https://www.scmp.com/rss/501171/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mike Chan Mike Chan Mixed martial artist Lone’er Kavanagh has said he would definitely commit to shooting a film with one of Hong Kong’s biggest action stars if such a chance were ever to arise. Fresh off his career-biggest win, over former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno last month, Kavanagh, whose mother is from Hong Kong, also said he enjoyed fighting at places that “felt like home”, including China. The odds were stacked against the 26-year-old, who took the fight on just three weeks’ notice in early... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3345877/mma-fighter-hong-kong-roots-wants-fight-home-make-film-jackie-chan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3345877/mma-fighter-hong-kong-roots-wants-fight-home-make-film-jackie-chan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russian athletes are free to compete “under their national flag”, the International Judo Federation (IJF) said on Thursday, lifting the neutral status that had been imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “The IJF Executive Committee has therefore voted to permit Russian athletes to compete under their national flag once again, with anthem and insignia in place, beginning with the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam,” the IJF said. The Russian federation reacted with delight to the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3334401/judo-allow-russian-athletes-compete-international-events-under-national-flag-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3334401/judo-allow-russian-athletes-compete-international-events-under-national-flag-again?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:00:10 +0000 Mike Chan Mike Chan Wushu exponent Lydia Sham Hui-yu has said she will feel different heading to the coming National Games next month carrying the tag of world champion. Sham, 25, won a Changquan gold medal at the world championships in Brasilia, Brazil, last month to add to the Duilian world championships title she won in Texas in 2023. “It wasn’t my first world title, but it’s not the same taking part in the National Games with this identity,” said Sham, who also won the Changquan-Jianshu-Qiangshu all-round gold... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3327877/hong-kong-wushu-star-lydia-sham-says-national-games-could-be-harder-world-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3327877/hong-kong-wushu-star-lydia-sham-says-national-games-could-be-harder-world-event?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:00:35 +0000 Shah Sahari Shah Sahari Grace Lau Mo-sheung has said after winning Hong Kong’s first World Games gold that her karate triumph fulfilled a promise to her late grandmother and would “make her proud once again”. Lau’s gold in Chengdu on Friday, only a third for her city in World Games history, came after her grandmother died on the eve of the event. After winning her kata final, Lau revealed on social media that she had made a vow about the Games. “Two weeks before I [travelled] to The World Games, my grandma passed... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3321325/grace-laus-stand-out-performance-world-games-not-only-won-gold-it-also-fulfilled-vow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3321325/grace-laus-stand-out-performance-world-games-not-only-won-gold-it-also-fulfilled-vow?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Aug 2025 12:04:18 +0000 Lars Hamer,Agence France-Presse Lars Hamer,Agence France-Presse Chinese mixed martial arts superstar Zhang Weili said on Thursday she was confident of the sport’s future in China after Ultimate Fighting Championship announced its first event on the mainland since the Covid-19 pandemic. Zhang, the first Chinese fighter to win a UFC title and the current strawweight champion, is the face of MMA on the mainland, where millions of dollars have been poured into the sport’s top promotion. The UFC said on Thursday that back-to-back events would be taking place over... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3311422/chinese-mma-star-zhang-weili-keen-wow-home-crowd-first-mainland-post-covid-ufc-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3311422/chinese-mma-star-zhang-weili-keen-wow-home-crowd-first-mainland-post-covid-ufc-event?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 May 2025 12:26:23 +0000 To get a sense of how widely Chinese martial arts is being practised and promoted today, one only needs to look at a recent gathering in Hong Kong to honour the late Wong Shun-leung, a wing chun sifu, or master, who studied the Southern Chinese-style of kung fu under grandmaster Ip Man and is credited with being one of Bruce Lee’s teachers. Among those paying their respects to Wong – who died in 1997 at age 61 – was Jamie Hibdon, a 39-year-old baker who has been practising wing chun for nine... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3294730/wing-chun-masters-honouring-bruce-lee-teacher-share-their-love-chinese-martial-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3294730/wing-chun-masters-honouring-bruce-lee-teacher-share-their-love-chinese-martial-art?