Sanshou Uk presents the history of Sanshou

 

History of Sanshou

Sanshou, meaning “Free Hand” or Sanda its more traditional name meaning “Free Fighting” has various different depictions of its history. The following account has been taken from thorough research and study into its origins and its development through the years:

We cannot quantify how far Chinese martial arts dates back but China has fought in many wars for thousands of years which have provided the development of techniques and strategy over time. China’s battles both inside and outside its borders have influenced the change of weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

Chinese martial arts proceeded to incorporate different philosophies and ideas into its practice, expanding its purpose from self-defense to health maintenance and finally as a method of self cultivation.

As time passed martial arts was being practiced outside of military forces but again as a means of self defence. The Shaolin Monks defending their monastery against bandits around 610 CE is a notable story. The visit of Bodhidharma (Da Mo) to the Shoalin Temple has to be mentioned here where he is claimed to have taught the monks two sets of exercises to toughen them up so they could meditate for longer periods. This was known as Zen Buddhism.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries there were at least 40 extant sources which provide evidence that not only did the Shaolin monks practice martial arts, but it had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist lore. There have been many historical writings, encyclopedias, martial-arts manuals, travelogues, fiction and poetry that support this. However these sources do not point out to any specific style originated in Shaolin.

Around 1900 there were the rebels that practiced martial arts who opposed the Manchu’s during the Qing Dynasty and would also use their skills against foreign powers. The failure of the rebellion lead ten years later to the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of the Chinese Republic.

During this Republic period between 1912 to 1949 Chinese martial arts became more accessible to the general public as many practitioners of martial arts were encouraged to openly teach to the public. At that time, some considered martial arts as a means to promote national pride and build a strong nation. As a result, many Schools and academies were created and training manuels were published.

It was during this Republic period that modern day Sanshou developed through the Chinese military. It was based upon intense study of techniques and applications from various traditional martial art fighting systems such as Bagua, Drunken Boxing, Eagle Claw, Five Animals, Hsing I, Hung Gar, Lau Gar, Monkey, Bak Mei Pai, Praying Mantis, Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan. All of which developed over centuries after having incorporated forms that came into existence later.

The Chinese military primarily looked at methods focusing on unarmed combat but also looked into the practice of training with weapons. Their aim was to develop a complete martial art system including defence against bladed weapons and firearms.

In 1924, the Guomindang (Chinese National Party) established the Whampoa Military Academy in Canton province, Southern China in order to train the Party’s leaders and create a modern military force. In January 1923 they had formed a strategic alliance with the Soviet Union. The Academy utilised Soviet methods to establish party discipline, political instruction and training of military personnel.

Between 1904 and 1905 during the war between Russia and Japan, Russian forces experienced heavy losses with the Japanese in close quarter combat. They felt something had to be done and steps were taken to develop better methods of training soldiers for close quarter combat. The project was made official under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1917. The result of this project is what is today known as Sambo.

The Soviet military and the creators of Sambo felt a sport form was needed which could be safely practiced on a regular basis. This would also incorporate modern advancements in sports medicine and training methodology. All of which taught to them under the guidance of a skilled coach.

Under the tutelage of Soviet advisors, the Chinese endeavored to create a similar method of training their military forces. The program was perhaps more important to the Chinese who lacked an industrial base and access to most modern warfare technology. The Whampoa military instructors who studied the traditional martial art styles combined them with the modern training methods and created Sanshou and the decision was made to use a Kickboxing like format when practiced.

Ground fighting was never introduced at this time as they believed that most self defense situations are initiated from a standing position. Furthermore, being on the ground for long periods makes you more venerable to attack and the surface itself could present numerous dangers especially when falling. Therefore Sanshou was developed to avoid confrontation on the ground focusing on skills in striking, kicking, wrestling, throwing and takedowns as well as joint locking and seizing. The idea was to stay on your feet the most effective way possible.

To further improve military personnel the Whampoa Academy would frequently hold competitive events between the soldiers to test and practice their barehanded martial skills, ability and techniques. These bouts would be fought on a raised platform called a “Lei Tai”. Historically, “Lei Tai” fights dates back centuries in China where challenge matches would be fought both barehanded and with weapons. Often these bouts would end in serious injury or death.

With Sanshou being taught and practiced on a wider scale outside of the military the Central Wushu Institute was established in Nan Jing (or Nanking) in 1928 and a National Chinese tournament was held featuring competitions in long weapons, short weapons, Sanshou and Shuai Jiao (Chinese wresting). The fights on the “Lei Tai” were so brutal that the final 12 contestants were not permitted to fight through fear of killing off some of the great masters of that time. There was also a tournament held in 1933 with a similar outcome so changes were needed.

Modern Sanshou developed into a sport at the same time as modern Wushu during the 1960’s and protective equipment was introduced. Gloves, head-guards and body armours would now be worn during competitive bouts. Also, a set of rules were introduced to reduce the risk of serious injury. These rules would allow for a wide array of full contact punching, kicking, takedowns and throws taken from the traditional applications but the use of knees, elbows, chokes, joint locks and submission holds would be excluded.

Officially regulated competition of Sanshou began in 1979 and became an international event at Wushu competitions in 1988. Wushu which literally translates as "martial arts" composes of two disciplines: Sanshou or Sanda (Free Sparring) and Taolu (forms). Taolu would involve martial art patterns and maneuvers both with and without weapons for which competitors are judged and given points according to specific rules. Since 1991, at the first World Wushu Championships in Beijing, Sanshou has played a major role in the development of Wushu. The participation of Sanshou has steadily increased at World and European tournaments since and the first World Sanshou Cup was held in Shanghai in 2002.

Professional Sanda would also develop in China and in the USA with tournaments such as King of Sanda. Those who finished in the top 4 places at the World Wushu Championships would be invited to compete at this prestigious event with all fighters of all weights fighting each other producing the ultimate Sanda Champion. Famous Sanshou fighters from all over the World have emerged through such events such as Cung Le, Rudi Ott and Marvin Perry from the professional circuit. From World and European tournaments the likes of Muslim Salihov, Dzhanhuvat Beletov, Hossein Ojaghi and from within China itself include Yuan Yubao and Liu Hailong who is nicknamed "The Conqueror of Muay Thai".

Sanshou and Wushu would continue to grow and the 2007 World Wushu Championships held at the Olympic Gymnasium, Beijing, China was the highest participated event in the sports history. This was largely due to the selection from this event to compete the following year at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. A Wushu tournament was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which ran parallel with the Games, due to Wushu's place in traditional Chinese culture. Other than substituting the Olympic symbol with the International Wushu Federation's symbol, all other elements such as medal design, award ceremony and volunteers of the tournament were identical to the Olympics. Athletes and coaches were even allowed to stay in the Olympic village.

Both Chief Instructors Paniko Evagorou and Nick Evagorou participated in this Olympic tournament. Paniko was selected by the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA) to be both Team Leader and Coach to the GB Wushu Team. Nick, who previously achieved a Bronze Medal amongst 28 fighters at the 2007 World Wushu Championships in the 85kg Men Sanshou event, cemented his place in the “Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008” where he achieved another Bronze medal losing in the Semi Final to eventual Champion Muslim Salihov. ( Russian Federation)

Sanshou and Wushu continued to attract people on a world wide scale and for the first time a World Wushu Championships were held outside of the Asian continent with Toronto, Canada hosting the 2009 event. Wushu’s push to become an official Olympic event continues with 2020 the hopeful year of its official introduction to the Olympic Games.