The Science of San Shou
by Mark Cheng, L.AC.

Some people incorrectly refer to san shou as a separate martial style, but this Chinese full-contact sparring format is really only a set of rules under which a fighter can test his skills in the ring. Chinese military personnel and police officers first practiced it at venues where they could compare their combative skills in a sport format. It has since evolved into a professional sport that attracts athletes from China, Russia, Iran, Brazil, America and many other countries.

Jason Yee is the first American to bag a medal in an international san shou competition. He’s the only American to win major championships in traditional kung fu forms, modern wushu hand/weapons forms and san shou. As a coach, he was instrumental in taking Josh Bartholomew, Al Lorieux, Rudi Ott and Marvin Perry to their championship titles.

Yee’s background includes traditional southern-style kung fu, as well as modern wushu, giving him a unique vantage point from which to assess the pros and cons of both schools of thought in full-contact fighting. While staying in southern China to study the martial arts, he was exposed to the san shou format of sparring, which was radically different from what he’d seen on the U.S. kickboxing circuit.

“The first time I saw san shou back in 1988, I was blown away,” Yee recalls. “The plethora of kicks, punches, throws and takedowns was the closest thing to real free fighting available to Chinese martial arts practitioners, and I knew I had to learn it.

“Everything in san shou is a yin and yang relationship. Your stance, your mind-set, your footwork, your body mechanics and your strategies have to be flexible. The fighters who go in thinking they can use one stance, one way of hitting, one way of kicking and one way of grappling are missing the point. This fighting format is designed to be san, or ‘free,’ so the best fighters have to have free minds.”

The basic stance should begin with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Your lead foot should be sufficiently far in front of your rear foot to enable you to create leverage when you need to push forward without feeling like you’re falling backward, Yee says. You should also be able to withstand force in the four principle directions.

“For long range, especially kicking, stances can be narrower and higher for more mobility,” he says. “But you have to be able to switch to a more deeply rooted stance in a grappling situation. You have to have flexibility in applying elements of yin and yang in your footwork and fighting—switching between hard and soft, grounded and light.”

Your posture should always be unpredictable. “Never keep your head moving along a [predictable] line,” Yee says. “It should move side to side as your body moves, and your punches should be thrown in coordination with your weight.” This transfer of weight facilitates having each punch set up the next one, a concept that’s based on the traditional understanding of rooting and thrusting from the ground.  “While often taught in traditional martial arts, striking with leverage is rarely practiced well,” he says.

The trademark foot attack of the san shou fighter is the side kick. Chinese practitioners use this technique more liberally in competition than do practitioners of other systems. However, few realize how different the san shou side kick is from that of karate or taekwondo.

“There’s more of a bucking or stomping thrust to it, as opposed to a snapping thrust,” Yee says. “The sliding and shuffling of the supporting foot and other footwork patterns [give it] incredible reach.”

The high and tight retraction of the leg allows you to kick at close range, he adds. “The way the kick retracts allows it to be used repeatedly, and it can be thrown several at a time—just like a jab.”

Many fighters fail to develop the requisite flexibility in their footwork or the keen understanding of distancing that’s crucial to tournament success. Furthermore, most spend plenty of time training to develop even more powerful punches and kicks, but few remember that deft footwork is what gets them into a position from which they can successfully launch those attacks.

It’s crucial that you can sidestep, pivot, advance or retreat at will, Yee says. You need to able to make rapid switches between fluid footwork and solid stances.

San shou’s emphasis on distancing goes right back to its philosophical roots: using yin to overcome yang, and vice versa. “A good puncher might be best handled by keeping him outside with good kicks, while a good kicker might be best neutralized by getting in punching and grappling range,” Yee says. “On the other hand, a good grappler might best be dealt with by keeping him outside at long range.

“San shou is constantly being developed by actual fighting; it’s not just theories and demonstrations. That’s why it keeps its practicality. Many traditional martial artists spend a lot of time practicing only forms or techniques. San shou keeps it real by bringing the focus back to the original goal: fighting.”

About the author: Mark Cheng is a traditional Chinese-medicine physician and martial arts researcher based in West Los Angeles. To contact him, visit http://www.chung-hua.com. For more information about Jason Yee, visit http://www.jasonyeekungfu.com or send e-mail to jasonyeekungfu@aol.com.