Qi City, Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall.
A crowd of reporters waited outside the main gate of the martial arts hall after receiving news that Wu Li was currently inside, all of them eager to interview him.
Inside the hall, due to the recent online debates and skepticism, fewer students had shown up for classes, with most still observing and considering whether to drop out.
"Master, let take action. I will prove that there’s nothing wrong with your martial arts!"
Inside the hall, Xu Chuan spoke to Wu Li.
He had already started Bone and Muscle Strengthening and had entered a phase of rapid improvent, his strength having advanced by a level, so he took the initiative to ask Wu Li for permission to fight.
The most prevalent online skepticism concerned Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall—aside from Wu Li, there seed to be no one else capable of fighting, casting doubts among many students about the hall’s instructors and the Xingyi Fist they taught.
Xu Chuan planned to dismiss those doubts by fighting as a disciple of Wu Li.
Wu Li patted Xu Chuan’s shoulder, "Don’t worry, your chance to fight will co."
Xu Chuan’s face lit up with surprise, "Really? When?"
Wu Li: "No rush."
"Mr. Wu, a reporter from Today’s Headlines has arrived," a coach ca over and said.
To avoid disrupting normal operations, the staff of the martial arts hall had all reporters wait outside, and owing to Wu Li’s relationship with Mo Yin, he had agreed to let Today’s Headlines conduct an exclusive interview with him.
"Alright, bring them in."
Soon, the coach walked in with two people, a reporter and a caraman.
"Is it you?"
Wu Li was sowhat surprised to see the visitor.
The visitor wore a light blue dress, her fair skin and beautiful features strikingly attractive—it was Li Ruqi.
Li Ruqi raised the press ID hanging on her chest, "Can’t I co?"
Wu Li smiled, "Long ti no see."
Li Ruqi spat, "eting isn’t difficult, but so people have beco celebrities now, and you need to make an appointnt just to see them."
Wu Li chuckled, not arguing, and led Li Ruqi and the photographer to the resting area.
"We can start now."
After all the equipnt was ready, Li Ruqi said to Wu Li.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Regarding the recent online criticisms about Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, do you have anything to say?"
"Running a martial arts hall is about letting more people learn Traditional Martial Arts. I have personally taught all the instructors at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, directly assessed them, and confird their ability to teach others before allowing them to conduct classes, so there’s no issue of deceiving consurs."
"However, this ti the instructors from Bo Yuan’s three branches in the Capital City were defeated. Doesn’t this indicate that the instructors’ skills are inadequate?"
"Of course, they haven’t been studying Xingyi Fist for more than half a year, so you can’t expect soone to beco a master of Xingyi Fist after just six months of training, but that doesn’t an they can’t teach a solid foundation course in Xingyi Fist. In fact, students who enroll in Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall know that we divide the curriculum into beginner, interdiate, and advanced levels, and all students start from the basic beginner course. Our instructors are certainly capable of laying a good foundation for them. Just as elentary school math doesn’t necessarily need a college professor to teach it, many undergraduates and even high school students can teach elentary school math well," Wu expounded.
"As for the subsequent interdiate and advanced courses, we regularly train and assess our instructors to ensure their continuous improvent. These instructors were all excellent combat athletes before studying Xingyi Fist, and I am confident that they can keep up with the pace and will teach the interdiate and advanced courses well in the future."
Li Ruqi nodded to Wu and continued to ask, "You ntioned that the instructors at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall would continuously improve, does this imply that you admit that, at least for now, apart from yourself, there isn’t another high-level martial artist at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall in the field of Traditional Martial Arts?"
Wu’s expression remained calm, "In terms of Xingyi Fist, that is indeed the case."
Li Ruqi was sowhat surprised; she hadn’t expected Wu to admit it so readily. However, since the interview was not being broadcast live and any inappropriate remarks could be edited out later, she didn’t pause and asked the next question.
"Yu Fei said on Weibo that this incident not only showed the absence of personnel at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall but also highlighted the lack of practitioners in Traditional Martial Arts. What do you have to say about that?"
Wu responded, "Actually, from the contents of the second episode of ’Seeking Martial Arts,’ it can be seen that many martial artists who still persist in practicing Traditional Martial Arts today are not faring well, because Traditional Martial Arts lacks a clear career path in the modern era. In the past, practicing martial arts was about mastering a skill essential for one’s livelihood; whereas now, practicing martial arts is at most a hobby, and to make a living, one must pursue other professions. So it’s not that there are no practitioners of Traditional Martial Arts, but many simply don’t have the opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned."
Li Ruqi then said, "But now there are so many combat competitions to enroll in, and if these people really have the skills, they could definitely go into the ring to show off their abilities; however, so far, aside from you, no practitioners from any style have been able to achieve significant results in the ring. Why is that?"