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jan 2025 10:15:12 +0000 Only once in the sport’s 1,500-year history has a five-day Grand Sumo Tournament, or basho, been held outside Japan – and next year, London’s Royal Albert Hall will repeat its feat of 1991. To be as true to tradition as possible, the venerable concert hall – known for an annual “Rule Britannia” singalong – will build a raised clay dohyo, or fighting stage, in the centre of the auditorium to host the event, with spectators sitting around it on cushions and, further back, on chairs. “We’ll... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3289482/grand-sumo-tournament-makes-historic-return-londons-royal-albert-hall-after-34-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3289482/grand-sumo-tournament-makes-historic-return-londons-royal-albert-hall-after-34-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2024 13:00:10 +0000 Saudi taekwondo stand-out Donia Abu Taleb had an unusual introduction to the sport: for years she trained at a boys’ club because there were no girls to compete with. Now the 27-year-old has become the first Saudi Arabian woman to qualify for the Olympics and is dreaming of bringing home the Gulf kingdom’s first gold medal when she competes in Paris. Though her smiling face today appears on posters and billboards, underscoring Saudi officials’ recent push to champion women’s athletics, the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3268100/paris-olympics-taekwondoin-donia-abu-taleb-goes-fighting-boys-making-saudi-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3268100/paris-olympics-taekwondoin-donia-abu-taleb-goes-fighting-boys-making-saudi-history?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:30:08 +0000 Before discovering the power of exercise, Michelle Sum had many sleepless nights. She often suffered from insomnia, and taking a melatonin supplement – commonly used to help regulate sleep – did not help. But since she took up trail running, Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sum has been able to sleep the whole night through, without interruption. “Before sports, my sleep was often broken. I would spend nights awake with anxiety and insomnia,” says Sum, who lives in Hong Kong. “But going from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3259566/trouble-sleeping-more-exercise-could-be-answer-study-suggests-martial-artist-and-runner-attests-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3259566/trouble-sleeping-more-exercise-could-be-answer-study-suggests-martial-artist-and-runner-attests-its?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:15:08 +0000 A Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter based in Hong Kong hopes to take a step towards conquering the world this month as he targets gold in one of the sport’s four grand slam events. Rodrigo Caporal is heading to Kissimmee, Florida from March 19 to March 24 to compete at the Pan American Championship, the largest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournament in the Americas. He and other local and international fighters from his Espada Studio gym will then turn their attention to the World Championship in Las... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3254072/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-team-carry-hong-kong-hopes-pan-american-championship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3254072/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-team-carry-hong-kong-hopes-pan-american-championship?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:00:17 +0000 Mabel Lui Mabel Lui Bruce Lee’s unexpected death on July 20, 1973 sent shock waves across the world. Today, fans continue to mourn and pay emotional tributes to the martial arts legend, but people still don’t really know why he died. At the time, doctors cited a fluid build-up in Lee’s brain as the official cause of death, but they did not give a clear explanation as to why the excess accumulation of fluid occurred. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of Lee’s death, we recall some of the theories put forward to explain... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3228184/what-killed-bruce-lee-4-leading-theories-medical-and-martial-arts-experts-proposed-after-his-shock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3228184/what-killed-bruce-lee-4-leading-theories-medical-and-martial-arts-experts-proposed-after-his-shock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2023 08:18:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s wushu athletes are looking to continue the city’s tradition of winning medals at the World Games, with the sport returning to the event for the first time since 2013. Wushu was missing from the previous multi-sport bonanza nine years ago in Colombia, but has returned this time around in the United States. The city has sent four wushu athletes to the competition, including 19-year-old Michelle Yeung, who will compete in the women’s nanquan & nandao combined event on Wednesday. “This... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3185042/world-games-hong-kongs-wushu-athletes-target?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3185042/world-games-hong-kongs-wushu-athletes-target?