however, san shou, this i like. ...
...alot of the eastern stuff is also principle over practicality, but san shou seems to be the most no-nonsense of all. throwing, stricking , kicking, and takedowns. this will improve my game overall, i think ill attend starting next month. thanks.
I honestly think that that is just in the Representation . San Shou/San Da are HONESTLY just Rulesets , man . Just like a Boxer can compete in MMA so can a Taiji , Bagua , Mantis , Muay Thay , Taekwondo , Shotokahn , or Xingyi practitioner compete in San Shou rules . Heck , the STYLE that youre learning will probably be an "Internals MMA" blend of Xingyi and Bagua with a touch of Taijiquan thrown in . the teacher there LITERALLY WROTE THE BOOK - called in Bagua Circles "The Blue Bible" - on both arts , and on the art of the Takedown . And in THEIR rules you only have TWO SECONDS to get the Throw , so none of that Struggling that youre used to seeing - your technique MUST be Refined to perfection for it to count for a score .
I have a friend - initially VERY Opposed to both Unarmed MA AND CMA - that joined my school , and about 9 months went by between when I could not Train there due to some family Hardships , and after seeing him anew it was like he was a different MAN ! His Posture , Balance , and sense of personal , well "Grace" (?) were SO VERY Improved that it was unbelievable that this was the same Collegiate Wrestler that I had seen Struggling with his first 3 months of training ! Its not about methodology , because my instructor is ALL about teaching Principle first , then Movement (as in Co-Ordination/Gross Motor Skills) and only THEN moving on to non-Co-Op drilling and so on , his opinion being that you cant really "create On The Fly" unless you know WHY youre doing what youre doing , and that if you dont know the Science behind it you simply wont BELIEVE in it , and thus you will instinctually revert to what he refers to as "Stupid Punching" or "Idiot Boxing" !
Here is what Muay Thai Kru/champion Brooks Miller (AKA Kuhn Kao Charaud) whom started his career studying under "Master K" whom is the Resident Muay Thai instructor at Renzo Gracies school in NYC , was the VA State Director of the USMTA from 1994-1997 , and was certified as an amateur Muay Thai judge in 1995 . Brooks was certified as a SuriyaSak Muay Thai instructor by Master K in 1997 , and since youre a BJJ freak you might like to know that he taught at (Author of The Grappling Blueprint) Lloyd Irvins Martial Arts Academy (1998-2000) , is currently training under Master Bumrong "Danny" Prawatsrichai whom had more than 275 victories in his ring Career , and was undsputed Champion at Lumpinee stadium twice AND Radjadamnern Stadium Champion twice in his weight class .
I tell you all of this so that you KNOW that the Following is NOT the words of some CMA Fanatic , nor are they that of someone that has no Judgement or asessment of the Fighting arts .
Quick background: I've been studying MA's for about 15 years or so, 12 of which have been deveoted almost entirely to Muay Thai and Boxing (with a little submission grappling thrown in).
I went with Djimbe and Tigerfly to see Master Chan's class after fighting on Friday night. I was introduced to Master Chan who is an extremely nice guy. Very respectful and a great sense of humor. He worked with me to the side of his class for a little bit to show me some of what he teaches is and how he defends/counters boxing and kicks.
My observations:
It is important to state that the few drills that I performed with Master Chan were prearranged drills. We each knew what the 'attacker' was going to do first, though we each reacted (countered) without it being 'prearranged'. Also, we only did about 3 or 4 drills for about 10 minutes. I had just finished fighting in the "Mayhem on Mulberry Street" Muay Thai event, and I needed to get back to the arena to meet with my coaches and teammates.
Master Chan showed me some punch defenses. Master Chan is blazingly fast. I threw a punch and he slipped my punch and had clocked me in the jaw before it had registered that he had moved.
It was very obvious to me that he was holding back. When he hit me, he never followed through, but stopped as his strike as he placed it. Despite the fact that Master Chan was not following through on his strikes, I could feel the power behind them. We all know the difference between someone striking you correctly where it feels "solid" vs. when someone hits you wrong and it feels weak and soft. Despite Chan holding back, you could feel how solid the strikes were.
Also, when he was performing counter strikes vs. my boxing, he repeatedly was hitting the same spot on my arm over and over. Very precise, and he successfully "frogged" my arm each time.
Master Chan invited me to throw roundhouse kicks at him. He had an interesting defense where he angled his arm in such a manner that my kick kinda "slid" up his arm into his other hand to make for what felt like a very soft block. It felt like I was kicking a pillow, even though I was laying into the kicks pretty hard. (not full power, but about 70%). I only moved him with one kick.
Now, obviously my experience with Master Chan is very limited. We weren't going hard, We weren't doing anything "for real" We were just playing. What I can say is that my impression is that Master Chan is amazing. I have worked with many talented martial artists over the years, and I really feel that Master Chan is legit, and that what he is teaching is legit.
So like I said , its not the STYLES that have anything wrong with them , its the finding of a decent TEACHER of them thats the hassle .
And youre near one of the best on the PLANET . Itd be like being in the same city as Rickson , or Rigan Machado , or Royce .
Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
. too bad the free fighting/san shou class is only once a week, and for an hour. i hope this is enough. im more interested in the takedown aspect more than anything. taking down ppl then toying on the ground with them with BJJ would be fucking ownage.
