Wushu San Shou [13+]

www.wushu.t83.net

After fighting directly with the superior American forces during the Korean War, the Chinese government realized that new scientific R&D is important for its military forces. Army chief Peng Dehuai directed a great military training campaign (Da Be Wu) after the war. Martial arts masters from each of China's 92 provinces were brought together with medical experts to compare and evaluate their techniques. A new hand-to-hand combat system was developed based on three criteria: simplicity, directness, and effectiveness against a larger, stronger opponent. This system of fighting was thoroughly tested in training camps throughout China, and in border conflicts with Soviet troops. The Chinese military published manuals on San shou in 1963 and 1972.

Besides military San shou, civilian San shou continued to be developed by underground martial arts schools and individual martial artists in communist China. Civilian San shou warriors sharpened their skills by street championships where they challenged each other. These kinds of challenges were very popular during the cultural revolution (1966-76) and usually ended by being broken up by the police.

In recent years, sport San shou has been developed and promoted by the Chinese government. In the early years (1980s), there were no formal championships for San shou. Only demonstrations were available on national T.V. Most of the San shou participants were military and police men. Therefore, sport San shou kept its flavour of military kickboxing and wrestling. Lately, the Chinese government have promoted San shou into a nation-wide sport and held formal national and international championships every year.