Ming Tang getting a real kick out of his chosen art form
Hong Kong fighter has built up a strong record, but he is still struggling to win over his family
The first real battle of Ming Tang's career as a Muay Thai fighter came long before he stepped between the ropes - and it saw him go toe-to-toe with his family.
Tang had grown up dabbling in every sport offered by his schools and out on the playgrounds and parks of Hong Kong but nothing could ever seem to quite keep him interested. It was a chance encounter with a friend when he was 15 that pointed him towards the Thai martial art, and once he had joined a gym and started training the now-23-year-old knew there'd be no turning back.
We had some really big arguments about me becoming a Muay Thai fighter, it wasn't very nice
Others, though, took a little more convincing.
"My friend had started training and he knew what I was like," says Tang. "He thought it was perfect for me and he was right but my parents and my family didn't like it at all.
"We had some really big arguments about me becoming a Muay Thai fighter, it wasn't very nice. They just thought I'd get hurt and that the sport was too dangerous for a young man but they didn't really understand what it is all about."
Luckily those worries have now been cast aside - mostly - as Tang has established a record in the sport of 28 fights for 21 wins and seven losses, collecting along the way Hong Kong titles in the 54kg division (in 2010) and the 57kg division (2012).