LETTER FROM BEIJING: Pugnacious boxing promoter Don King has been trying and failing for years to bring Vegas-style prize fighting to China, writes Mark Godfrey
The shock-haired motor mouth did little to raise the profile of western-style boxing in China but western interest in Chinese forms of boxing appears to have reached an apogee. Kickboxing became a satellite sports TV favourite during the 1990s, such was its pan-national appeal.
Here was a modern martial sport combining the fists of western boxing with the kicks of Asian martial arts and all the frenzy of a night around the ring. Jackie Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme and the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon helped separately to sustain interest in martial arts among non-Asians.
In China, however, local boxing disciplines are haemorrhaging fans to those most recognisably western sports, soccer and basketball. Training opportunities for both Chinese and western boxing styles are still plentiful in Beijing but China's youth would rather kick a soccer ball or learn to slam dunk before learning the intricate footwork of kung fu.
Don King took a hit when his Evander Holyfield-headed showcase, billed as the "Melee in Beijing" eventually fell through in 2001. China's own ancient martial arts styles have taken a harder hit however as numbers at local fight schools fall steadily. Han Gen Chen and colleague Li Zhen, both graduates of Beijing Boxing School's elite team of fighters, train their charges weekly at a purpose-equipped gym in Beijing's Haidian district.
"We teach several kinds of boxing, traditional and western style," says the wiry Han. Trained in the major disciplines of kung fu (a catchall term for the Chinese branch of martial arts) and western-style boxing, Han is also proficient in Jeet Kune Do, the eclectic martial art created and popularised by the legendary Bruce Lee. Wing chun, another style popularised by Lee, is a core of Han's training programmes.
Han's gym was closed during the city's shutters-down battle with SARS, but is expected to open again in September. "Training hours are necessarily short because of small numbers and the intense nature of the workouts." A month's training here costs €28 and membership is open to all. Membership numbers remain static however. "The 20 regulars we have come to our training sessions for all types of reasons," said Han. "They want fitness, fun or a good workout. There's no serious master of the arts." Boxing may be perceived as a sport of men but there's a near-equilibrium of the sexes at Han's gym, with slightly more male than female members.
Training sessions are strenuous: warm up exercises are followed by drills in punching and kicking techniques. "Martial arts offer many benefits, but they can only be gained through hard work and dedication," says Han. "Students have to know their physical abilities and limitations, as well as what they want to get out of the training. Many of today's youths just aren't prepared for such dedication and hard work. They watch basketball or play computer games." Compared to team sports like soccer, kung fu receives relatively little attention in China's mass media. National junior titles were fought for recently in an almost empty stadium in Beijing.
"Unfortunately there aren't live venues where you can watch boxing. You can see some fights on Monday nights on the sports channel but you can watch soccer every night." Those frustrated with the dearth of pugilistic action are welcome to watch practice sessions in his gym, provided they call in advance.
"People rarely come in to watch. They're more interested in European soccer clubs, David Beckham and basketball stars like Yao Ming," says Han. The attention has indeed turned elsewhere. Over two billion people watched China's three games in last year's soccer World Cup finals. Most of Beijing's major gyms and hotel-based fitness centres offer boxing programmes. Evolution Fitness Centre and the Nirvana Club in Chaoyang District for example offers a seven-day range of kickboxing classes and a boxing circuit.
Many of those showing up for training are ex-pats however. "I'm studying several different martial arts," says William Ryan, a Scottish businessman and member of the Nirvana Club. "I take san soo kung fu, aikido, kickboxing, jujutsu, kali and boxing - because I want to be as well-rounded and fit as I can. I think that helps you in everyday life - to be able to adapt to any situation, be it self-defence or work related." Enthusiasts can of course forego gym membership fees and join locals at one of the city's many brightly-painted public exercise yards. Martial arts fans work out here most mornings but the majority are retirees practising tai chi. China's martial arts needs another Bruce Lee perhaps.
Or a Don King . . .