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:10:19 +0000 Hong Kong’s wushu athletes will battle it out for a place in the Asian Games squad in a virtual selection competition next Sunday, after the city’s Sports Institute went into a coronavirus lockdown leaving referees unable to attend. The institute in Fo Tan has been closed three times for a total of 174 days over the past two years because of the three waves of the pandemic that have hit the city. In response to the latest outbreak of the Omicron variant, the institute tightened its prevention... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3169981/asian-games-hong-kong-wushu-athletes-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3169981/asian-games-hong-kong-wushu-athletes-face?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Mar 2022 10:45:17 +0000 It was the final showdown, day 15 of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, in Japan’s Aichi prefecture. After 14 days and 14 wins for each wrestler, the title bout on July 18 was made all the more tense for its involving grand champion yokozuna Hakuho and second-ranked ozeki Terunofuji, who, after the former’s more than a decade of sumo domination, was widely seen as the next ascendant in the ancient Japanese sport. As the gyoji (referee) assumed position inside the raised clay dohyo (ring), the two... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3160022/last-man-standing-how-mongolians-came-dominate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3160022/last-man-standing-how-mongolians-came-dominate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Dec 2021 05:15:17 +0000 Jackie Chan admired Bruce Lee, and said he learned some valuable lessons about fame from him. Read what Chan really thought about Lee in this unpublished interview with Post journalist Richard James Havis from 1997. Richard James Havis: How did you come to work as a stunt double on Lee’s Fist of Fury? Jackie Chan: At that time, my career was not doing very well. There was a lot of competition for stunt coordinators in Hong Kong. Almost every time a director did a new movie, they used the same... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3150677/revealed-martial-arts-star-jackie-chan-bruce-lee-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3150677/revealed-martial-arts-star-jackie-chan-bruce-lee-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Oct 2021 21:15:08 +0000 Even the most finely engineered machines experience wear and tear over time. Our bodies are no exception. One key joint in particular is subject to damage through overuse: the hip. As the cartilage between the ball of the thigh bone, known as the femur, and the pelvis, wears away, osteoarthritis sets in. Bone starts grinding on bone, causing pain which can eventually become unbearable. This process usually takes place over decades, which is why most hip replacements – a surgery to replace the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3148973/why-athletes-find-themselves-needing-hip-surgery-midlife?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3148973/why-athletes-find-themselves-needing-hip-surgery-midlife?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Sep 2021 21:15:24 +0000 It is fitting that karate is one of the sports debuting in the Tokyo Summer Olympics, the martial art having originated in Japan, in the Ryukyu Kingdom (today’s Okinawa), in the 1400s. From the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts tii, “hand” in Okinawan, and influenced by empty-handed Chinese kung fu during intense cultural exchanges in the middle centuries of the millennium, a martial art developed that was originally called 唐手•, literally “Tang dynasty hand”, or “Chinese hand”, pronounced toudi... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3142971/karate-debuts-tokyo-olympics-where-did-15th?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3142971/karate-debuts-tokyo-olympics-where-did-15th?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jul 2021 06:15:18 +0000 Starting small I was born prematurely, at six-and-a-half months, in the slums of São Paulo, in southeast Brazil, and was extremely lucky to survive. My father was a truck driver, and my mother looked after us six kids – I was the youngest – so with eight mouths to feed there wasn’t a lot of money left over at the end of the week. I grew up small, skinny and extremely helpless in the sort of neighbourhood where I would have been at a disadvantage even if I’d been relatively healthy, but somehow I... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3142108/brazilian-capoeira-master-eddy-murphy-teaching-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3142108/brazilian-capoeira-master-eddy-murphy-teaching-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jul 2021 09:15:16 +0000 Ezatullah Kakar was behind the wheel of a container truck on a California road – a long-haul assignment that took him out of his base in Philadelphia for four days – when the call came. It was someone from the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion. Kakar, a refugee who spent seven years in detention in Papua New Guinea – most of it at the notorious Manus camp – was about to fulfil a dream. But the former kick-boxer had only three weeks to prepare for his first fight in the United States... