5 Badass Kung Fu Fighters Who PROVED That Kung Fu is Legit

the Sanda takedown options are quite open, I found it was a great way to integrate a variety of takedowns from the striking range.
My experience was double leg shoots were not taught so well, but that may just have been a criticisms of the clubs I trained at.

One FC has certainly provided a great opportunity for more Sanda practitioners to implement with the ground game.

I think it's good to have an art like Sanda which helps focus on the striking and strike transition to takedown to build that portion of the fight game.

 

Vince, I wasn’t aware that Muay Thai had anything to do with the origins of Sanda. Where did you find this? This is the oft-quoted history of Sanda. (The context for my interest is that I’m a Muay Thai guy who’s switched to Sanda.)

Incidentally, Sanda being 70 years old sounds young. But that’s actually older than many other arts!

I agree with the criticism, but it’s only a very minor criticism from my perspective. While Sanda roundhouse kicks don’t match Muay Thai roundhouses, Sanda sidekicks are excellent. I haven’t found Sanda punching any better or worse than Muay Thai (i.e. neither can match Western boxing).

Also, I’ve found “Sanda” is quite a generalised term. All the instructors I know had a traditional kung fu background and their particular style of kung fu influenced their Sanda far more than I expected.

I agree. Some Sanda clubs have been dipping a toe into ground work for years, but they attribute this to Dog Style kung fu (a ground fighting style of kung fu).

 

There's a Wiki article but it is vague about dates and sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanshou
I'll try and find the sources of the differing views of San Da history. (I have no strong opinion).

 

As dar as I'm aware Sandra dates back to the 20s and was heavily influenced by the Russians
Following is from research David ross did, there is little research in this area but those familiar with Ross know he is one of the few with a grasp on both history and an indoor student of a man recognized as a national treasure of Chinese martial arts