bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Jonathan White

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.
Chinese social media isn’t tricked by ‘kung-fools’ like Ma Baoguo
“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.

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.
Ref asked tai chi master to show mercy before embarrassing KO
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.

“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.
Tai chi master knocked out in 30 seconds by amateur martial arts fighter
“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.


Once Upon a Time in China movies and the rip-offs rated

‘I became addicted’: small-town Chinese wrestlers fight for recognition in global arena 

Why Brandon Lee’s first and only Hong Kong film Legacy of Rage was his best after The Crow

Stuntman movie review: Tung Wai leads passionate homage to Hong Kong action filmmaking

Martial arts

Disgraced Chinese tai chi master Ma Baoguo ‘walks away from kung fu’ after fresh online ridicule

A still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo talking to the referee before his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Handout

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE=== Tai Chi master Ma Baoguo gets tended to by medical staff after getting knocked out.

Tai chi master Ma Baoguo and his opponent at the start of the fight

Ma Baoguo’s opponent ‘scared’ before KO’ing tai chi master in 30 seconds – and had to pay to fight

Wang Qingmin speaks to local media (left) about his viral 30-second KO of tai chi master Ma Baoguo. Photo: Sina Sports/YouTube

KO’d tai chi master Ma Baoguo may think otherwise but Chinese social media isn’t tricked by these ‘kung-fools’

Tai chi master Ma Baoguo and his opponent at the start of their fight. Photo: Weibo

Tai chi master Ma Baoguo is knocked out in Shandong.

UFC women's strawweight champion Weili Zhang, right, of China, punches former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland during UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday, March 7, 2020.(Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

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

Referee asked tai chi master Ma Baoguo to show mercy before embarrassing 30-second KO

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

Gone in 30 seconds: tai chi master Ma Baoguo knocked out cold by amateur martial arts fighter 20 years his junior

Tai chi master Ma Baoguo gets ready to hit the deck. Photo: YouTube

Ma gets tended to by medical staff after getting knocked out.

Ma and his opponent at the start of the fight

Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong mocks tai chi ‘master’ Ma Baoguo after 30-second KO – ‘the truth has been revealed’

Tai chi master Ma Baoguo is knocked out in Shandong. Photo: YouTube/Fight Commentary Breakdowns

Retired mixed martial arts boxer Xu Xiaodong, left, prepares to compete against Ma Baoguo, right, a master of Chen style tai chi, at the planned mass brawl site in Shanghai, China, 26 June 2017. On Monday (26 June 2017), Shanghai police officers intervened before a planned mass brawl between mixed martial artists and tai chi practitioners could take place. The proposed fight is the latest in a string of incidents that have shaken up the Chinese martial arts' scene. It comes on the heels of rumours that the government of China had taken action - via internet censorship - to squash the rivalry between MMA and traditional martial arts. At the centre of this latest incident is Xu Xiaodong, head of the Beijing MMA association. It was Xu's streetfight with Wei Lei (a tai chi master) that caused the MMA vs tai chi raditional martial arts rivalry to go viral last May. However, it seems Xu's belief that MMA is superior to tai chi and kung fu has not died down. Nor has his eagerness to prove it.

Sport

Martial Arts

Kung Fu


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



Ma Baoguo, who went viral in May after being knocked down three times in 30 seconds, announces he has ‘returned to peaceful life’ as netizens mark six-month anniversary with spoof videos.


Xu Xiaodong

Weibo

Social media

Internet

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

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