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3132023/bkfc-17-pakistani-refugee-ezatullah-kakar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3132023/bkfc-17-pakistani-refugee-ezatullah-kakar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 May 2021 04:14:22 +0000 Serial injury risks, lack of government support and virtually no financial incentive – the pursuit of a Muay Thai career in Hong Kong can appear perplexing. Yet after months of training and sacrifice during a pandemic in notoriously cramped Hong Kong, Rehaan Lulla says he could not imagine a life without “the art of eight limbs”. “Honestly, the whole process is just a lot of fun. Specifically training for particular opponents, and sometimes you don’t even know who you’re going to fight that... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3130770/why-indian-hongkonger-rehaan-lulla-persists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3130770/why-indian-hongkonger-rehaan-lulla-persists?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Apr 2021 06:00:14 +0000 US Olympian Sakura Kokumai has revealed more details around the incident where she was racially abused by a stranger while training in a California park last week. “You’re a loser! Loser! Go home, stupid b****!” a stranger shouted at her in Grijalva Park in Orange, southern California, in a video that the 28-year-old recorded of the incident and shared to Instagram. Speaking to Los Angeles television station KTLA, the Tokyo 2020 karate qualifier said she was unaware why she was being targeted... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3129019/us-karate-champ-sakura-kokumai-told-go-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3129019/us-karate-champ-sakura-kokumai-told-go-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Apr 2021 03:11:05 +0000 The Asian diaspora in the West often rejoices when Eurasian faces find success in the entertainment industry. Henry Golding, known for his role in Crazy Rich Asians, and Andrew Koji, star of HBO’s Bruce Lee-inspired series Warrior, have both seen their lead roles celebrated as victories for diversity. And while most, if not all, Eurasian celebrities recognise the role they play in increasing representation, the warm welcome they receive after finding success hasn’t always been a constant... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3125736/eurasian-actors-and-model-existing-between-two-worlds-how?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3125736/eurasian-actors-and-model-existing-between-two-worlds-how?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Mar 2021 04:15:14 +0000 Two-time Muay Thai world champion Daniel McGowan was ready to call it quits last year despite only turning 25 a few days ago. The Englishman – one of the youngest foreigners ever to compete at the illustrious Rajadamnern and Lumpinee stadiums in Thailand – has in recent years been plagued by the dreaded injury-surgery cycle and, once finally fit, found himself amid a Covid-19-gutted competitive scene. McGowan (professional record 34-5-1) faced the age-old martial artists’ dilemma. Either double... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3124353/singapore-salvation-former-muay-thai-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3124353/singapore-salvation-former-muay-thai-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Mar 2021 05:27:24 +0000 At just 18, Chinese-born American Grace Gundrum is already considered a generational talent in women’s no-gi jiu-jitsu. “The Silent Assassin”, as she is known, became the youngest US female, and second youngest internationally, to earn a black belt last July after another standout performance. She has lost just one competitive bout since the age of 12, against fellow prodigy and 2019 world champion Mayssa Bastos last month. The man who presented Gundrum with the belt, renowned jiu-jitsu guru... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118953/chinese-born-jiu-jitsu-black-belt-grace-gundrum-beating-world-champions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3118953/chinese-born-jiu-jitsu-black-belt-grace-gundrum-beating-world-champions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jan 2021 00:00:15 +0000 The best-known legacy of Bruce Lee, who would have turned 80 this Friday is of course his movies. But the martial arts legend also developed a unique way of fighting called jeet kune do, a Cantonese term which translates as something like “the way of the stopping fist” or more poetically, “the way of the intercepting fist.” There are many distinct styles of fighting in kung fu – hung gar, wing chun, and tai chi to name a few of the more famous ones. But the best starting point for understanding... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3111249/bruce-lee-80-martial-arts-legend-and-his-legacy-jeet-kune?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3111249/bruce-lee-80-martial-arts-legend-and-his-legacy-jeet-kune?