Fighting for his passion

Open doors, empty pockets

Although primitive and simple, the place exudes a sense of history, reminiscent of the movie Leap starring Gong Li, which depicts the legendary experiences of several generations of the Chinese women's volleyball team.

Over the past 12 years, Bai has lost count of how many children have learned wrestling here.

One reason he can't remember is that this wrestling gym is completely free, with no tuition fees for students, a truly unbelievable fact.

"I'm not in it for the money. I just hope that Baoding Fast Wrestling will be carried on," Bai says, adding that money should never decide who learns.

"Since establishing this wrestling gym in 2013, I set two principles. One is completely voluntary teaching without charging a penny. The second is to accept students regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or region," Bai says, adding that as long as one is willing to learn, he or she can sign up.

Most of the children who come to sign up are from the villages or surrounding areas, with families not particularly wealthy.

"I didn't want to burden their families with the cost of learning wrestling," he says.

This philosophy has drawn numerous students, but it's not without struggles.

Speaking of this, Bai can't help but feel a bit sad.

"Because the training is entirely free, many students lack discipline, and parents' attitudes are not firm," he says.

Some children come for a few days, but if they find it tiring or if parents think their children are suffering, they stop coming.

"This is not conducive to cultivating their good character of persisting in doing things well, so sometimes I feel helpless," Bai sighs.