Chung-Hua Institute

An old friend of mine from the San Jose area called me late one night to tell me he was coming to Los Angeles for an audition and asked if I would meet him at the airport. It was America's top kung-fu fighter, Cung Le. Cung and I hadn't seen each other for a couple of years, and we spent time catching up and talking about old times, current projects, and future hopes. During our couple of hours together, I took the opportunity to catch up with an old friend and get the newest information about Sanshou, the modern sparring format being promoted in Chinese martial arts tournaments.

Sanshou is one of the most exciting fighting sports around today. A sport with the power kicks of muay Thai, the punches of boxing, and the vicious throws of Shuai-Chiao, Sanshou fighters are some of the most well rounded stand-up fighters around. For modern Chinese style martial artists, this arena is the new proving grounds for their sparring skills.

With its roots in traditional Chinese challenge matches, Sanshou's basic format was born on an open platform, known in Chinese as the lei tai, which is similar to a boxing ring with no ropes. Surrounding the platform were wooden spikes, which assured that a fall from the lei tai would clearly designate the winner by killing or severely injuring the loser. Fighters from the many different styles and schools would challenge one another and ascend the lei tai, using whatever techniques were part of their style to win by either knocking their opponent out, forcing them to submit, or launching them off the platform.

Nowadays, this early version of Chinese no-holds-barred fighting is a bit less gory and a lot more palatable for the crowds and the promoters. According to Le, who has proven his skills in several International Wushu-Kungfu Federation (IWUF) tournaments, "The rules can vary slightly from tournament to tournament because of the promoters, but the basic format is the same. Hand and leg strikes are basically allowed anywhere other than to the back, the groin, and against joints. No headbutting, elbows, or knees are allowed in international competition, but the Chinese definitely throw elbows and knees in their domestic bouts. Throws can be executed from almost any position, and they're scored according to the height of the throw and the position of the thrower, but the action stops momentarily when a fighter goes to the ground. This is the only part where Vale Tudo style tournaments have the edge - groundwork. Most sanshou athletes would have a rough time if they got taken down in an NHB ring."

Winners are decided by scoring the rounds, unless a knockout results, much like boxing. The scoring rules differ between amateur and professional bouts, as do the number and duration of rounds. In his professional fights, Le has seen a few different formats. The ISKA format goes for eight two-minute rounds with stop time for referee intercession. Other fights might go from five to eight rounds of two to three minutes, depending on whether the stop clock is used. Amateur bouts usually feature two minute rounds, with the victor scoring higher in two out of three rounds. Three countries are the major powerhouses on the professional level according to Le: "The US, China, and Russia are the big players on the international scene right now. The ISKA is promoting sanshou fights in the US, China has sanshou fights all the time, and Russia has draka, which is basically the same as sanshou. From what I've seen, the Russians are better punchers and wrestlers, but the Chinese are stronger in kicking, catching, and sweeping. The Iranians are another country to watch, as their fighters train with the Olympic wrestling team in their country."

To achieve his victories in the sanshou arena, Cung Le's formula is a harsh one. His fighting goals are ambitious, and he puts in the work needed to achieve his goals. "I don't want people to say 'Wow! That was a great fifth round!' I want them to be on the edge of their seats from the opening bell. I don't want to just win my fights. I want to win them decisively, using strong technique that most people only see in demonstrations," explains Le. For anyone that's seen his fights, Le routinely uses flying scissor takedowns, suplex throws, flying kicks, and vicious strikes to punish those who step into the ring with him.

Implementing such exciting techniques comes with a price. Le's training regimen is fearsome. In the ring, he focuses on keeping all his tools in top form. Drills progress from punching, to kicking, to wrestling and takedowns, and finally combining them in full sanshou style sparring. In addition to his methodical approach to the sanshou ring, he also spends many hours in the weight room and pushing his cardiovascular endurance with everything from roadwork to his special cardio-paddle drills. "If the other fighter is working ten hours, I'll work twenty," says Le. "I'm going to make sure that when I step into the ring I'm as prepared as I can possibly be. I want to win like a champion, but everything you want has a price. I make sure to pay mine. When I mix it up with my opponent, I'm bringing a war to him. Someone comes in hard, I come in harder. I don't pace myself. I'm there to win hard and fast. Get in and get out, like a quick day at the office."

The pain that Le endures as part of his training regimen has helped him to pave a bright future for sanshou. "People have told me that I make the fights exciting for them to watch, and that's something I want to continue for them. If I can continue to draw people into training for sanshou and increase their awareness and enthusiasm for it, then I'm happy. I want to do for sanshou what Michael Jordan did for basketball. People who never watched basketball before would go to games or watch the games on TV, just to see him work his magic," Le explains. He continues, "sanshou needs more exposure and better fighters to take martial arts sports entertainment to the next level. There have been lots of exciting fights that the public never had a chance to see since the sport doesn't get as much exposure as others. Hopefully that'll change in the future. It's such an exciting sport to watch, and there's very little time when a match is moving slow. If the general public had more exposure to it, they'd get addicted. Corporations like Gatorade, MCI, and Jeep could pick up on the marketing value of such an exciting sport." With increasing participation from other countries and kung-fu schools across the country, the future of sanshou looks promising, and Cung Le will be pushing hard to keep it that way.

About the subject: Cung Le is America's most visible sanshou fighter and champion. You can find his website at www.cungle.com, or visit his headquarters at 1275 Piedmont Road, Suite 10 in San Jose, California