Sanda (), formerly Sanshou (), is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...

. In

Chinese Language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to " Taolu" (pre-arranged forms or routines). Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines boxing and full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even

elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...

and knee strikes. As part of the development of sport wushu by the Chinese government, a standard curriculum for Sanda was developed. It is to this standard curriculum that the term ''Wushu Sanda'' is usually applied. Sanda may also involve techniques from any other fighting style depending on the teacher's mode of instruction.

History

Sanda's competitive history is rooted in barehanded ''elevated arena'' or Lei Tai fights in which no rules were observed. However, Sanda as a competitive event developed in the military as these bouts were commonly held between the soldiers to test and practice barehanded martial skills, ability and techniques. Rules were developed and the use of protective gloves etc. was adopted. It was originally used by the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

at the first modern military academy in Whampoa in the 1920s. In 1928, the Central Kuoshu Academy was formed, and they sponsored a full-contact tournament. When the Kuomintang government moved to Taiwan, they began holding a full-contact tournament in the 1950s, calling it lei tai. The sport was also adopted as a method by the People's Liberation Army of China, and subsequently civilian competitions developed. Sanda's curriculum as a competitive sport was developed with reference to traditional Chinese martial arts, but since the goal in sports is "winning the match", techniques were adapted to make the activity scoring-oriented. This general Wushu Sanda curriculum varies in its different forms, as the Chinese government developed a version for civilians for self-defense and as a sport.

Curriculum

The generalized modern curriculum practiced in modern wushu schools is composed of different traditional martial arts fighting styles from China and Western Boxing, but mainly based on scientific efficiency. Wushu Sanda is composed of Chinese martial arts applications including most aspects of combat including striking and grappling, however when Wushu Sanda was developed as a sport, restrictions were made for safety reasons as well as to promote it as a non-violent sport. Examples of such restrictions included no blows delivered to the back of the head, throat, spine or groin and the discontinuation of the combat when any of the fighters fall to the ground. However many schools, whether traditional or modern, practice it as an all-round martial arts system with no restrictions, only adapting their training in relation to competition rules prior to the event. Sanda tournaments are one of the two disciplines recognized by the International Wushu Federation. Hand Strikes * Jab * Cross * Hook * Overhand * Uppercut * Back-fist Sanshou

Elbows and Knees * Horizontal * Vertical * Diagonal Kicks * Front Kick * Side Kick * Sweep Kicks * Spinning Back Kick * Roundhouse Kick * Axe kick Throws * Hip Throw * Shoulder Throw * Sweep * Double leg takedowns * Single leg takedowns * Body lock takedowns * Kick catch throws * Trips *Scissor takedown One can see Sanda as a synthesis of traditional Chinese fighting techniques into a more amorphous system and is commonly taught alongside traditional Chinese styles, from which Wushu Sanda techniques, theory and training methods are derived. The emphasis of Sanda is on a more amorphous fighting ability.

Sport variation

Yundong Sanda () or Jinzheng Sanda (): A modern fighting method, sport, and applicable component of Wushu / Kung Fu influenced by traditional Chinese Boxing, in which takedowns & throws are legal in competition. Sanda appears much like kickboxing but includes many more grappling techniques. Sanda fighting competitions are often held alongside taolu or form competitions. Sanda represents the modern development of Lei Tai contests, but with rules in place to reduce the chance of serious injury. Many Chinese martial art schools teach or work within the rule sets of Sanda, working to incorporate the movements, characteristics, and theory of their style. Chinese martial artists also compete in non-Chinese or mixed combat sports, including boxing, kickboxing and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. Sanda is practiced in tournaments and is normally held alongside taolu events in wushu competition. For safety reasons, some techniques from the self-defense form such as elbow strikes, chokes, and joint locks, are not allowed during tournaments. Competitors can win by knockout or points which are earned by landing strikes to the body or head, throwing an opponent, or when competition is held on a raised lei tai platform, pushing them off the platform. Fighters are only allowed to clinch for a few seconds. If the clinch is not broken by the fighters, and if neither succeeds in throwing his opponent within the time limit, the referee will break the clinch. In the U.S., competitions are held either in boxing rings or on the raised lei tai platform. Amateur fighters wear protective gear. "Amateur Sanda" allows kicks, punches, knees (not to the head), and throws. A competition held in China, called the "King of Sanda", is held in a ring similar to a boxing ring in design but larger in dimension. As professionals, they wear no protective gear except for gloves, cup, and mouthpiece, and "Professional Sanda" allows knee strikes (including to the head) as well as kicking, punching and throwing. Some Sanda fighters have participated in fighting tournaments such as K-1 and Shoot boxing. They have had some degree of success, especially in Shoot boxing competitions, which is more similar to Sanda. Due to the rules of Kickboxing competition, Sanda fighters are subjected to more limitations than usual. Also notable competitors in China's mainstream

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

competitions, Art of War Fighting Championship and Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation are dominantly of wushu Sanda background. Sanda coach, Zhao Xuejun played a significant role in helping transition Sanda fighters to MMA. Although it is less common, some Sanda practitioners have also fought in American Mixed Martial Arts competitions such as the UFC and Strikeforce. Sanda has been featured in many style-versus-style competitions.

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

is frequently pitted against Sanda as is

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

Kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, & Tae Kwon Do.

Military variation

Junshi Sanda (): A system of unarmed combat that was designed by Chinese Elite Forces based upon their intense study of traditional martial arts such as traditional Kung Fu, Shuai Jiao, Chin Na and modern hand-to-hand fighting and combat philosophy to develop a realistic system of unarmed fighting for the Chinese military. Junshi Sanda employs all parts of the body as anatomical weapons to attack and counter with, by using what the Chinese consider to be the four basic martial arts techniques: * Da – Upper-Body Striking – using fists, open hands, fingers, elbows, shoulders, forearms and the head * Ti – Lower-Body Striking – including kicks, knees and stomping * Shuai – Throws – using

and

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

-like takedowns and sweeps, and * Chin-Na – Seizing – which includes jointlocks, strangulation and other submissions

Competitions

The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) promotes

wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

and is the governing body for wushu in all its forms worldwide. Sanda and taolu (forms) are the two categories of competitive sport wushu. The IWUF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

World Wushu Championships

Sanda World Cup

Notable practitioners

Sanda

* Liu Hailong * Kong Hongxing * Bao Ligao * Zhang Kaiyin * Hossein Ojaghi * Hamid Reza Gholipour * Mohsen Mohammadseifi * Erfan Ahangarian * Khadijeh Azadpour * Shahrbanoo Mansourian * Elaheh Mansourian * Hüseyin Dündar * Gülşah Kıyak * Mohammed Al-Ashwal

Kickboxing

* Fang Bian * Wei Rui * Daniel Ghiță * Cătălin Zmărăndescu * Andrei Stoica * Bogdan Stoica * Dong Wenfei * Jia Aoqi * Yang Zhuo * Bai Jinbin * Zhu Shuai * Xu Yan * Xie Lei *

Jin Ying Jin Ying () is a Chinese Sanshou, Sanda Kickboxing, kickboxer, who has throughout his career fought almost exclusively with Wu Lin Feng. He was the 2020 in Wu Lin Feng#Wu Lin Feng 2020: King's Super Cup Final, 2020 WLF King's Cup Runner-up. As o ...

* Qiu Jianliang * Wang Cong * Zheng Junfeng * E Meidie * Wang Kehan * Liu Ce * Ouyang Feng * Kiew Parunchai