Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 80 - 78: Breaking Out of the Circle

Chapter 80: Chapter 78: Breaking Out of the Circle

Online there were lots of praises, and fans of Traditional Martial Arts felt vindicated. But of course, there was mockery too.

"Psh, what’s so special about eye pokes and groin strikes? Isn’t it all just attacking vulnerable spots? Anyone who practices Boxing, Sandboxing, or Muay Thai could easily learn to change their strike targets in a few days. What’s there to brag about?"

"Exactly, all martial arts are killing skills, acting as if only Traditional Martial Arts have the ability to kill."

"The UFC champion abroad got into a scuffle with security guards at a nightclub and sent six of them to the ICU single-handedly. How come no one brags about that? Do they think only Traditional Martial Arts can achieve that?"

...

No matter how formidable a person or event is, it’s impossible to make everyone like it. If there are admirers, there will inevitably be mockers. The debate over whether Traditional Martial Arts are truly effective has been going on for many years, and Wu Li standing up to make a statement couldn’t immediately reverse many people’s opinions. However, Wu Li’s incident had indeed drawn much more attention than previous ones, with both insiders and outsiders paying attention to or commenting on it.

The first to voice their opinions were people from the domestic fighting scene.

Zeng Yonggang, a winner of the "Grand Slam" in Free Fighting with championships in the Asian Games, the World Cup, China-Thailand contests, China-US contests, and national competitions, said on his Weibo, "I came from a Martial Arts School, and many of the instructors there have backgrounds in Practicing Traditional Martial Arts. To those who say Traditional Martial Arts are not practical, you should go and ask these people."

Liu Feilong, a boxer known for his practical Tai Chi, said on Weibo, "Chen Jia Gou welcomes all those who think Traditional Martial Arts are worthless to come and challenge us."

Olympic Sandboxing champion Li Kesuai: "Ta Gou Martial Arts School was initially founded by the old Boxer Liu Baoshan from Ta Gou Village, located to the east of the Shaolin Temple. Now, it’s the number one Martial Arts School in the country. Anyone brave enough can go there and loudly claim Traditional Martial Arts are ineffective."

...

Beyond the fighting circle, people from the film and television industry also joined the fray.

The famous action actor Fang Long made a comment on his Weibo:

"Chinese Martial Arts itself is divided into routines, health preservation, and actual combat. The real combat techniques are all aimed at the vital points of the human body and are true killing skills. However, modern society no longer needs these killing skills, so we started to promote and advocate for the performance of martial arts routines and health preservation aspects. We say Martial Arts Training can strengthen the body, not to fight against others."

After Fang Long took the lead in posting on Weibo, many other famous action actors in the country also expressed their opinions on their own Weibo accounts.

Actor Donnie Yen, who has portrayed a Grandmaster in films, said:

"Fighting competitions have weight classes, why? It’s to ensure the competitors’ physical attributes are as equal as possible, then to primarily compare skills and will on the ring. Fighting, after all, is a combination of physical fitness and skill. If both fighters are on the same level of physical fitness, those who have been consistently practicing Traditional Martial Arts and its Killing Moves are indeed terrifying in real combat."

Wu Jing, an action actor who has broken various box office records in recent years, spoke more directly on Weibo:

"Traditional Martial Arts need to be aesthetically pleasing and consist of various routine performances. Need to fight? From ancient to modern times, whether with weapons or bare-handed, hasn’t Traditional Martial Arts been used to kill? Even in today’s military, some Traditional Martial Arts Techniques are still practiced, and the fighting theories of Traditional Martial Arts are learned! With ring matches, Sandboxing specifically evolved from Traditional Martial Arts to adapt. So what more do you want from Traditional Martial Arts? I just don’t get it, foreigners have great respect for our Traditional Martial Arts. Their fighting champions still study and learn our Traditional Martial Arts, yet our own countrymen spend all day belittling our culture. Why is that?"

As action actors joined the debate, many other actors from the movie industry also spoke out, sharing their views on Traditional Martial Arts. Thus, the impact of the matter continued to grow, and more and more people outside the circle joined the discussion, what they call ’breaking out of the circle’.

"I studied Bagua Palm for three years just for a movie, and my master indeed had real Kung Fu skills. However, he’s old now and can’t fight, and he also mentioned that our Kung Fu has been lost too much over time."

——Famous movie star Zhang Ziyi

"Modern fighting is for the ring, Traditional Martial Arts were originally for the battlefield, for protecting nobles and officials, or serving as instructors in the military. In modern times, they can also be used for strengthening the body and health preservation. If there is a place for them, there is a reason for them; different epochs have their own uses."

