Enbo Fight Club

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Enbo Fight Club
Est.2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Founded byEn Bo
Training facilitiesChengdu, Sichuan, China

Enbo Fight Club (Chinese: 恩波格斗; pinyin: Ēnbō Gédòu) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym based in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Overview

Enbo Fight Club (originally named Aba Prefecture Sanda Club) was founded in 2001 by En Bo, an ethnic Tibetan and retired army police officer. En Bo was born in Heishui County in Sichuan and he lost his father when he was eight years old. When he was 18, he joined the People's Armed Police and started practicing Sanda. En Bo has stated that during his time in the police, he encountered orphaned children wandering in the mountains or on the streets. As a result, after retiring from the police, he wanted to work on helping orphans. By creating a martial arts gym, they wouldn't need to turn towards crime.[1][2][3][4][5]

The gym is known to take in orphans and children from impoverished families as there are many regions in the province that have high poverty rates. Due to the gym's location, there are many members of the gym that belong to China's ethnic minority groups such as Tibetans, Hui, Yi and Qiang.[2][3][5][6]

Due to popular demand of many children applying to be members of the gym, there is a screening process for them. They will be checked for contagious diseases and if they are able to perform satisfactory in a three-month trial period.[4]

In 2015, the gym introduced MMA in its offerings and hired MMA coaches.[7]

As of 2017, the gym has over 200 members where children only comprise a small portion of its membership. The gym facilities now encompass almost 4000 square meters. The gym claims it has 100 professional athletes while some of its others members have gone on to become members of police or armed forces.[2][3][8]

In 2017, Vice Media did a documentary on the Enbo Fight Club which featured Tibetan fighter, Banma Duoji who now fights at ONE FC.[9]

In July 2023, a Chinese MMA movie named "Never Say Never" was released. The setting was based on the Enbo Fight Club.[7]

Controversies

MMA fights featuring underaged children

In 2017, a video surfaced of two 12-14-year-old boys competing in a commercial MMA bout which gained 12 million views and caused outrage in China. Shortly after the video surfaced, the police in China opened an investigation into the Enbo Fight Club. There was debate on Weibo about the fight and the gym itself. Some argue that the children in the gym were being exploited in hard conditions and dangerous fights which was done solely to earn money for the gym. Others argue that due to circumstances, the children in the gym would have been deprived of a potential future in fighting and would end up on the streets turning to a life of crime. It was noted that one of the fighters in the video said he wished to remain in the gym to pursue his dream of becoming UFC champion. Other young members of the gym shared his sentiments claiming that there was no future in going back to their hometowns.[1][4][10][11][12]

Involvement with the People's Liberation Army

It was noted that 20 fighters from the Enbo Fight Club have been enlisted by the People's Liberation Army to form the "Plateau Resistance Tibetan Mastiffs" unit and would be stationed in Lhasa, Tibetan. Their role would be helping provide hand-to-hand combat training to soldiers in the area. UFC fighter, Su Mudaerji is said to be a member of the unit. This happened shortly after the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes at the Sino-Indian border.[13][14][15][16]

Notable fighters affiliated

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Chinese MMA fight club for orphans under investigation". South China Morning Post. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Controversial MMA club trains hundreds of orphans". www.ecns.cn. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "'Fighting for their fate': Chinese kids adopted by MMA club". France 24. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Fight club children beg to be allowed to stay at MMA club". South China Morning Post. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Enbo Fight Club is Molding China's Future MMA Stars — RADII". Stories from the center of China’s youth culture. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  6. ^ Voices, Global (8 September 2017). "The complicated morality of a mixed martial arts fight club for impoverished Chinese boys". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b 闫威. "How a martial arts club helps youngsters see the bigger world-- Beijing Review". www.bjreview.com. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Asia's Top Martial Arts Gyms". ONE Championship – The Home Of Martial Arts. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Inside China's MMA Club for Poor and Orphaned Boys". www.vice.com. November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  10. ^ Bissell, Tim (25 July 2017). "Video: Chinese MMA club promoting orphan fights". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  11. ^ AFP (22 July 2017). "Video of young orphans fighting in MMA cage sparks outrage in China | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Enbo, the orphan 'Fight Club,' divides China online". BBC News. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  13. ^ "China recruits MMA fighters for Tibet border militia". South China Morning Post. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Galwan Valley: China to use martial art trainers after India border clash". BBC News. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  15. ^ KHAN, FATIMA (28 June 2020). "China has now recruited mixed martial arts fighters into its army in Tibet: State broadcaster". ThePrint.
  16. ^ "我州恩波格斗俱乐部被西藏军区授予"雪獒高原抗击队"称号并授旗 - 四川省体育局". tyj.sc.gov.cn. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  17. ^ "【成都恩波格斗】刘平原四战全胜拔得头筹_武林". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b Tabuena, Anton (4 February 2024). "Top prospect Rei Tsuruya shines in tournament win: Road to UFC Season 2 finals - Full results, video highlights". Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  19. ^ Taylor, Tom (3 November 2021). "UFC: Maheshate first Chinese fighter to win contract on Contender Series". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
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