Martial artist Nhat Long, the most famous person in Shaolin Temple, joins MMA - Photo: UFC
From the great writing of Kim Dung, to the thousand-year-old martial arts schools, to the places associated with many legends, kung fu has always been the pride of the Chinese people. In the vast culture of the country of billions of people, martial arts occupies a significant part.
However, when entering modern combat environments such as MMA, kickboxing or professional fighting arenas, kung fu is often questioned about its true value.
So does Chinese kung fu really hold its place in the ring, or has it gradually become a legacy of spectacle rather than practicality?
From culture to practice: a long way to go
Chinese kung fu - or wushu in today's professional sport - is actually a collection of hundreds of traditional martial arts styles developed over many centuries.
Each martial art has its own system of techniques, philosophies, weapons and training methods, associated with different regions such as Shaolin, Wudang, Baji, Xingyi, Wing Chun...
However, entering the 20th century, especially after 1950, China began to "sport" traditional martial arts by forming modern wushu.
This is a state-sanctioned martial arts system, divided into two main branches: taolu (form performance) and sanda (combat). But even sanda—the only combative branch—is competitive, with rules, limited in technique, and not similar to martial arts like muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or MMA.
Even famous people like Nhat Long (right) often fail in MMA - Photo: MTN
American martial arts expert and former MMA fighter Josh Barnett commented: “Wushu is beautiful, very culturally rich. But it is not designed for open-ended combat.
Iconic moves like the palm strike, tiger stance, dragon stance - which may be useful in ancient environments - are not very effective when you are facing a simple punch from boxing".
Kung fu schools with the highest combat value
Not all kung fu schools lack practical combat.
Among them, the most prominent is Bajiquan, a martial art once used in the guard force of the Republic of China government.
This martial art is famous for its close-quarters fighting style, explosive moves such as elbows, shoulder butts, and head strikes. Although rarely seen in the ring due to its lack of popularity, the practical combat principles of Bajiquan - if trained seriously - can adapt well to the modern combat arena.
Ly Thu Van, the legend of Bajiquan in movies - Photo: XT
In addition, Xingyi Quan is also highly appreciated for its conciseness in technique and the power of its straight, direct attacks. This is one of the few internal martial arts that can transform well if practiced according to a modern system.
Wing Chun - the martial art made famous by Ip Man and Bruce Lee - was once praised as "the martial art of close combat".
However, in the actual ring, pure Wing Chun fighters often lose to those with a boxing, Muay Thai or BJJ background. The main reason lies in the fact that many Wing Chun schools today only practice formal techniques, lacking contact and sparring (sparring that simulates real combat).
“Chi Sao” – Wing Chun’s signature force sensing technique – is interesting in theory. However, it is ineffective against long-range kicks or grappling-style chokes.
Shaolin - once the most prominent name in kung fu - is also heavily influenced by performance. Much of the current system focuses on beautiful techniques, qigong training and martial arts performances, which significantly reduces the fighting element.
Yi Long is considered the top martial artist from Shaolin Temple. But in the MMA ring, he is only average, having suffered 13 defeats in a total of 76 times in the ring.
Modern Wushu: Beautiful but Not for Fighting
In fact, modern wushu was not created to increase combat effectiveness, but to standardize and promote kung fu as part of national culture.
Taolu - performance form - is designed according to sport criteria, similar to gymnastics, and is scored according to difficulty, beauty, and rhythm.
The sad battle between Xu Xiaodong and Wei Lei - representative of Tai Chi - Photo: PA
Even sanda - the only sparring system in wushu - has developed only in limited regional sports competitions.
Some fighters from Sanshou, such as Cung Le (Vietnamese origin) or Zhang Weili (UFC), have achieved high results, but they all had to learn more modern combat sports such as wrestling, boxing, and jiu-jitsu to be able to compete.
Joe Rogan - UFC commentator and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt - once frankly said: "No one in MMA uses pure kung fu. What is effective has been proven through collision. Kung fu, although beautiful, does not have a serious training system for fighting."
A series of videos of amateur MMA fighters and “kung fu masters” in China have sparked heated debate. Xu Xiaodong alone has a series of knockouts against traditional kung fu masters such as Wei Lei and Tian Feng (Tai Chi).
Xu Xiaodong later declared: “Kung fu is not for fighting. It is a cultural product. But many people have illusions about its power."
The defeats of self-proclaimed “martial arts masters” in just a few dozen seconds have caused strong reactions from the martial arts community in China. While international experts believe that this is a clear proof that traditional martial arts need to be strongly reformed if they want to step off the stage and into the ring.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kung-fu-trung-hoa-co-con-gia-tri-tren-vo-dai-20250618100712287.htm
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