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:15:15 +0000 In 2015, Ella Tham headed to Singapore for spinal surgery to deal with a number of lingering issues with her back. A few days after the surgery she went for an early morning walk wearing a neck brace and was viciously, randomly attacked by a man with mental health issues. The assault put Tham back in hospital, dealing with paralysis issues down one side of her body. She spent a year in a wheelchair and said the ordeal left her broken down physically and mentally, but therein lied an opportunity... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3109707/tai-chi-meets-yoga-teacher-ella-tham-endures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3109707/tai-chi-meets-yoga-teacher-ella-tham-endures?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Nov 2020 00:00:14 +0000 Six days a week many of the 16 children of Nopparit Yoohanngoh, a Thai Muslim man, are up and about before sunrise in a leafy, outlying area of Bangkok. Yawning and bleary-eyed, they head to their father’s gym, which consists of a weathered boxing ring and an adjacent training space under a corrugated iron roof. He built the gym by himself among shady willows beside a scenic canal. The teenagers do runs on footpaths along the waterway, lift rusty weights, do push-ups on plastic mats and pummel... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3095199/biggest-fight-thailands-female-muay-thai-boxers-face-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3095199/biggest-fight-thailands-female-muay-thai-boxers-face-one?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Aug 2020 01:15:04 +0000 From the moment Robert Degle set foot in Singapore last November to corner a friend’s MMA fight, the elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) coach already knew he would be back. In some ways, the southeast Asian island city state is similar to the ever-evolving grappling-based martial art. “It’s an organised, efficient place that clearly values innovation. To say I enjoyed my experience there would be an understatement – I’ve visited 12 countries on three continents and still my favourite has been... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3081364/danaher-death-squad-disciple-robert-degle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3081364/danaher-death-squad-disciple-robert-degle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2020 03:33:24 +0000 Singaporean jiu-jitsu prodigy Constance Lien has become a national treasure ever since being crowned world champion at the World International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Championships in 2019, but the former national swimmer’s transition into combat sports was no easy feat. Born into a family of athletes – her mother was a national team swimmer and her sister is a current one – the 20-year-old purple belt recalled the mental and physical tolls experienced as a teen. Aside from the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3074882/singaporean-jiu-jitsu-world-champion-constance-lien-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3074882/singaporean-jiu-jitsu-world-champion-constance-lien-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2020 06:00:14 +0000 Hong Kong has a new Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt to celebrate after Shaun Kiatvongcharoen was proudly promoted in Beaverton, Oregon. The 25-year-old Hong Kong-raised, Impact Jiu Jitsu-trained grappler did not leave much doubt in the mind of his professor, having dominated the Oregon Championship in November last year – earning two gold medals each in the gi and no-gi brown belt and elite categories, respectively. Called “Hong Kong Shaun” by Oregonians, he had nine matches – snatching... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3064770/hong-kong-shaun-kiatvongcharoen-promoted-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-black?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3064770/hong-kong-shaun-kiatvongcharoen-promoted-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-black?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2020 02:00:10 +0000 The Southeast Asian Games 2019 have proved controversial since even before they opened and that has only intensified since the competition got under way last week. In the pencak silat, an Indonesian martial art, there was controversy on Tuesday during the Class B bout between Philippine fighter Dines Dumaan and Faizul M. Nasir from Malaysia. After being dropped to the floor and trying a take-down, the prone Nasir was kicked in the head by defending champion Dumaan and knocked unconscious. Host... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3040514/sea-games-2019-online-outrage-malaysian-athlete-knocked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3040514/sea-games-2019-online-outrage-malaysian-athlete-knocked?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2019 05:00:17 +0000 Man-mountain and Instagram sensation the “Iranian Hulk” is set for his combat sports debut in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) next year. The promotion announced the news after its Saturday event, and while there is no official date or opponent, BKFC confirmed it will happen and will be marketed under a seriously provocative banner. “He's literally our biggest signing we've ever had,” BKFC boss David Feldman told MMA Fighting post-event. “This guy is going to make his BKFC debut in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3038248/iranian-hulk-fight-bare-knuckle-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3038248/iranian-hulk-fight-bare-knuckle-fighting?