Oof. That's brutal.
Shouldn't have been sanctioned in the first place.
It wasn't brutal in any measure. China's pride was hurt more than anything else which is why it was a big deal. That part was the brutal part. But it didn't have to hurt their pride had they not tried to shape the image of what people were seeing. If we had the same thing play out in any other country, it wouldn't even make the local news.
In short, it didn't line up with China's "cultural and national values." China was proud of its martial arts after it defanged much of it and then when it beaten by an "Outside System" it hurt the pride of the government.
Note that throughout the drama the blame is put on the MMA guy and no one entertained the thought that the people he defeated should train harder or better. Which is ironic because work hard is how Kung Fu is defined. "Skill achieved through hard work and practice." In any other country, that definition would have summed up what the loser needs to do. Gain better skills through hard work and practice. But China's response was the opposite of the values of Kung Fu that they claim to cherish. They blamed the guy who won for winning instead of telling the guy who lost that he should train better.
The good news is that many martial art schools who bought into the image of martial arts that the world wanted to see, understood what the fight really highlighted. It opened their eyes to the fact that their training was lacking. They used the pride of their lineage and claimed to possess similar skill even though many of them have not used it. One of the things I'm very cautious of are people who speak too much of their lineage and not enough about what they do.
My perspective of lineage is that I should not speak proudly of my lineage if I lack the ability to use what I'm taught. I should be quiet on such things as I'm the least able to represent those things. I train Jow Ga kung and I always try to be a good representation of it. But you will never hear me brag about my lineage because I feel that I have not gotten to the point where I can represent Jow Ga at that high quality level.
Students sometimes exploit their lineage. Lineage isn't meant for their personal gain; it's a quality standard they should aim to meet."
To claim to know and understand a martial arts system without having the ability to use it is dishonest. There is nothing wrong with knowing half of something so long as that is what the person is claiming.
China got caught claiming something they don't practice and was embarrassed by the truth. The government could have distanced itself from that fight by saying, this is why one must work hard so that they are not lacking in ability to compete against others. There were tons of ways that they could have approached this issue and save face. Instead, they blamed the winner for winning.
