenging other fighters online, gained notoriety in May when he entered a domestic martial arts tournament. Ma said on Weibo that he hoped to “defend the honour” of his craft, called hunyuan xingyi tai chi. Ma was quickly knocked unconscious in three strikes from his opponent, a former martial arts coach and amateur fighter.
Video of that fight debut made the rounds online. In November, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of his loss, Ma was the focus of a fresh round of online ridicule when some netizens shared more videos of him. In one video that went viral, Ma spoke on camera with a black eye, saying he lost a fight with two younger men because of a “sneak attack”.
Phrases Ma used in that video, such as “young people have no martial art ethics”, became viral slang. One popular phrase is hao zi wei zhi, which means “be responsible for your own actions”. But netizens shared it as “rat tail juice”, which in Chinese sounds similar to Ma’s accented version of the original phrase.
Netizens also started inserting Ma into scenes from famous films like The Godfather and created guichu videos, a type of comedic video made from clips that are mashed together in quick, repetitive patterns. Before they were removed, user-generated videos poking fun at Ma racked up tens of millions of views, and Ma-related topics repeatedly trended on Weibo.
The main issue for authorities, though, appears to be companies trying to make money off the attention surrounding Ma. State-run outlet Xinhua reported that some people quickly applied for “rat tail juice” trademarks and registered it as the name of new companies. Xinhua said some internet platforms and media organisations “actively” promoted Ma for attention, and it criticised a recent decision to offer Ma a part in an upcoming kung fu film.
Now when searching for Ma Baoguo on Bilibili, the platform only surfaces videos about the People’s Daily criticism. Most user-generated videos about Ma are no longer available. And while Ma still has his personal Weibo account, the most popular posts about him on the platform now are also related to the People’s Daily article.

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Interesting. No one ever sent me anything like this as Publisher. I always hoped someone would.

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MINITRUE: COOL DOWN VIDEOS OF MARTIAL ARTS “MASTER”
Posted by Samuel Wade | Dec 1, 2020

The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

In accordance with unified requirements from above, video content on "Ma Baoguo" will undergo strict management across the whole site. Without exception, cool down related videos: stop emphasizing or recommending them, and remove them from search result rankings and hot topics. Also, for the near future, please attentively check all vloggers’ uploads for material focused on "Ma Baoguo." [Source]

These instructions appeared in an internal notice at an unspecified video website. South China Morning Post’s Xinmei Shen reports that Weibo and Bilibili have promised to restrict content on 69-year-old self-described Tai Chi master Ma Baoguo, who was accused in a recent People’s Daily article of "poisoning" Chinese values.

“If someone can make waves by grandstanding and expand their business by swindling and bluffing, what kind of value orientation is this?” wrote Qin Chuan, the author of the People’s Daily article. “For those internet platforms that crave traffic and fuel the flames, if they have a basic sense of social responsibility, they should immediately stop facilitating the spread of this kind of ‘disgraceful conduct’ and ‘farce.’”

[…] Ma, known for taunting and challenging other fighters online, gained notoriety in May when he entered a domestic martial arts tournament. Ma said on Weibo that he hoped to “defend the honour” of his craft, called hunyuan xingyi tai chi. Ma was quickly knocked unconscious in three strikes from his opponent, a former martial arts coach and amateur fighter. [Source]

As noted in CDT’s Censorship Digest for May, Ma’s attempts to spin this defeat earned him the dubious accolade of tongue-in-cheek nomination for transfer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inkstone’s Qin Chen described widespread online mockery of Ma last month, noting that his 2017 claim that "I can defeat opponents much bigger and heavier than me with just one finger" "does not appear to have been an accurate statement." Yang Liu also examined Ma-focused memes and the state media-led crackdown in a post for Pekingnology, an email newsletter by Xinhua’s Zichen Wang. One popular catchphrase emerged from a January video in which Ma appeared with a black eye, explaining how he obtained it in a sneak attack by two young men.