——Famous director Cheng Kaige

"I’ve never practiced Martial Arts Training or understood fighting, but one thing I’ll say: Chinese Martial Arts are the world’s No.1! I won’t accept any objections."

——Famous internet writer ’The Pen That Cannot Fly’ (note 1)

...

In his rented room, Shen Xiaoming watched the video of Wu Li efficiently downing four men on his cell phone with a thrill of fear.

If he were facing over twenty people brandishing knives at him, he would probably be on his knees by now...

Initially, he had scoffed at the notion of Martial Arts being Killing Skills and thought, if Wu Li was so capable, why didn’t he just go ahead and kill someone to prove it? Now that Wu Li had actually made a move, though he hadn’t killed anyone, the effect was perhaps more frightening than actually taking a life. Just the thought of that guy who was left without his lower body made Shen Xiaoming involuntarily cross his legs, secretly grateful that the internet wasn’t real-name registered...

Watching the heated online debates about "Kung Fu, killing skills," Shen Xiaoming lost the desire to argue with anyone for the first time.

Forget it, better just wash up and go to sleep, dreams have everything.

...

In the office of Bo Yuan Boxing Gym in Qi City, Liu Yuanbo put down his phone.

He had just called Wu Li to ask if he needed him to ask his father for help. Wu Li said there was no need for now; there shouldn’t be any problems.

Liu Yuanbo opened the video of Wu Li from that night on his computer again, watching as Wu Li used a Tiger Hugging Head technique to pry open Ma Qing’s knife-wielding arm, then slapped Ma Qing on the forehead with his palm.

"There are several ways to execute the Tiger Hugging Head technique, one is to chop down with the palm on the forehead and face, another is to use the claw to tear; slapping with the palm, if the power is sufficient, can cause a concussion..."

Liu Yuanbo remembered what Wu Li had told him and couldn’t help but be amazed. It turned out his master wasn’t bragging—it really was possible to give someone a concussion with a single strike. He heard that Ma Qing still hadn’t woken up and was very likely to become vegetative.

"If this wasn’t self-defense, it really would be three years for one strike, ten years for another," Liu Yuanbo laughed and shook his head, then stood up and began to practice Tiger Hugging Head in the office.

With Wu Li’s personal demonstration, his enthusiasm for practicing only grew stronger!

...

In the office building of Haohan Fitness in Capital City.

Li Jun was also sitting in the office, watching the video on his phone of Wu Li severely injuring four people, the more he watched, the colder his back got.

He recognized the techniques Wu Li used in the video; weren’t they similar to the ones Wu Li had threatened him with before?

At that time, Li Jun had felt that Wu Li wasn’t just bluffing when he spoke. And now, facing so many people, all armed with knives, Wu Li actually dared to fight back?!

"He’s a ruthless man!" Li Jun concluded in his mind.

He lost a bet to Wu Li, and in the end, Liu Wenhan transferred his shares to Wu Li. Naturally, he couldn’t continue to stay at Bo Yuan Company. In a sense, he was actually driven away by Wu Li.

However, Liu Wenhan hadn’t treated him unfairly and directly arranged for him to be the department manager at the branch office of Haohan Fitness in Capital City. Although it wasn’t comparable to owning his own company, it was a kind of compensation.

At this moment, a knock on the door was heard, and Li Jun’s confidant from his time at Bo Yuan Company walked in.

Li Jun had brought his confidant with him to work at this company.

"Mr. Li," the confidant handed Li Jun a document.

Li Jun took the document but didn’t rush to read it, instead staring at his confidant. It had been this person who suggested they find someone to teach Wu Li a lesson.

Although Li Jun had rejected the suggestion at the time and scolded the confidant, he couldn’t deny that he had been slightly tempted.

But now, the more Li Jun thought about it, the more fear he felt. If he had really been foolish enough to follow through on the suggestion and had someone teach Wu Li a lesson, what would he think looking at the outcome of the four now lying in the hospital?

One with a broken leg, one blinded in one eye, one completely disabled, and another turned into a vegetable...

So the more Li Jun looked at his confidant, the angrier he felt. What kind of terrible advice had he given?

"Mr. Li, is there something wrong?" the confidant felt uneasy under Li Jun’s gaze. Had he done something wrong?

Li Jun: "You just lost this month’s bonus."

Confidant: "???"

(Note 1: Purely for entertainment, don’t take it personally)

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