San Shou Sparring Safety

[kwai chang pain]

Just curious. I've seen clips of San Shou where competitors are wearing boxing gloves, headgear, shinguards, and chest protector. Is this the norm for sparring in most schools?

I'm curious about trying San Shou, but wonder about the safety risk. (Obviously risk is part of any MA.) Are kicks to the knee allowed in sparring?
What do you think is the biggest safety challenge? Thanks.

[xyl]

im new to this forum but ll try to be helpful from what i know

if you are talking about the average CMA school....
doubtful even 1/5 have a full out San Shou program. They all have some
sort of light-contact sparring im sure but dedicated teacher with training
for San Shou, not likely.

If you are talking about San Shou....
There are "standard" rules set out by the International Wushu Federation.
How much these are exactly followed in amateur events is another story.
The boxing gloves and headgear are standard but stuff like fighting on a
platform or ground fighting/locks is different. Alot of it deals with how
strict the boxing commission is in that state. Some states are starting
to crack down and push the same rules on san shou as they do boxers i.e.
liscensing of trainers and fighters (good or bad, its your call). I have
yet to see any san shou event allowing round kicks to the knees, but i
dont remember if its a standard rule, u should check out the IWuF webpage.
Again with amateur events it varies , check on the promoter (does he actually have doctors/EMT guys or just some holistic healer, and yes i did see
that once). i actually think knees and elbows are technically illegal, but
i see it all the time.... actually i see alot of Thai fighters show up
at San Shou fight. Again i dont know where u r at, im sure it varies where
u live.

I'd say the biggest danger is just hooking up with a bad teacher. someone
whos gonna put you out there too early or is just a kick boxer with no
grappling skills. someone who really doesnt
have a san shou program. San shou is like any other sport, you gotta
train for it specificly, outside the normal CMA class of forms, self-defesne
applications, stuff like that. i dont think its any more dangerous than
other full-contact fighting, at least u get head gear here (i gues that makes
it less ''barbaric'' in the PRC govt's eyes)
Of course that assumes u can find a San shou teacher to begin with,
its pretty slim pickings.

Also learning to grapple with gloves is interesting. limits alot on the throws
you can realistically do.

hope that helps

Just curious. I've seen clips of San Shou where competitors are wearing boxing gloves, headgear, shinguards, and chest protector. Is this the norm for sparring in most schools?

I'm curious about trying San Shou, but wonder about the safety risk. (Obviously risk is part of any MA.) Are kicks to the knee allowed in sparring?
What do you think is the biggest safety challenge? Thanks.

[kanik]

Well... For me, San shou sparring starts with pre arranged movements, and only when you are very proficiant and controlled at these, will you be able to do it in a way which is like free sparring... no protective gear.

[xyl]

well i think thats true for any martial art sports like judo, mma, etc. you do alot of drills,
don't learn as much as ``traditional'' training but what you do learn you practice alot to
become proficient, ideally to the point where even if your opponent knew what u were gonna
do u could still do it.

....but i think the original question is how safe San Shou is? Id say its pretty safe as can
be with full contact. got the boxing gloves and head gear. shin and instep protection
i see alot of times. I looked up the official IWuF and they said no knees or elbows; but most
tourneys probably arent gonna follow those rules to the letter. ive definately seen knees,
i know that. they are usually pretty strict with the weight classes.

course im assuming u want to try san shou classes. if you mean san shou competition
without having trained specifically for San shou, i wouldn't do it unless you have some
good experience with full-contact fighting. in CMA for competition the ideal steps
are light contact sparring (continuous such as kung fu or karate tournaments)
and shuai jiao. become good at those and then step into platform boxing. even then
you still need training specifically for san shou, i would say.

I will say though that usually when its obvious the guy is overmatched the ref will
stop the fight, if hes worth a lick of salt

[Studiobuddy]

Alot of it deals with how
strict the boxing commission is in that state. Some states are starting
to crack down and push the same rules on san shou as they do boxers i.e.
liscensing of trainers and fighters (good or bad, its your call). I have
yet to see any san shou event allowing round kicks to the knees,

The first CMA tournament they did in Stafford TX had an unfortunate run in with the boxing commission..therefore there was no full contact to the face..its pretty much a money thing

[Red Rum]

I think it depends on where you go. Remember that sparring is just sparring even when it is full contact. The idea is to improve yourself, not necessarily dominate the spar. If you can do both then great. But I don't mind getting hit and kicked if I am improving.

I can't speak for san shou, but in wing chun, we use a lot of boxing techniques to spar. Sometimes we will use 14oz gloves. Sometimes we will use 8 oz gloves. Sometimes we use bare knuckle (and pull back if needbe).

In feeding techniques, there are no gloves and no protection. The idea is to control your opponent and shut him down into a position where you know you can hit him/her

[xyl]

I think it depends on where you go. Remember that sparring is just sparring even when it is full contact. The idea is to improve yourself, not necessarily dominate the spar. If you can do both then great. But I don't mind getting hit and kicked if I am improving.

While i agree that might be the ``ideal'' attitude in CMA i dont think
its reality for everyone. I mean boxers, mma guys, even judo to a certain
extent; theres money & pride involved. In CMA we dont have as much
emphases on the sport aspect; yet, we still have ppl looking for the prize
and competition. Some of these guys are prize fighters
and dont really care alot about
improving DURING a match. They don't spar at tournaments, they fight.

Course im not sure what you are referring to when you say, " think it depends on where you go"

[Red Rum]

While i agree that might be the ``ideal'' attitude in CMA i dont think
its reality for everyone. I mean boxers, mma guys, even judo to a certain
extent; theres money & pride involved. In CMA we dont have as much
emphases on the sport aspect; yet, we still have ppl looking for the prize
and competition. Some of these guys are prize fighters
and dont really care alot about
improving DURING a match. They don't spar at tournaments, they fight.

Course im not sure what you are referring to when you say, " think it depends on where you go"

I was referring to sparring - not competitions!!
Of course people want to win competition. Yes you should hopefully be a better fighter (more experienced), but by the start of the fight you should be at your peak

Sparring is a class thing

And as for 'depends on where you go', I meant if you go to some schools, there is no contact. You go to another school there might be full contact to the face. So it depends on where you go (school) to train