Cung Le And The Chinese Fighting Art Of Sanshou
Just recently I heard about a Chinese fighting art ….. on the tennis court!
As I was talking with a team mate, I learned from him that he had been a practitioner of a style I had briefly heard about years back, but I never really looked into any deeper.
Until today.
Originated in China the style is called Sanshou (free hand) and at times Sanda (free fighting).
It is both a self-defense system and a combat sport.
Sanshou combines a number of extremely vital and effective elements such as kicking, punching, throwing, grappling and applying joint locks.
One of Sanshou’s special emphasis is the so-called kick-catch, whereby one person throws a kick and the other person catches the kick and then trips the other person’s leg they are standing on.
Thinking about it, that’s what we even practiced way back in my Shotokan karate days. I just made that connection while writing this.
Sanshou as a sport is regulated by a bunch of different rules depending on amateur or professional status and also on the location of where the fights take place like China or the U.S.
Among all the successful and very skilled Sanshou fighters, one practitioner has really stood out for me during the years and he has without a doubt made a name for himself. He is the Vietnamese American kickboxer, mixed martial artist and actor, simply known as Cung Le from San Jose, California.
Cung Le has won too many titles and championships to list here, but I will mention that he won the Strikeforce Middleweight World Championship by beating legendary mixed martial arts champion Frank Shamrock about 2 years ago. Cung Le actually broke his opponent’s arm by executing devasting kicks during their fight.
Cung Le has been actively pursuing his career on the Big Screen and was awarded a role in Bodyguards And Assassins starring Donnie Yen which was released last December.
I found a video clip that I think you will enjoy if you like action-filled fight scenes. Warning: It can be a little rough and tough at times.
15 Comments to Cung Le And The Chinese Fighting Art Of Sanshou
Thanks for writing in.
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Thanks again.
Amazing site look
Truer words were never said
TigerJune 3, 2010
Thank you. Thank you very much.
TigerJune 3, 2010
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
Cung Le Set To Have A Rematch With Scott Smith For The Fedor Vs. Werdum Strikeforce Event…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog 
…
TigerJune 6, 2010
Thanks for writing in.
Glad you liked the entry and added a trackback.
Stay tuned for more cool posts.
Thanks again.
Great entertaining video. Cung Le is plain and simple AWESOME. To beat a guy with the skill of Frank Shamrock, speaks for itself. We used a similar kick catch when I trained in Japanese-style Jujitsu. I’ve seen guys get their knee ligaments torn with this technique–brutal.
TigerJune 7, 2010
Good to hear from you again.
Yeah, Cung Le is very impressive indeed.
And that kick catch you describe is right up there.
Does sound pretty brutal.
Thanks for writing in, Matt.
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
Amiable post and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you on your information.
TigerJune 13, 2010
Thank you for your kind words.
And thank you to your cousin for the recommendation.
TigerJune 13, 2010
Thanks for writing in.
Glad I could help with the post.
Agreed, great site!
TigerJuly 12, 2010
Thank you for writing in, Keith.
Glad you like the post and enjoy the site.
Please come back again soon.
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June 3, 2010