Video here profiling Wang Weihao a member of the Chinese national Sanda team (currently inactive); He holds wins over Saenchai, the man considered by many to be the best Muay Thai fighter of the last 20 years. He also stepped up in weight to stop former WBC Muay Thai champion Chike Lindsay in a dominant performance. What do you think is the most exciting or aesthetically pleasing fighting style to watch?
Two styles I really love and wish was more readily available are Sanda and Sambo. Communists know how to do combat sports.
Lol, I didn’t think about it like that, maybe those regimes have no problem working their fighters ass off in training.
Don't know much about Sanda beyond the basic kickboxing rules but I have noticed the sport always seems dominated by lighter weight classes. The raw boxing speed of these strikers is pretty impressive, but I find myself looking for some video of heavier weight class fighters and struggling. It doesn't seem like other kickboxing styles have this problem of being a bit loaded down on the lighter side of the weight spectrum. Is it just me and my preference toward middleweight and up or is there a real disparity there?
Well it stands to reason that it's a predominantly Chinese sport. There are not a lot of heavyweight Chinese competitors.
I've always loved watching Sanda, the variety of takedowns, and how that changes a clinch game, makes it a more exciting sport for me. Having said that the knees and elbows of Thai are awe inspiring, and you don't get that in amateur Sanda. In the UK it's not (or certainly wasn't when I was competing) a big sport. You'd have one national tournament a year, and it was rare for an adult weight class to have more than 3 fighters. (My second fight was against a guy who should have been in the advanced category, but there wasn't anyone else -65kg with more than 6 fights, so he fought me and the other guy and knocked us both about, helluva fighter!) Not watched enough recently to say what it's like internationally.
You'll need a BCCMA licence mate (I don't currently have one myself, not seemed worth it with how this year is going!) but it would be good to see you down. You might like Shuai Jiao too, all throws, no groundwork!
Old school American kickboxing. Just personal preference. I like the kicking game and also the overall flow. And while I respect grappling, I really don't enjoy watching it, so I have trouble getting into MMA or Sanda.
There are a few. But sambo (pure groping sambo) is really cool to watch. Oddly enough I find judo a bit more boring. Sanshou would be up there if there was more of it. I love the mixture of grappling in it
I find Olympic level judo to be 5 minutes of reasonable boredom interspersed with flashes of real excitement! @Grond have you seen this? Some fairly exciting Sanda, up to 85kg
I had not, so thank you. Still, these are a little lighter than what I'd like to see. This would correspond to the light heavyweights of boxing, and as much as appreciate all of it, I also want to see some of the bigger crews represented. It's rare, whatever it is, whether we are talking boxing, MMA, Judo, or anything else. Maybe I just have to wait.
Thanks. These are some sweet fights. Really makes me regret not learning some Kung Fu in my youth. Seems like the perfect thing for when you're locked down at home. Only so much bagwork and shadowboxing I can take nowadays before I get bored.
