Jedrzejczyk tried to use trash talk and insults to provoke Zhang, but Zhang used her victory to "shut up" her opponent and win the world's respect and applause. The comparison between Zhang and Jedrzejczyk is obvious. I want to be a good example for the kids. Zhang's words during her post-fight interview best explain such spirit: "We are all martial artists here. The actions of Jedrzejczyk and some of her fans are those of racists, and on a par with making a "slant-eyed" gesture to mock Asians, or using the five-letter "C" word to describe Chinese people.īut Zhang, the brave, strong and tolerant Chinese champion, has shown the world the spirit of Chinese fighters: power, balance, and a peaceful mind and heart. It seems some foreigners are too filled with pride and prejudice to see the situation objectively. This is still happening even though many experts have said that the actual origin of the COVID-19 has yet to be determined. Some have been avoiding Chinese people like the plague. Zhang gave them the middle finger, which is a simple and strong way to fight back.Īfter the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Wuhan, many foreigners, including Jedrzejczyk and some of her fans, are linking Chinese people to the virus. Some of Jedrzejczyk's fans, probably feeling aggrieved by their idol's forced apology, yelled "coronavirus" at Zhang before the bout began. But the poster, posted during the spreading COVID-19 epidemic, was made out of ignorance and malice. Trash talk is often used as a tactic in sporting events in an attempt to psych-out an opponent. Although she deleted it and apologized after receiving a ton of criticism, her post is seen as unforgivable. It was used in a poster for her fight with Zhang, that was altered to show Jedrzejczyk wearing a gas mask. What has really angered Chinese people, however, was a photo Jedrzejczyk posted on her Instagram at the end of January. Considering that Jedrzejczyk called Zhang a "little girl" before the fight, Zhang's win was a figurative smack in the face of Jedrzejczyk. Zhang also withstood her opponent's attacks and was declared winner by split decision. You keep doing karate."Shut up," said Zhang Weili, the first Chinese champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) straw weight, in responding to trash talk from her Polish opponent Joanna Jedrzejczyk before their fight.ĭuring their bout, Zhang pummeled Jedrzejczyk with vicious blows to her face. But you just have to keep moving forward. It can be hard when someone comes in to your house and disrespects what you do. And the advanced kids need some good hard shugyo from time to time anyway. I was hurt, because I knew damn well that we knew what we were doing, and subconsciously I wanted to "prove" it by training way too hard. I felt like we'd been really gracious and tried to work with him, like we would any beginner on their first night, and instead of opening his mind he just threw it in our faces and stormed out. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was really upset that he had acted like that. That woke me up and I apologized to him and then calmed down, but I was keyed up. I ended up running the class in to the ground with calisthenics and air karate and body work, and I walloped one of my students too hard with a punch to the ribs. Because I went in to the advanced class next immediately after that conversation and I didn't realize how upset I was. I think he couldn't handle the adjustment. I don't know who gave the kid rank, maybe it was one of those kiddy belts, but he didn't look like any second black to me. It was clear to me during class that he thought his other black belt made him better than the other beginners, but it was equally clear to me that the other beginners were already better at karate. He never came back and we never heard from him again. That guy doesn't know what he's doing." He pointed at one of our top instructors who'd been trying to work with him during Star Block and then he turned away and stormed off the floor in to the office and told the head instructor he quit and stormed out the door. I stood there kinda stunned and asked if there was anything I could help him with or if he had any questions and he just crossed his arms over his chest and said, "You guys don't know what you're doing. At the end of class I went over to him to give him the first day yada yada, welcome, great job, wasn't that fun, see you wednesday, make sure you practice, and before I can even open my mouth he turns to me and blurts out, "You guys don't even know what you're doing." We paired him with the most helpful instructors and tried to work with him, but he couldn't understand simple blocks in the air. He had a second black in another style but he was starting as a white belt in our school and he couldn't keep up. I had something similar happen to me once.
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