On the evening of Dec 12^th 2004 we came to Xi An, Shanxi, to see whether the Japanese Kickboxing team had made any improvement since the last time they challenged the Chinese Sanda team in Fuzhou, Fujian. After the tournament, however, we are left without a doubt that the Chinese are technically still a few levels higher than the Japanese at any time. As predicted by observers, the Chinese won all the bouts with an identical result of 8 : 0. The Chinese coach Zhang Genxue remarked diplomatically that the most important role of this tournament's is to serve as a continuing exchange between the martial sportsmen of the 2 countries, as well as to put up a good show for the citizens of the ancient metropolis Xi An.

The 1^st bout of the 56kg category between Liang Gongwei and Yamaguchi Genki went ahead under the deafening cheers of the Xi An audience. Liang dominated the bout from the start with heavy punches and low flick kicks. Although Yamaguchi tried to regain the advantage in the last 2 rounds of the bout, he was still outclassed and unable to show any techniques worth mentioning at all. Liang won all 5 rounds of this bout, an indicator of things to follow.

The 2^nd bout of the 60kg category between Zhan Xueliang and Kashogawa was met with even more screams of excitement. Zhan threw his opponent twice to the canvas early in the first round with a double leg take down. After that Zhan used many high round kicks to completely demolish the confidence of Kashogawa. Zhan won all 5 rounds like his predecessor, to the satisfaction of coach Zhang, who rewarded him with a pat on the head. From the grin on Zhang's face, the audience sensed that the scales of victory had completely tipped towards the Chinese team tonight.

The 3^rd bout of the 65kg category between Liu Xianwei and Mutsutoga provided even more entertainment for the masses. Liu' knocked down the Japanese in the very first round with a spectacular high round kick. The following rounds Mutsu continued to be very 'cooperative', dropping to the canvas whenever Liu wished - much to the amusement of the audience.

The female bout of 56kg category was equally exciting, with Li Qiulian protecting the honor of Chinese female fighters with a clean and unquestionable victory over Kogawa. Li was so exuberant with her win that she waved her fists with a yell when the result was announced.

Before the tournament the Japanese had declared that they aimed to win 3 out of the 8 bouts, and their hopes were with the heavier weights. But their hopes were dashed as the Chinese fighters Tai Puqing, Chen Guanjie, Song Zihao and Pan Hao conquered all of their Japanese opponents respectively. The Japanese team had no choice other than to hang their heads in total defeat once again as the Chinese crushed them in exactly the same way as they did previously in Fuzhou. Final result - 8 : 0.

On the same evening there was another Sanda VS Muaythai challenge held for the first time in Jiujiang, Jiangxi. The Chinese and the Thai side sent 3 fighters each to compete for the 60, 64 and 70kg category championship belt. These Thais were experienced in international Boxing as well as Sanda competitions and proved to be much tougher nuts to crack than the Japanese in Xi An. If not for biased Chinese judging, the Chinese would not have won this challenge with a narrow victory of 2 : 1. However the details of the 3 bouts are still unavailable to me, so I am unable to make any further comments.

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