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Nov 2019 09:17:38 +0000 Don’t talk smack about Lethwei when Dave Leduc is around. The World Lethwei Championship cruiserweight champion didn’t take kindly to some remarks on social media by English Muay Thai star Liam Harrison. Harrison took aim at “some serious idiots out there who think Lethwei is harder than Muay Thai”. What ensued was a clear 10-8 round for Leduc. “Never met you, or even mentioned your name, until I was sent this poorly written rant you did on me and the most brutal sport in the world, Lethwei. I... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3036975/dave-leduc-blasts-delusional-liam-harrison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3036975/dave-leduc-blasts-delusional-liam-harrison?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2019 11:10:08 +0000 It’s an age-old question – how would Bruce Lee fare in a professional fight? The martial arts icon actually had one official fight, aged 17 against Gary Elms in a boxing bout in 1958 at St George’s School Gymnasium in Hong Kong. The rest has been left to the imaginations of martial arts fans – though a supposed disciple of Lee’s famed jeet kune do style did once test his skills against a supposed “Muay Thai” fighter. In 2003, Tony Valente – dressed in full Bruce Lee-style yellow jumpsuit – took... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/kung-fu/article/3022624/what-happens-when-jeet-kune-do-disciple-bruce-lee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/kung-fu/article/3022624/what-happens-when-jeet-kune-do-disciple-bruce-lee?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2019 02:00:09 +0000 Traditional lethwei warrior leg tattoos are a dying art for Burmese fighters. For Canadian “King of Lethwei” Dave Leduc, he felt he had no choice but to get them. “This is the ultimate respect for Myanmar, Now I’ve completed the Myanmar traditional look. I’m a real traditional fighter now,” he told the Post. The tattoos are called Htoe Kwin and are “f****** painful” according to Leduc, which says a lot given he competes in a bare-knuckle kick-boxing sport that is considered the most brutal on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3021025/maybe-i-was-born-myanmar-another-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3021025/maybe-i-was-born-myanmar-another-life?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2019 02:00:10 +0000 Hong Kong black belt Viking Wong will be leading the charge for his city at the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships in Mongolia next month, with the team heading off this weekend. Leaders Tesa Ho – Hong Kong’s first female black belt – and North Hui will take charge of the team featuring Wong, Ken Man, Tong Wai-yin, Vincent Sit, Ken To, Leung King-pong and Isabela Li. “With everyone having a full-time job we hope to lead by example, showing young aspiring local athletes you can have a career and do... https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3016458/hong-kong-jiu-jitsu-team-going-gold-asian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/other-martial-arts/article/3016458/hong-kong-jiu-jitsu-team-going-gold-asian?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jun 2019 04:39:39 +0000 At a boxing gym in Prince Edward, Hong Kong’s Muay Thai women’s boxing champion Kwok Hoi-ling sweats from pounding a punch bag, as she prepares for her next title bid at July’s world championships in Thailand. Kwok, 25, has been practising the combat sport, also known as Thai boxing, for about 10 years. She is the three-time Hong Kong 51kg Muay Thai Champion and two-time WMC I-1 51kg Asian Champion. From the initial goal of losing weight to becoming a top class professional with 10 gold belts... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3014565/muay-thai-champion-kwok-hoi-ling-hong-kong-finds-learning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3014565/muay-thai-champion-kwok-hoi-ling-hong-kong-finds-learning?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jun 2019 03:00:05 +0000 Michael Leung wasn’t sure what to make of the offer he was given to take part in today’s Muay Thai training session. Aged 49, he has spent the past 12 months coming to terms with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His body is still adapting to the doses of medicine he now needs to take daily, as well as the after-effects, while his mind is focusing on the fight ahead. But after some urging from friends, Leung decided to see what this ancient Thai martial art was all about and, more... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3013605/how-muay-thai-helping-parkinsons-patients-stand-disease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3013605/how-muay-thai-helping-parkinsons-patients-stand-disease?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jun 2019 21:00:10 +0000