Shenmue Dojo

Alright this is a really farfetched theory but something just struck me. Could Master Baihu actually be Zunming Zhao?
As crazy as this sounds there are quite a few things that make is seem plausible.

First of all, Master Baihu completely hides his idenity with a mask and heavy face paint that, with the addition of the vicious red eyes give hima "ghostly" appearance. Second, he uses Tiger Swallow Style, the same style Lan Di uses.
Third, he is almost the same height as Lan Di (only 2 cm shorter) and he has even has the same blood type.
And lastly, his age is unknown, that always smells fishy. Of course he would probably be in his mid 50s if he really is Lan Di's father but it would be possible, with the mask and paint on his face he could easily hide his age.

What speaks against it is that Ryo could defeat him so easily and that he didn't recognize his appearance or the Hazuki name at all. But maybe he lost his memory (minus his fighting style?) during whatever happened between him and Iwao, was thought to be dead for quite some time and then then the Yellow Heads or someone else found him and "revived" him to what he is now.

What do you think?

You sourpuss you.

I think people give Baihu too much importance. This guy was one of the four guys at first but they changed his pos and made him go where he was in the final game. He's just a test to see if you can be one of the chiyoumen's member.

He also says that he will remember that name because he has been beaten by the same guy and by doing so, you ask your opponent's name its common stuff.

So nope, 100% sure that its not Ziming or whoever else that was supposed to be. In fact, i dont even think that he'll ever see him again.

I know Baihu is originally just the 4th fighter, so there is one to represent each and all the cardinal points / heavenly beasts. And yeah we all know that he isn't Ziming, it's been talked about countless times. That's why I'm talking about Zunming, Lan Di's father wich, as crazy as the theory is, has more links to Baihu.

Imho there must be something more behind the guy then just his appearance in a cage match, whatever it ultimately may be. All the other people in the game (except for flashback only ones) have their real names and age stated, but not this guy. You don't do something like this for nothing.

People gravitate toward mysterious characters. I always think of Tom Bombadil in LOTR. He makes no sense in the story, but it's so interesting to think about who he is, what he is, where he came from. I think Baihu is the same. He's so enigmatic that it makes people theorize he could be just about anyone. And he leaves the player wanting more interaction, more background. But I think he's just an enigma, nothing more. He happens to have the same fighting style as Lan Di. And he may be a member of the Chiyoumen. If Lan Di fights with that style someone else in the Chiyoumen is bound to share the style.

Here's my theory: I think it's more likely that he's possibly Lan Di's student, myself. That would make it kinda interesting since Baihu may actually end up being a friend/rival to Ryo later into the storyline, unbeknownst to him that he's trying to get revenge on Lan Di. Baihu could just turn up later on into the storyline and want to spar with Ryo or just see him as a friendly rival of sorts. A respect for one another, in a sense. That's where I can see it going. I've seen that sort of story trope in other media before many times and since Suzuki will no doubt be getting his influences from martial arts films, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how it goes - Baihu fulfilling that "friend/rival" role.

If he isn't important, I am sad that he is named Baihu. Bai Hu means white tiger and it is the WEST Heavenly Beast (4 symbols) in Chinese culture.
That is a misleading name. Baihu should have had a name change when the game was in development.

why can't he be ziming, xiyings brother?

Ehh, I think Ziming is probably near the level Lan Di is, and Ryo wouldn't be able to take him on as he was in Shenmue II.

Zhao is confirmed DEAD.

Nothing is certainly confirmed in Shenmue. Many surprises and plot twists can still happen.

It's an interesting idea to say the least but I highly doubt it. If anything I think he's more than likely a protege of Lan Di's. I think the closest you can MAYBE get to them being related (beacuse you did bring up some in their links) is that Baihu is a relative of Lan Di, perhaps his brother or something but most certainly not his father. Lan Di is a master of a style based in Tiger Swallow Style. I imagine he mastered Tiger Swallow first and then mastered another style and melded the two together (just a small personal theory of mine). But the point is Lan Di is more than capable of teaching someone that particular style of martial arts. The ONLY people he could have learned Tiger Swallow from are either Lan Di or Sunming Zhao (as far as we know). I've always personally seen Baihu as sort of a lieutenant within the ranks of the Chiyoumen. He's flanked by black suit bodyguards (who we know are basically the grunts of the Chiyoumen) and he hangs out/guards the elevator that leads up to the 40th floor of the Big Ox building so I imagine he was simply just assigned there or perhaps even ordered there by Lan Di to make sure no one interfered with him capturing Zhu. It's really hard to say if Suzuki had more plans for him beyond just being the fourth street fighter but I certainly don't think he's Lan Di's father of all things. I'm pretty sure Lan Di would have recognized his father despite an elaborate disguise and probably wouldn't have gone after Iwao for the sake of revenge (though I do think it was bound to happen due to Lan Di knowing the use of the mirrors).

I would personally love to see Baihu show up again and either have a rematch with Ryo or my personal favorite idea of him helping Ryo infiltrate the Chiyoumen headquarters and train him a little bit in Tiger Swallow Style to help him understand how Lan Di fights a little bit better (let's keep in mind Lan Di already beat Ryo ridiculously quickly and easily). And please people...let's stop throwing around the idea that Baihu and Ziuming are the same person...they're just not...end of discussion. The four leaders of the Chiyoumen are terrifyingly powerful martial arts experts and Ryo will have a MUCH harder time fighting them than he had with defeating Baihu. As good a fighter as Baihu was he's simply not on that level and if Baihu WAS Sunming Zhao he definitely wouldn't have been beaten so easily.

@KX-5 I highly doubt he is Lan Di's relative. He is not even a high rank member of the Chi You Men. Otherwise he would have shown more of a shocked reaction after hearing the name Hazuki.

nskachu wrote: @KX-5 I highly doubt he is Lan Di's relative. He is not even a high rank member of the Chi You Men. Otherwise he would have shown more of a shocked reaction after hearing the name Hazuki.

Hints why I said MAYBE a relative but still unlikely :p. If anything I think he's just a student of Lan Di's or perhaps an old student of Sunming Zhaos. But only Suzuki knows for sure