Wu explained, "Because in modern tis, Traditional Martial Arts has not yet been integrated into competitive sports. There isn’t a dedicated organization to bring together martial artists of various styles, to have them train daily in physical fitness and sparring, and to learn and improve their fighting techniques through competitions. Thus, speaking of any particular style of Traditional Martial Arts, there are currently no professional fighters, only amateurs. When these amateurs enter the ring, under the limiting rules of ring competition, it’s indeed challenging for them to win against professionally trained combat athletes."
Li Ruqi asked, "So, you established Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall to train professional martial artists?"
Wu replied, "Yes, I hope that Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall will not only teach Xingyi Fist, Bagua, Tai Chi, Yong Chun, Eagle Claw, and various other Traditional Martial Arts styles, but also that our students can learn them all at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall. anwhile, I also hope Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall can train its own professional combat athletes like many martial arts schools and fight clubs, achieving great success with Traditional Martial Arts in combat competitions."
"In the advanced courses of Xingyi Fist, there will be a need for dicinal aid in later stages. Other martial arts like Eagle Claw Fist also require dicinal aid; here I openly promise: for all outstanding students, Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall is willing to provide these dications for free in the future! Besides, Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall is willing to hire all practitioners of Traditional Martial Arts to be instructors. As long as you practice Traditional Martial Arts and have a certain level of skill, no matter what profession you were in previously, Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall is willing to offer you a position as an instructor with a salary equivalent to that of other instructors at the hall!"
Li Ruqi was sowhat surprised, "From what I know, the salaries offered to instructors at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall are quite high in the industry, right?"
Wu said, "That’s correct."
Li Ruqi: "After the dojo challenge incident, there must have been a significant decrease in the people registering and learning to fight at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, right?"
Wu Li: "Indeed, there were a lot fewer compared to before."
Li Ruqi: "So, even if the number of students at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall might continue to decrease, possibly to the point where there isn’t a need for so many coaches, are you still willing to recruit Martial Artists who have trained in Traditional Martial Arts?"
Wu Li: "Yes, as long as Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall remains, this promise is eternally valid."
...
After Wu Li’s interview was simultaneously uploaded on Mo Yin and Today’s Headlines, the views skyrocketed and various discussions and argunts online once again pushed Wu Li into the lilight.
"A typical idealist, with good intentions but needing realism. The problems with Traditional Martial Arts weren’t ford in a day or two. Does Wu Li think that by gathering so Martial Arts enthusiasts to discuss, Traditional Martial Arts can be imdiately transford for competition? Such a naïve thought. Muay Thai, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Sandboxing, Karate, Boxing... Which one hasn’t undergone years of changes and improvents to achieve what they have today? The reason Traditional Martial Arts can’t compete is that they are outdated, and if they can be modified to be competitive, it won’t happen quickly."
Yu Fei promptly posted a Weibo ssage, receiving much approval and re-shares.
There were many who doubted Wu Li, questioning him, but suddenly a group erged in support; they all had one thing in common: they had practiced Traditional Martial Arts.
"I practiced Mian Fist since my childhood, a small and lesser-known style. When I first entered society, I also thought of making a na for myself with my skills, but was harshly countered by reality and forced to abandon my training for other work. Many people have given up like , but there are still so who haven’t given up, yet they are not living satisfactorily. Wu Li’s promise is undoubtedly giving these people a chance and hope. Wu Li, I thank you on their behalf, sincerely! I am now a taxi driver, not living too luxuriously but contentedly enough, so I won’t take up a spot at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall. To those who are still holding on or willing to give it a try, my peers, seniors, and juniors, I say: Keep it up, I wish you the best!"
"I have been practicing Mantis Fist for seventeen years, and I am not sure if my level is acceptable, but I plan to give it a try, not for anything else, just because Wu Li is willing to support such a cause! Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall doesn’t need to pay a salary; I have enough to support myself. Just let contribute my part for Traditional Martial Arts."
"I practice Ground Fist, and I don’t know about other martial arts, but for Ground Fist, you need to apply dicine externally to areas like the lower leg shin and ankle, which isn’t a small expense over ti. Wu Li said he’s willing to offer the necessary dicinal aids for practicing for free to outstanding students; this cost won’t be less than maintaining so many coaches! I’m willing to work as a coach at Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, and if I really get hired, they don’t need to pay a salary. Give that money to those genuinely excellent students."
"I practiced Choy Li Fut for six years, and now I am a Chinese teacher. My daughter really likes Wu Li, and many students in her class do too. Today in class, I read them a poem by Du Fu, among which there is a line: Who can give many mansions, thousands of them, to shelter the myriad scholars in humble alleys who suffer from the cold, with a smile? So people might not express such grandiose statents, but they are indeed taking action. Salute!"
...
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