Beijing-based TV and movie production manager Zhang Zehao. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Their fighting skills are based on three legendary Chinese emperors－Fuxi, Shennong and the Yellow Emperor. Liu has been practicing the Cannon Fist, which focuses on speed and bursts of power, for nearly two decades. He says he still has a lot to learn.

Many of his fellow disciples quit classes due to social commitments and the pressures of modern life, such as work and marriage, but Liu persevered. He spends his spare time collecting and organizing written and video materials related to traditional Chinese martial arts. He is widely expected to be Wang's successor.

Liu is aware that certain types of kung fu, especially the less-known styles, are in danger of becoming extinct amid China's rapid economic development and the social transitions of the past decades.

He considers himself one of the young people across the country who are not professional kung fu practitioners but who try to devote as much time as possible to preserve and hopefully pass on the intangible cultural heritage.

A video clip of mixed martial arts fighter Xu Xiaodong knocking down self-proclaimed tai chi master Wei Lei within seconds went viral in April. The incident sparked a huge discussion in China about the merits of its traditional martial arts.

The Chinese Martial Arts Association later responded to the incident, saying that such "arranged private fights" are a violation of the law as well as "the morals and values of martial arts".

Liu says: "Traditional Chinese martial arts are not just about fighting skills. In modern society, imparting and inheriting these arts and the values attached to them are much more important than using them to fight."