San Shou

San Shou or free-fighting is fast becoming a large attraction at Chinese Martial Arts tournaments. Although there are a few instructors who are teaching San Shou as a separate Martial Style, San Shou is an integral part of all Martial Systems. Once separated and taught alone San Shou becomes simply Kick-Boxing (which, by the way, is not a style unto itself either).

Typically, tournament San Shou is divided into light-contact, full-contact, and the very dangerous bare-knuckle bouts. Full-contact and bare-knuckle bouts are fought on a large, unroped platform called a Lei Tai. Opponents win points for punches, kicks, sweeps, throws, reversals, and for causing their opponents to fall off the Lei Tai.

Because of the variety of techniques which can be utilized in these bouts they are much more exciting than full-contact Karate (Kick-Boxing) matches in which one typically sees the minimum 8 kicks and then a boxing match with an enormous amount of clinching which is not allowed in San Shou bouts.

Of course, true San Shou takes place within the walls of the Martial Arts Studio. It is the practice between to students which develops their timing and reflexes in a simulated combat situation. San Shou training started too early, before one's techniques are perfected, will develop sloppy inferior fighting techniques. Let us not forget the profound words of Sun Tzu in his Art of War - "In Ancient times men first made themselves invincible and then learned the ways of strategy"!