Toward the end of the segment, Ma seemed to swell with emotion, accusing the young men of not following martial ethics and urging them to “keep a check on themselves”, though speaking with a slight accent, the phrase “keeping a check on oneself” sounded like “rat’s tail soup”.

[…] A search Sunday on Bilibili with the keyword Ma Baoguo only yielded a few dozens of videos, all of which echoed People’s Daily’s message, while a more precise search still showed the 29-million-view segment.

People’s Daily’s call was applauded by many Internet users — its post on Weibo denouncing Ma garnered 162 thousand likes. But not all comments supported the paper’s position, with some of the most upvoted expressing displeasure.

The paper is making too big a deal out of “a joke people are enjoying”, it should “rat’s tail soup”, one comment said. [Source]

In July, the Chinese Wushu Association issued a statement criticizing people who "proclaim themselves as ‘wushu masters’ only to pursue their personal fame through staging fights to get public attention, which will seriously damage the image of Chinese martial arts,” and urged practitioners not to use the title. The association’s former deputy president had previously called Ma out specifically.

真Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.

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Shaolin Temple works with university to enroll overseas students for Kung Fu major
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/12/28 18:07:20

https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0...d518d0383.jpeg
Performers stage a martial arts performance at Shaolin Temple scenic area on the Mount Songshan, Central China's Henan Province, July 13, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan Province and Henan University on Monday reached an agreement to jointly open a new major on Chinese Kung Fu, with a focus on overseas students, but the cooperation brought controversy on social media.

The major will recruit martial arts lovers from around the world and be delivered in Chinese. The course work will be delivered to degree (bachelor's degree, master's degree and PhD) and non-degree students, Henan University announced Sunday.

So far, what qualifications an applicant needs to be admitted, what courses will be taught, how students' performances will be evaluated, and what students will be required to achieve to graduate, have not been announced.

The news has sparked heated discussions online, with many saying that the Wushu major would be useless and impractical in modern times; even a waste of valuable educational resources.

"Why not use educational resources on academic researches or technological innovations," a Chinese netizen commented.

"Does a PhD student have to deliver PhD-level academic research? If it's just martial arts, it's really just a gimmick," wrote another netizen.

Some also expressed worry about setting up the major, suggesting it was a publicity stunt and for economic profits, after Ma Baoguo, a self-proclaimed "Supermind" Taichi master, was criticized for destroying a traditional culture and promoting "deformed values" for his indecent use of the martial arts.

Ma was knocked out within 30 seconds when he challenged a 50-year-old kickboxing coach to a fight in East China's Shandong Province in May, but later earned notoriety for his infamous video speech in which he refused to admit defeat, despite sporting a swollen black eye. His short videos on multiple social networking platforms soon saw endless memes and mocking of Ma.

But many still expressed their support, believing that the new major could help spread traditional Chinese culture to people overseas. Referring to karate and taekwondo, some hoped Chinese Kung Fu could be promoted to more overseas audiences, with sound and strict rating criteria issued to those with different levels of competency.

"We need to set up our own brand of traditional Chinese martial arts, a complete set of certification and grading systems, as well as a cultural affinity to attract more to understand Chinese culture," a netizen commented.

"It's a good thing to have a scientifically systematic discipline that specializes in the transmission of martial arts, which cannot be done without scientific theory. I just hope that China's real martial arts and the spirits of martial arts will be carried on," one said.

Famed for its long history and excellence in Kung Fu, Shaolin Temple attracts many Kung Fu admirers from all around the world every year.

The Wushu College of Henan University, which was officially established in November 2019, reached an agreement with the temple to train talents for the global transmission of martial arts, reports said.

Starting in 2020, the college selects 30 outstanding students every year from its freshmen. Following systematic training, those who are qualified will be sent to the overseas cultural center of Shaolin Temple as coaches after graduation, in a bid to foster the spread of Shaolin Kung Fu to the world.

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