Xu Yan (left) was hired as the honorary president of the Zhangdian District Sanda Association (Photo by Sun Jian)
Xu Yan shows reporters his signed boxing gloves (Photo by Sun Jian)
Xu Yan laughed like a big boy next door that made people feel close (Sun Jian photo)
Xu Yan and his girlfriend Du Qiao appeared at a press conference
Signed poster left by Xu Yan at the Zhangdian District Sanda Association (Photo by Sun Jian)
Zibo, May 5 (Reporter Sun Jian) "China's first batch of professional fighters, the best 70 kg free fighters in China, the most outstanding Chinese players in the K-1 ring, China's first player who really won 2 KO Japanese championships away from home, the first person in China's standing fighting, the owner of the WMC World Muay Thai golden belt..." With these shining halos and titles, on the morning of May 4, the public network reporter met the "Fire Kirin" in the Zibo Sanda Fighting Association - Xu Yan, captain of the Chinese free fighting national team. This time, Xu Yan returned to Zibo and was invited to be hired as the honorary president of the Zhangdian District Sanda Association. The reporter took the opportunity to interview him.
Talk about growth: I have a heroic dream in my heart
When I first saw Xu Yan, I gave people the feeling of being jian jian and qingxiu, rather than imagining it as a "strong man". A casual white t-shirt with a large "Xu" character printed on the left chest. Xu Yan, a native of Zouping, Binzhou, Shandong, was trained in the Zibo Fighting Team, which is his second hometown. "This time back to Zibo, it is also a homecoming." Xu Yan said.
Xu Yan is a native of Zouping County, Binzhou, and when he was 13 years old, he liked to watch martial arts films and suddenly had the idea of learning martial arts in his heart, and he also had a heroic dream. At his behest, his parents sent him to a martial arts school sanda team in Zibo. In the sanda team, the talented Xu Yan improved quickly, and then was selected by the Zibo City Athletic Sports School Fighting Team, and his sanda study gradually entered the right track.
In the following years, Xu Yan continued to participate in competitions on behalf of Zibo Sports School and won the third place in the Shandong Provincial Championship. In early 2006, when Xu Yan communicated with the largest Beijing Shenghua Wushu Fighting Club in China, he found that the professional boxers in his club were very high. That year, he had the opportunity to enter the provincial sanda team, but he eventually chose to join Shenghua and become an "out-of-system" professional player. In the following years, Xu Yan grew very fast, and gradually began to emerge in the top domestic ring and even in the international arena, and achieved good results. Due to the "Fire Qilin" pattern tattooed on the chest, coupled with the unstoppable competition style, Xu Yan won the nickname of "Fire Qilin".
In the interview, Wang Fei, president of the Zhangdian District Sanda Association, told reporters that in recent years, Xu Yan has played against most of the world's top players of the same level, of which in September 2013, Xu Yan became the first Chinese Muay Thai world champion in history WMC (World Muay Thai Council). Now Xu Yan has become the best player in the 70 kg class in China.
Talk about dreams: I hope to carry forward Sanda fighting
When it comes to dreams from childhood to adulthood, Xu Yan told reporters about the different mental processes in his heart at different times. "Since I started learning Sanda fighting at the age of 13, I have had some different dreams at each stage. When I first arrived, I saw my predecessors playing in the city and the province, and my dream in my heart was to stand in the ring of Zibo and Shandong to prove myself. Later, through his own efforts, he realized this dream. After realizing his first dream in life, Xu Yan had the idea of turning a professional player, expressing himself in the professional ring, and even standing in the world's highest ring to win glory for the country.
"Now it seems that the previous dreams have come true. For myself, after playing for so many years, my childhood and youth have been dedicated to sanda and fighting, and now my life is inseparable from this ring. Xu Yan said. The golden age of martial arts athletes is very short, and Xu Yan, who is 30 years old this year, is also facing the choice of retirement transformation in the near future.
Xu Yan, on the other hand, had already made plans for this. Xu Yan said that if he retires in the future, he will turn to the background, hold competitions, become a coach, and contribute to China's fighting in another capacity. "After all, I also went out from Zibo, and I also hope to return to Zibo to let more people know about the project of contacting fighting, and I also hope to cultivate more fighting talents and professional players than me."
Xu Yan is now the captain of the Chinese free fighting national team, practicing for 16 years, and his mentality has gradually become mature from being young and vigorous at the beginning. In the future, Xu Yan's main purpose is to promote and popularize Sanda, free fighting and other projects, so that more people can participate, "Although everyone generally believes that Sanda fighting is more violent and dangerous, but this is a better physical fitness sports." Every sport has a certain danger, and we still have to see its benefits. Xu Yan said.
Talk about girlfriends: Elevator beatings "obscene men" is not hype
Fighting allows him to harvest love. It is precisely because of his persistence and persistence that Xu Yan has gradually become the top master among the domestic middleweight fighters. Passing tricks with the master not only allowed him to broaden his horizons and improve his ability, but also allowed him to harvest love. In 2013, people in the circle gradually rumored that Xu Yan had made a girlfriend, she was Du Qiao, who had participated in some TV shows as a guest and host.
"I've seen my parents." Xu Yan talked about his girlfriend, and the big boy flashed a little shyness on his face.
Xu Yan said he and his girlfriend met on Weibo. Xu Yan's girlfriend Du Qiao is the host of the show, occasionally modeling, filming, but also a sports fan, since she was a child, she hopes to become a policeman, she has also been involved in free fighting sports, but also wrote "Boxer" and other micro-films.
Now, as long as Xu Yan has a game, he will bring Du Qiao with him to "sing with her husband", and Du Qiao will occasionally make a cameo appearance as a card-raising girl in the boxing ring, and the same interests and hobbies have never made the two lack of common language. "Maybe we'll get married in a year or two." Xu Yan's face was filled with a happy smile.
Not long ago, a video of "a woman beating a lewd man in an elevator" was circulating on the Internet, and the heroine happened to be Xu Yan's girlfriend. When asked by reporters about the matter, Xu Yan became shy, "This is a real thing that happened in Beijing, not speculation." Usually, she will train with me when she has free time, and some of the movements I taught her did not expect to really come in handy. ”
Xu Yan said that the biggest significance of this matter is to prove the benefits of women learning to fight, "not only to be healthy but also to defend themselves." Xu Yan also hopes that more and more women will also participate in such projects in the future, so that fighting can truly become a "national fitness" sport.