Awesome action on the Sep 23^rd Sanda Vs Muaythai Pro Challenge at New Guangzhou Stadium.

On the night of 23rd of September (last Sunday), at the foot of Bak Wan San (White Cloud Hill) where Master Wong Fei Hong was buried, wave upon wave of thunderous cheering had shaken the entire New Guangzhou Stadium in Canton. In a 7 match Sanda Vs Muaythai Pro Challenge there, the Chinese fighters have convincingly defeated the Thais with a glorious 5 : 2 victory. The action that have taken place on that fateful night way surpassed that of the previous Sep 8^th Challenge. This time we saw the Muaythai champions using everything they could - punches, kicks, elbows (padded), knees & clinches, beating up many of the Chinese badly; yet in the end Sanda prevailed. Though there was bias & unfair judging from some of the Chinese judges, it could not take much away from the solid result that the Sanda fighters have achieved. If the victory of the previous challenge is shaky & not to be recognized by the world of MA, then the MA world will have no choice but to acknowledge this current victory after they see this hard fought battle. Muay Thai is no longer the ultimate ring sport.

The 1^st bout is the 52kg category fight between Xu Ding & Rakseelah Chunpadoo, which started out badly for the Chinese. Xu could not get his throws which worked in previous fights to work against the Thai. In the 4^th round Rakseelah landed a solid left knee kick in the right chest of Xu, completely knocking the spirit out of him. I think his ribs may have been fractured. The Chinese coach had to immediately throw in the towel, effecting an initial TKO for the Thai team.

The 2^nd bout is the 56kg category fight between Zhao Bo & Sinlabathai Jorjeeying, by far the most unfair fight of the evening. Although the Thai could not knock down Zhao, he was obviously the superior fighter, sucessfully landed 2 elbow strikes on his opponent. By the end of the 5 rounds Sinlabathai had whacked Zhao so hard that his skin was splitted above the left eye-lid.. leaving him dazed & hardly able to stand properly. While Zhao did land many side kicks on his opponent they did not hurt the Thai at all. Yet some of those unethical Chinese judges still gave this match to Zhao, drawing fire from the Thai judges & officials later.

The 3^rd bout is the 60kg category fight between Liu Zedong & Songkong Jeenukoon, who were quite equally matched. All it took for the Chinese to win was a few ineffective side kicks & throws. In a 50-50 fight like this it is inevitable the visitor will surely lose by points to the host. Nothing short of a knock down will suffice for a Thai win. At this point, some of the Thai spectators walked out of the stadium, feeling disgusted no doubt.

The 4^th bout is another 60kg category female fight between Wang Zanli & Yorying Seewoopeun. Wang is a head taller than Yorying.. I wonder how they could be of equal weight. As expected the Thai lass is knocked & thrown about by Wang throughout the fight, letting her winning decisively for the Chinese team.

The 5^th bout is the 65kg category fight between Yu Dawei & Tiapalee Pathawachai, a seasoned champion with a record of 80 wins out of 88 fights. Yu could not throw the Thai at all - he came well prepared. On the other hand he was hit so many times by Tiaplee's firece elbow/knee combos that the Chinese coach, fearing for Yu's safety, had to throw in the towel in the 4^th round. Another TKO for the Thais, bring the result to 3 : 2.

The 6^th bout is the 70kg category fight between Hu Tao & Chavalit Jorjeeying, perhaps the toughest fight that evening. In the first 4 rounds both fighters had won 2 each. Hu has strong techniques but he could not gain any upper hand from the Thai. It is until the final round that he went totally defensive, countering Chavalit's attacks with side kicks whenever he could. Of course, they could not hurt the Thai, but Hu had already gained a marginal win by points through his tactic. The Thai judges were also caught being bias in this bout, for they had given ridiculously high points to Chavalit when he was obviously on the defensive during 2 of the 5 rounds. So in the end this 50-50 fight had to be forfeited to the host, which sealed the visiting team's fate.

