A 39-year-old woman from Beijing said she was shopping with her 70-year-old mother and her two children at a mall in Phuket when an aggressive white man suddenly confronted her mother.
Zhang did not apologise, instead walked away, turned around and swore at them, the statement said.
A video taken by Zhang shows the men giving the finger and yelling vulgarities aimed at China, and was filmed by a Thai woman accompanying him, who yelled abuse at the men in Thai, Zhang said.
A man rudely bumped into a family and refused to apologise, sparking a brawl. Photo: Toutiao
Zhang quickly became annoyed and tried to reason with her, but he pushed her to the ground, the complaint said.
Zhang said she and her mother went to fight off the man who was trying to escape.
When security officers rushed to intervene, the mother and daughter each grabbed the man's arms, ripping his T-shirt as he struggled to get away.
Zhang said he wasn't scared of the tall man.
“I know I'm no match for him, but I'm fearless,” she said on Douyin.
“I don't want my family to be bullied, especially when I'm not in China,” she said.
She told mainland Chinese media outlet Southern Metropolis Daily that she has been running a Muay Thai boxing studio in Phuket for nearly 10 years, and her husband is a local.
She practiced a lot in her own studio and watched martial arts matches as a hobby.
A video filmed and uploaded by a passerby showed Zhang's mother being even braver than her daughter as she fought the bullies to protect her daughter.
The pair have been met with reverence on social media in mainland China.
“This guy picked the wrong target. What an amazing woman,” one person commented on Douyin.
“I wonder if he thanked her for designing such a lovely cardigan?” another joked.
The man continued to try to leave after security arrived, so Zhang wrote down the man's taxi number and called the police.
It didn't end well for the tough white guy, who ripped his shirt to shreds and walked away angrily. Photo: Toutiao
Zhang said the man left bruises on her arms and legs.
She demanded an apology, but the man refused to do so unless Zhang and her mother also apologized.
Zhang rejected the request, and police said the man, whose identity has not been released, would appear in court in his own defence.
Zhang said such minor clashes usually end with a 500 baht (US$15) fine from the court, but he has no intention of letting it go.
She asked her lawyer to obtain more CCTV footage from the mall and said she intends to have the man deported from Thailand.
His nationality has not been reported, but Zhang said on Douyin that he is American.
