Sanshou (Chinese: 散手, lit. free hand) or Sanda (Chinese: 散打, lit. free fighting) is a modern Chinese hand to hand combat, self-defense system, and combat sport. Considered as an independent martial art it is just one of the components of chinese martial arts and is normally taught alongside the more traditional forms of wushu. The term Sanda has a longer history and is more commonly used. Sanshou was the official name given to the martial art when it was formalized and standardized by the Chinese government. Later the official name reverted back to Sanda.
It’s history comes from traditional martial arts fighting styles in China, but has evolved to focus on modern fighting techniques and training methods.. Sanshou is composed of boxing, wrestling and kickboxing. Sanda tournaments are held all over the Peoples Republic of China and throughout the world.
Sanshou’s history comes from barehanded or “lei tai” fights of which no rules existed. However as a competitive event developed in the military San Shou became more formalized. These bouts were commonly held between the soldiers to test and practise barehanded martial skills, ablility and techniques. Rules were developed and the use of protective gloves etc. were adopted. It was originally sanctioned by the nationalist party (KMT) at the first modern military academy in Whampoa in the 1920′s. Later it was also adopted as a fighting sport by the People’s Liberation Army of China.
San Shou today is a widely recognized fighting system. It enjoyed a large public venue as the pre cursor to modern mma events. San Shou is a very popular competitor to Muay Thai in China and Thailand as the two styles kickboxing compliment each other to make for a exciting match.
San Shou in America has continued to evolve by adopting kicks from Muay Thai and better punching techniques from boxing and transitioning from the Lei Tai pad to a Boxing Ring. Many modern mma fighters practice San Shou to polish their stand up fighting as it most closely resembles their sport on their feet.
