Don't Mess With This Shaolin Monk

What made Yi Long a great fighter?
Liu Xingjun, also better known as Yi Long or One Dragon, is a Kung-Fu fighter out of the Shandong province in China. He is often touted as a Shaolin Monk. Shaolin Kung Fu is the largest school or style of Kung Fu in China, with many styles in Southern and Northern China using the name Shaolin.
In this video, we are going to take a closer look at Yi Long and see what it is that makes him such a great fighter.

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The following article is a transcript of the video above.

After his father told him great stories about Chinese martial arts and about Shaolin Monk, Yi Long decided he wanted to become a fighter and began training. At the age of 14 years old.
He became a large advocate of traditional martial arts with a record of 43 fights and 36 wins, seven losses, and one draw.

Yi Long was born on April 1, 1987, and, as a practitioner of Chinese Wushu, he is self-trained in Shaolin Kung Fu and also practices Wing Chun, Sanda, and Muay Thai.
He competes in the super welterweight, welterweight, and super middleweight divisions. In 2007 he became the Guangdong Foshan international Wing Chun champion, and in the summer of 2009, he began to fight in Wu Lin Fang (WLF), the longest-running martial arts program in China. Yi Long has previously called himself the number one Shaolin Kung Fu monk, but in 2010 the Shaolin Temple claimed the fighter was unaffiliated with them.

This fighter truly shows a different way of fighting and is quite spectacular, as he will often leave his guard down and rely on his inner powers to be able to sustain himself from damage. In Kickboxing matches, he normally does not kick and attacks with western-style Boxing, making him very susceptible to attacks.

He also has an unorthodox training regime, as he trains Tai Chi and other martial arts in order to prepare for Muay Thai matches.
In a discussion about the difference between Muay Thai and Shaolin Kung Fu, he is quoted as saying:

"But Shaolin Kung Fu and Muay Thai have many things in common: Muay Thai is good at steel knees, iron elbows, and iron legs. Those who master Muay Thai have strong defenses. It's the same in Shaolin Kung Fu: in Shaolin Kung Fu, we have iron fists, iron legs, and iron cloth, meaning the body is hard enough to defend against any attack"

Suggested: FORMER SHAOLIN MONK IS CRUSHING OPPONENTS IN MMA

He often practices breathing techniques, wears a traditional Kung Fu outfit of long yellow pants, and keeps a shaved head, adding to his iconic style. Yi Long prides his Kung Fu style on his self-claimed iron chin and qigong iron shirt, and this was proven in his fight against Brad Ridell.

Yi Long vs Brad Riddell

A clip of this fight was first seen on youtube back in 2012, and people were amazed by the resilience of this amazing fighter. It clearly shows Yi Long sustaining a flurry of powerful blows to his jaw, without appearing to flinch. His iron chin definitely withstood his opponent's assaults, causing his challenger to get tired. Soon, after the barrage of full-weight punches, Long finally retaliated serving his exhausted opponent with a few punches and trying knee kicks.

Unfortunately, Ridell was declared the winner of this contest by a unanimous decision. In the fight between Riddell and Long, it did look as if Long was taking a lot of hits, and he certainly was. But there's always a technique to what Long is doing. He knows exactly how to hold his head and how long to hold it for. The breathing control and meditation he practices all play a role in the way he fights and handles himself against an opponent. There are certainly not many other fighters that could withstand that kind of continuous battering.

Yi Long vs Buakaw Buanchamek

In 2015, Kung Fu met Muay Thai in a remarkable display of skill. This contest between Yi Long and Thailand's middleweight Muay Thai kickboxer Buakaw Buanchamek was awarded as the fight of the century. Millions of people from Asia and around the world watched the dispute, as the two fighters from two different martial arts were in front of each other seven years ago. The duel between these two was a sight to see.

The first round was very energetic: Yi Long voluntarily allowed Buakaw to hit his face with a punch, so that he could counterattack him. But unluckily it went wrong. In this round, Yi Long came out with powerful punches and kicks that sent Buakaw to the canvas twice.

The Chinese fighter's large home crowd was supporting him with enthusiasm, but Buakaw, the guru of his field, recovered the situation soon and found his way. Both of them were giving their best in the ring and trying to take over one another. Not one of them gave up till the last round. So, after fighting for three rounds, the winner was decided on points. After the bloodshed fight, victory was awarded to Buakaw.

But the clash between the two was meant to last longer and so a rematch occurred in 2016 between these two fighters. In this rematch, the actual decision was reversed with a victory going to Yi Long.

Yi Long vs Hong-Man Choi

When 5 foot 10-inch welterweight Yi Long came up against the giant 7 foot 2 inch super heavyweight Hong-Man Choi, he certainly didn't let the size intimidate him. The experienced pair did battle on the mas Kickboxing circuit, with a bout containing a very specific set of rules. In this extraordinary matchup, there was a single nine-minute round and the fight could only be won by knockout.

It took only 30 seconds for the knockout to happen, as Yi Long planted a spinning kick to the giant's abdomen, and down came all 7 foot 2 inches of him. Yi Long holds five world championship titles, including the 2012 CIK world champion, the 2013 Wu Lin Fang World Champion, the 2014 s1 Muay Thai super middleweight World champion, Wulin Feng World Champion, and the 2015 WCK world champion.

His professional Kickboxing record shows 61 wins, 12 losses, and one draw. Along with all this, he also has an acting career, which obviously includes his martial arts. You can see him in The Tai Chi Master, Blade, Fist 2, Copper Skin, Iron Bone, Bloody Battle in Chinatown, Chinese Peacekeeping Forces, Captain America, Boxing Champion, and The Dream of My Director to name a few.
With all these accolades to his name, it is obvious he is a force to be reckoned with.
Lastly, he might not be officially a Shaolin Monk, but he certainly has a lot in common with one.