San Soo (Fut Ga) Style

[Lee Potier]

The diverse, devastating martial art with no stances, animal influence or defensive attitude. Sparring is not allowed as most of the blows are too deadly. The mentality is to end the fight in 3-7 seconds with deadly strikes. Does anybody know much about this form, maybe practice it? It seems like a lesser-known martial art, yet from the looks of things is one of the most effective.

[Knifefighter]

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=mma+vs+kung+fu

BJJ purple belt John Marsh vs. black belt San Soo instructor Scott Shean.

[SifuAbel]

yes , this animal

http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/Pictures/johnmarsh.jpg

[bigdoing]

yes, it is the most deadly one. please, join the art, that way you dont have to waste your time posting here....you know, you cause youll be busy training and stuff....and not have to ask any questions..........you know, casue youll be busy....training....not posting.

[SifuAbel]

Sparring is not allowed as most of the blows are too deadly. .
I must say this always cracked me up.

[SanHeChuan]

I believe he was asking about it San soo not promoting it but I could be wrong. :confused: If not for the "?" i would have thought it a promotion myself, and that may well be what it is. :confused:

Isn't Fut Ga something comepletely seperate from san soo though? :confused:

[Brad]

Yeah, he's asking about it (or just trolling) Sometimes it's hard to tell with newbies :p Anyway, KF gave him a good example of what happens when you're too deadly for sparring :D

[Waidan]

I trained San Soo for about 4 years. Here's a few quick answers for you:

1. San Soo is popular in Southern California (as this is where Jimmy started teaching). Outside of this area, however, it's not very well established. I'm aware of schools in Oregon and Colorado.

2. Nope, there is no sparring, though the reason for this varies from teacher to teacher. They do a lot of "reversal" exercises and similar to compensate, but obviously lacking sparring is a pretty big problem.

3. "Effectiveness" is really in the hands of the practitioner. I'd say San Soo provides a strong fighting framework, and can be very effective with the proper effort and mindset.

4. In regards to "Fut ga" - This refers to a group of offensive techniques in KFSS. Supposedly named for the Fut family (one of the five families that comprise San Soo).

If you have any specific questions I'm happy to answer them as best I can. Just post to this thread or shoot me a PM.

[Green Cloud]

San soo not to be confused with san shou has always baffled me. I think it's more of an eclectic style not a traditional style, and has only been around for 30 years. I'ts a step up to kenmpo.

As far as not sparring because the srikes are too deadly well I don't know about that, comercial MA schools use that line alot because they know sparring is bad for buiss. And I am sure they don't compete that's bad for buisness since most students quit those schools after attending a real tourney and they realize what they have learned is ****.

greencloud.nets

[Green Cloud]

Fut ga is a different style wich looks nothing like san soo, not to mention it's a traditional system.

[SifuAbel]

What Jimmy Woo did was supposed to be a CLF system, hence the fut gar reference.

[Green Cloud]

There have been many systems coming out of the wood working that like to mislead prospective students. Mosty these styles make kung fu look bad since they are desighned to look like kung fu but are just a made up bunch of garbage by guys that didn't have what it takes to learn a real system.

greencloud.net

[Green Cloud]

I'm sorry sifu able can you expand on who Jimmy woo is??

[SifuAbel]

http://www.calvaryccv.org/kungfujimmywoo.htm

http://www.san-soo.net/san-soo-history.html

[Green Cloud]

thanks dude that pretty much answeres my question.

[lkfmdc]

Too bad no one can find anything to substantiate a Quan yin monastery and neither of those stories mention Jimmy studying kempo with Parker before ever opening his kung fu studio :rolleyes:

[FatherDog]

Although I'm pretty much sure this is a troll, I'm going to take the opportunity to say once again that if you don't spar, you suck at fighting.

[Waidan]

I don't know why they persist with the Kwan Yin nonsense. I know they want to be validated with a cool history and all that, but they should just claim to decend from Shaolin like everybody else does, lol.

I don't know if I'd say San Soo is a "step up from kempo". It pretty much is kempo. The only question is who imitated who (in regards to Jimmy and Ed Parker), and I've heard it both ways from people who knew them. I somehow doubt there will ever be any definitive proof either way. There's also a split in the group, and there are essentially two sub-styles being taught. One style (IIRC it's referred to as "DapGa"), sticks very strictly to KFSS striking concepts and looks a bit more like CLF (circular punching methods, some whipping energy). The other system has a lot more throws, joint locks, and looks (imo) like kempo .I learned this second system. The second system contains the dapga, but it isn't emphasized (except at the earliest stages of training) and is performed differently.

