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Origin and Purpose of Chinese Martial Science Part 7
中国拳法之起源与意义
第七
The King Of Sanda: A New Era for Kungfu
散打之王
- 中国功夫的新纪元
Left: An Hu & Teng Jun, China Sanda heavyweights who have put up a good show in K1. Right: The Champions of the 6 weight categories in The King of Sanda 2000 tournament.
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t is with great pleasure that I pen this article, because Sanshou/Sanda in China has finally evolved for the better. As I have predicted, the full-contact branch of Kungfu has emerged from the ashes of dull padded brawling into a fast action-packed tournament circuit - The King of Sanda. Now the rules have been changed to make the fights harder, more exciting. Besides punching, kicking & throwing, knee kicks & continuous striking to the head is currently allowed. In the past they fought 3 rounds, but now they fight 5, as in Muaythai. Bright lights, rapturous sound effects, glory on national TV as well as attractive cash prizes has drawn a lot of different fighting talents, some foreign to compete in this young tournament. It enjoys a large following, which will in the future rival that of K1 in Japan. This year the King of Sanda 2001 will be broadcasted not just in China itself, but also in Hong Kong, Taiwan & Macau. It is a pity that it is not shown here in Singapore, for I'd have love to see it.
Left: Miss Sugida, former Executive Secretary of K1's Director. She has recently defected to join China's King of Sanda committee as the Overseas Expansion Planner for "personal interest". Right: Mr Li Yidong from Shanghai, Manager of The King of Sanda's Copyright Trade Section. The both of them is largely responsible for people outside China getting to see the tournament.
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o influential is this new tournament that it has prompted K1 Japan to pay attention to its growth, which comes in the form of the beautiful Miss Sugida, a former Executive Secretary there. She has gone to China to become a part of the Sanda corporation. It shows that K1 is eager to harness the rising popularity & thus money making power of the King of Sanda. While K1 is raw mass & strength in the form of Kickboxing for only super heavyweights, packaged in fireworks, rock music & relentless advertising, the King of Sanda borrows such packaging methods but offers something more - besides ordinary kickboxing we get to see unusual hand techniques of Kungfu, Shuai Jiao (Chinese Grappling), & even Taekwondo style kicks.
Left: Cung Le delivering his trademark flying scissor takedown. Before the rise of the King of Sanda, He was the only international fighter that could proudly raise the banner of Sanshou to the world. Center: Cung Le throws a jumping back thrust at his opponent at K1 USA last year. Right: Cung Le uses a german suplex. He is one special fighter that unashamedly combines his past Vietnamese Kungfu, Taekwondo, Wrestling, Jujutsu & Muaythai skills to form a new brand of Sanshou unlike any other.
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aving 4 weight categories also allow us to see fights of different speed & power. Beautiful Chinese girls in traditional dresses waving banners, brave men in armour strikin large war drums, fighters with awe inspring titles of ancient heroes - these are some of the things that are closer to the heart of Asians than the Western inclined K1. On April 26th last year An Hu & Teng Jun, both Sanda heavyweights went as far as to fight in K1. This is definitely a historical step for Sanshou. They fared well in the 1st prelimanary rounds, but could progressed no further, due to not being used to fighting under restrictive K1 rules. They were in their own words,"pitting their weakness against other people's strength". They are still not physically big enough for K1. Nobody blames them, however, for they have already proven the indomitable potential of Sanshou to the world.
Left: The young Liu Hailong, reigning King of Sanda, knocking down his opponent with a spectacular high roundhouse. He was the Grand Champion last year. A worthy rival for Cung Le surely? Right: Liu having an interview with reporters during his physical fitness test. This test is now mandatory for all Sanda fighters.
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as Sanda/Sanshou standards come to be able to meet those of Kickboxing & Muaythai? I would say it has come very close - a remarkable improvement in the space of 3 years, since the old days of self imposed limitations, & getting whacked most of the time by fighters of the other 2 ring sports. If we give these guys more time we may one day be able to see the best Sanda fighters squaring off against the best Kickboxers & Muaythai fighters in a truly free style ring competiton. Already the rise of Sanda has created interest from fighters of other styles - a fight between Muaythai & Sanda is scheduled this August. Full-contact Karate & Taekwondo fighters have also come to challenge Sanda, scheduled on July 3rd (yesterday) & 24th respectively. This is all great developements for Sanshou. I gladly look forward to the day I can see Sanshou Kungfu being recognised internationally as an equal of Muaythai, not merely a Chinese imitation of it. Until then, let us give our whole hearted support to the King of Sanda tournament.
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The 3 VCDs of the Dec 28th King of Sanda 2000 Grand Finals in Changsha is now available, but only in Chinese. Champions of the 6 weight categories fight it out to detemine who is the Grand Champion - The King of Sanda 2000. As we all know that went to Liu Hailong, the former King whom the Thai fighters are still waiting to take revenge on, after what happened in the Sep 23rd 2001 Challenge. Its total length is 2 hrs 12 mins. I'm selling at S$12.00 for local guys or US$12.00 for foreign orders, which includes postage fees. Readers who need the 3 VCDs just email me here.
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