WHAT IS SANSHOU?

Sanshou (散手), also known as Sanda (散打), is a full contact fighting system and combat sport developed from Chinese martial arts. Although the term is traditionally used to refer to any form of free-fighting in Chinese martial arts, the term today more commonly refers to the modern combat sport.

Amateur Sanshou

Sanshou is often played alongside competitive Wushu forms competitions. Matches are held on a raised platform called the ‘lei-tai’, and fighters can earn points by pushing their opponent off. Fighters wear protective gear such as headgear, body armour, and boxing gloves. Matches are usually won through the best 2 out of 3 rounds which last 2 minutes in duration, with fighters usually having multiple matches through the course of the tournament. Points are awarded for successful strikes to the head, legs, or body, and for throwing or wrestling an opponent down on the platform.

The top sanshou tournaments are put on by the International Wushu Federation and the Chinese Wushu Association. Amateur sanshou has been recently legalized in Ontario, and wushu enthusiasts in Canada are trying to promote and develop the sport.

Professional Sanda

Professional Sanda differs from Amateur Sanshou in that competitions take place in a boxing ring instead of the lei-tai, and competitors do not wear headgear or body armour. Scoring rules will also differ depending on the organizing body. Chinese Sanda fighters often test their skills in the ring against other combat sports such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Karate.

Sanshou in Mixed Martial Arts

Sanshou has been steadily increasing in popularity through recent years and has been made most popular in MMA by former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le. In Asia, where Wushu and Sanshou is more prolific, its fighters have already enjoyed great success in MMA organizations in countries such as China and the Philippines.