Introducing Shou Bo

Shou Bo is an offshoot of Shuai Jiao (chinese wrestling) more or less created -or re-created to be more precise- by Yuan Zumou (shuai jiao teacher in France). It includes strikes and stand-up grappling with the Shuai Jiao gi. While this demonstration from 1991 is pretty crappy, it makes you wonder why it took so long for people to create MMA, when the idea of mixing grappling and striking has been around for so long.

More recent is this demonstration from 2004. I wonder why there is only demonstration footage and no competition movies. As far as I know, that's because Shou Bo is only practiced in France by Yuan Zumou and his students, so there's not that much people who can take part in competitions.

In China, Sanda has been based on a similar idea, (taking some elements from shuai jiao and adding strikes), but the lack of gi and other rules make the kick boxing part more important than in Shou Bo.

More videos here and here.

PS: it seems blogger is blocked again in China, so I can't view the blog, but for some weird reason I can still post.

Art of War 5 : March 31, Beijing

Here are the infos for the next Art of War event (chinese link) : it will take place on March 31st, at 4 pm, at 星光影视园 (xing guang ying shi yuan), and have 15 fights. The tickets will be 200 rmb, and you can call 138 0137 8214 for more infos. Here is a map, in chinese.

There seems to be no english page for now, but I'll let you know as soon as I find one.

Hero's Legends Photos

Ding Zhaoquan has a few photos from the last Hero's Legends event on his blog. Go check it out.

The Ultimate Kung Fu Fighter: Now With Videos !

On FightOpinion.com, Zach said :

someone put this show up on YouTube or Daily Motion soon

Well, your prayers have been answered. Head here to watch the show on the Chinese Youtube, Tudou.com.

I don't know if I should be even talking about this, because I'm afraid it's just more ammo to the TMA haters. But you know, as long as it gets me traffic, what do I care ? (that's the way bloggers think, we'll do anything for more traffic. And I don't even have google ads !).
But I have to put up a disclaimer though. I'll be the first to admit such a show is not a good sign regarding to the state of traditional martial arts in China. However it doesn't mean all martial arts are like this.

Just maybe 90%.

Hero's Legends

I had the pleasure to meet Ding Zhaoquan yesterday. He is very involved with the Chinese MMA scene, and told me about an organization I hadn't heard about before. It's called "Hero's Legends" (英雄传说) and is a k-1 syle kickboxing competition organized by K-1's agent in China. I haven't seen any fights yet, but I'll keep you informed on any new developments.

The Ultimate Kung Fu Fighter

16 fighters on a tv show. Each week, they fight until only one is left. Reminds you of something ? No, it's not TUF, but Wulin Dahui (武林大会), a Chinese show with a similar concept.

The names means "The Great Tournament of Wudang and Shaolin", but the show is anything but great. "The Crappy Tournament of Wudang and Shaolin" would be a far more appropriate name. What you have is two fighters representing their traditional fighting styles, and three 2 minutes rounds. In keeping with the old school spirit of Leitai fights, no holds are barred ! Well, except hitting or kicking the head, cause that would be too dangerous you understand.
And we can't have any ground fighting, or clinching too, because everybody knows it's boring.
Oh and fighters have to wear padding disguised as a bright yellow kung fu uniform.

Apparently the production realizes their own fighters sucks, because after each fight they bring out an old kung fu master to explain everything that they did wrong.

The only way they could possibly make this show suck less would be if they put the old kung fu master in a fight with the annoying announcing duo. And using Brazilian vale tudo rules, preferably.

Blogroll

I just noticed I was getting a lot of hits from the Ichiban Shigaisen blog. I'm not sure what "ichiban shigaisen" means, but it's a cool blog so go check it out.

While I'm thanking my "sponsors" (don't worry, I don't have as many as the average UFC fighter), most of my hits come from Fight Opinion. If you don't know that site, go check it out right now. It's one of the most comprehensive sources for everything MMA related.

[Training Report] Shuai Jiao

This morning I had the chance to go train Shuai Jiao with Michael, who intoduced me to his teacher Li Baoru. Now Li Baoru's not just any Shuai Jiao teacher. Since Shuai Jiao masters are so rare these days, you can be sure that any chinese wrestler, and even judokas, have heard of him or know someone that trained under him. That's because, as Michael put in, he's a "living encyclopedia of wrestling". If there's a way to pull or push you to make you fall on your ass (or your head, sometimes), he probably knows it.

The training was quite relaxed, with a very friendly atmosphere at odds with the rigid discipline from what most people associate with "traditional" martial arts. Here is one art where the belts are only there to hold your vest tight.

We went over the jibengong, or basics, as well as different drills with sticks and even a chain. After that I had a chance to spar with one of the coaches. As in Judo, and perhaps even more so, a lot of the fight is decided during the grip fighting, or qiang shou. You always want to be the first to grab the other guy's sleeve, and if possible prevent him from grabbing yours. This is not the most flashy part of wrestling, but that's what sets up all your moves.

I will probably go back soon, and I will make sure to keep you all informed!

[Article]Sports: Ultimate Beijing

I just came across this article in That's Beijing about Andy and MMA in China. It says pretty much the same thing Andy told me in his interview, but it's still a good read.

[Training Report] Beijing Jujitsu Academy

I had a chance to attend a class at Andy's Beijing Jujitsu Academy last night. There were about 10 students, including the Art of War Pro team, consisting of Zhang Tiequan, Dai Suanghai, and Ao Hailin.

Andy has a very methodical teaching style, and goes over basics a lot. This shows in his fighter's ground game. They have a simple yet effective style, with good top control and guard passing skills, well suited for MMA. Although they have only been training ground work for about a year, they already show good abilities. Coupled with their Sanda background, this should ensure that if a fight goes to the ground, they'll end up on top and stay there. So anyone looking for both a friendly training atmosphere, and the chance to train with pros, you should check out Andy's place.