San Shou (Chinese Free Fighting)

Sanshou (Chinese Free Fighting) Sanshou literally translates to “free hand” or San Da “free hit” this is often viewed as the combative side of Martial Arts, where the skills harnessed and trained can be practiced with a partner, also referred to as sparring. Sanshou was traditionally practiced amongst schools to determine the strongest students using traditional skill involving all areas of Martial Arts. During the Chinese cultural revolution where Martial Arts practice was banned by the Chinese government, Martial Skills diminished, during the eighties when Martial Arts had a revival in China due to the success of Jet Li’s “Shaolin Temple” movie, San Shou was re-introduced at a slightly watered down state and was predominately viewed as a competition sport. Sanshou consists of various punches, kicks, knees, sweeps, throws and catches. Sanshou training develops a strong body entailing conditioning skills to harden the body in preparation for sustaining blows to the body. Training in Sanshou at Shaolin Lotus is purely for health, fitness and self defence purposes, our students are non-competitive in San Shou and do not attend competitions. The training is purely to build confidence in body and mind. San Shou is incorporated into all classes at Shaolin Lotus. San Shou sparring lessons are available on the last Sunday of the month, full body protection is provided.