The 7^th & final bout is the 75kg category fight between Liu Hailong, last year's King of Sanda & Lukpoei Grabangkoei, which was the climax of the whole Challenge. Indeed Liu showed mastery worthy of a King. Right in the beginning of the 1^st round he landed a high round kick in Lukpoei's head, & without stopping he grabbed his 75kg opponent, lifted him high up & thrown him out of the ring into the concrete! Screams of pure exhilaration rang through the entire stadium. Following that, Liu landed another solid punch right in his opponent's face after feigning with a low kick, sending Lukpoei reeling. By the end of the 2^nd round he was already bleeding all over his face. Yet the Thai insisted on continuing the fight. Muaythai's fighting spirit was truly admirable, & the spectators could not help but respect this fighter. Silence filled the stadium as everyone watched this engrossing battle of skill vs toughness. Liu agained lifted & threw the Thai out of the ring with a back body drop. That's not all; he later splitted open his face with a spining backfist. It is all the Thai can do to prevent himself from being knocked out. At the end of the bout an ambulance had to send Lukpoei immediately to the hospital to treat his incessant bleeding, a result of several solid blows to his face. When Liu made his hero's exit, the Chinese spectators, no longer able to control their jubilation, surrounded & lifted him high above their heads, roaring,"China Team, Victory!!" The Thai spectators (including a former Thai Premier who is there to support), however, are visibly shocked & left speechless in the aftermath of this great battle. The Thai coach was glum & refused to answer any questions when approached by eager reporters on his way back to the locker rooms. Several Bangkok TV stations also broadcasted this Challenge live in Thailand. I cannot begin to imagine the effect of this defeat on the millions of Muaythai fans back home.. afterall, everyone believed Muaythai to be invincible in the ring - until tonight.

If there is something Sanda has proven to be superior over Muaythai in this Challenge, I have to say it is technique & maneuverablity. According to the Chinese Coach Guan Jianming, after the 9^th National Wushu Meet he had only 18 days to train up this Sanda team. Knowing that he could not bring the fighters to match the striking power & conditioning of Muaythai, he had to emphasize instead on distancing, footwork & rhythmn. He believed that fast movement in & out of Muaythai's destructive range could reduce the damage that the Sanda fighters would take. After testing out this strategy in the Challenge, we could see that it worked quite well against the Thais. Of course, most of them still took a lot of damage, but if not for their mobility they would surely have been knocked out. Compared to Sanda, Muaythai apppeared too straightfoward & monotonous, relying only on fierce hard strikes & blocks to destroy an opponent. But this is also where the strength of Muaythai lies. Sanda tactics, following the principles of Chinese Martial Science, avoids the opponent's strength & attack its weakness, countering the hard with the yielding, & borrows power to overcome power. All these could not be achieved without intellect & determination. It is true that Sanda techniques do appear quicker & more nimble than Muaythai, but they are definitely not as effective. Although the Thais have lost, on the whole they still demonstrated greater stamina, conditioning & striking power than the Chinese. Other than the 2 bouts where Sanda won decisively, the other 3 victories are somewhat questionable; especially the 2^nd bout between Zhao Bo & Sinlabathai. In those 50-50 bouts, all the Chinese fighters were out of breath, injured & dazed, but the Thais were not even breathing heavily & appeared almost totally unscathed. What does this tell you about Sanda? In the next Challenge at Bangkok, there is no doubt that the tables will be turned on the Chinese - it will be the Thais who win 5 : 2 instead! In the 2 bouts the Thais won by TKO, it was clear for us see the effectiveness of Muaythai elbow/knee combos. Because Sanda is totally lacking in the trapping(close) range, the fighters will turn to putty if they are somehow cornered & unable to run around to avoid damage. Muaythai may no longer be the supreme ring sport, but it is still the best striking art in the MA world. If Sanda is too keep its newly gained position as the king of the ring, it must therefore humbly learn from the superior stamina, conditioning & striking power training of Muaythai. Sanda has enriched Chinese Martial Science through its series of successes, but it must not think it is greater than CMS itself. Sanda needs to continue to draw from Chinese Martial Science to maintain its technical versatility over Muaythai, & not wishfully hope to win others by simply being more agile. To conclude, I must salute the King of Sanda heroes. What they have proved that night will be remembered for many generations to come. If there was a time MA people said Kungfu is useless, only for show etc, now I think nobody dare to make such degrading remarks anymore, thanks to these Sanda fighters. The Thais, shocked as they are, will of course not take this defeat lying down. They await their revenge back in Bangkok. The real Kungfu VS Muaythai battle has only just begun!

*The 2 VCDs of this Sep 23^rd 2001 Challenge in Guangzhou is now available, but only in Chinese. Ttitled Kung Fu VS Muay Thai: Conquest, its total length is 1 hrs 25 mins. This is the second clash between the 2 martial arts, and it was much more unforgettable than the previous Challenge for the Chinese as well as the Thais. I'm selling at S$10.00 for local guys or US$10.00 for foreign orders, which includes postage fees. Readers who need the 2 VCDs just email me here.   

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