I've met a lot of San Soo guys that cannot fight. I've also met a few that can. Same as any style, I suppose.

[Green Cloud]

Bottom line San soo is not Kung Fu and neither is kempo even though they insist on adverizing that they do kung fu.

[Dim Wit Mak]

http://www.calvaryccv.org/kungfujimmywoo.htm

http://www.san-soo.net/san-soo-history.html

I read the story about how Woo challenged the kung fu practitioners to a death match at LACC. The guy was big enough to be a starting linebacker in the NFL. He could probably have made any style of kung fu work for him.

[Waidan]

Bottom line San soo is not Kung Fu and neither is kempo even though they insist on adverizing that they do kung fu.


Well, nice to hear it from the inventor and foremost authority on kung fu. An extremely definitive ruling, sir.

[Green Cloud]

Just my opinion Waidan no offense. I am just saying that these are farely new styles and are not considered traditinal kung fu. Are they off shoots yes.

[Waidan]

Just my opinion Waidan no offense. I am just saying that these are farely new styles and are not considered traditinal kung fu. Are they off shoots yes.

No offense taken...I haven't trained KFSS in many years. You're entitled to your opinion (and I don't necessarily disagree with it), but you seemed to be stating it as fact when you posted:

"Bottom line San soo is not Kung Fu and neither is kempo even though they insist on adverizing that they do kung fu."

That's a pretty bold statement, seeing as you didn't even know who the GM of the style was before reading this thread. A video clip and a couple internet articles isn't really grounds to discredit a style. :)

[Green Cloud]

My intention is not to discredit SS, from what I have seen it resembles kempo. Altough I didn't know much amout GM of SS. I have seen the style up close and the moves and transitions do not resemble a traditional style of kung fu that I have seen.

I do consider my self some what of an authority on traditional forms of kung fu since I have been in volved in kung fu my whole life. Altough I don't consider my self an authority on styles out side of kung fu.

I'm also not stating that SS is not a good MA, just not traditional kung fu style.

greencloud.net

[ewallace]

Although I'm pretty much sure this is a troll, I'm going to take the opportunity to say once again that if you don't spar, you suck at fighting.
Posts like that are the ones that make me check back in on this forum a few times a year.

[SanSoo Student]

I dont know about Jimmy Woo being a CLF guy, but from the tapes I have seen with him...he can fight. The art aims at "brutal" strikes and is supposed to win within 4 strikes. The master I learned under, was part of the old system of fight, which Waidan commented on, adding on that, it focuses on inside hits, getting close to the person, and conserving the power with circular whipping flow through. I have went back to Muay Thai, as I felt I have a sufficent base in that art already. My personal belief is that I need to be in shape and in top fighting fit form in order to develop and connect with those moves I learned. Alot of those guys in SanSoo were a bit out of shape, but when those moves were done near full speed they were devasting. I have seen "workout" mishaps with alot of guys tweaking a shoulder or hyperextending a knee.

In my opinon this art does work to a certain extent as it will teach pretty good basics that are used in most Kung Fu. If you want to learn more about Kung Fu or any other martial art, I would branch out and specialize afterwards. Alot of flow and strikes that I learned in SanSoo I see alot of in other arts. Personally I have decided to move on, as I stopped learning new things after a while in SanSoo.

[Banjos_dad]

the art's name is so close to 'san shou,' but it sounds like the opposite. i never looked into it beyond looking at a biographical piece on Gerald(?) Okamura, i think he may have been a student of Jimmy Wong's at one point.

san shou is no forms and all sparring right? and san soo has no sparring, which leaves forms and maybe jibengong. with a name like that a lot of people may start off assuming it's going to be a san shou gym.

have heard of Fut Ga independent of San Soo, as in Choy Li Fut. and of a left-hand dominant style of Fut Ga. Tai Yim's school

[Waidan]

Gerald Okamura did train in San Soo. He wrote a book (title was something like "Predator Art" or some such)...I've never read the book, though my intructor didn't seem to think much of it.

"San Soo" is a sort of a shorthand name for the style. I think Jimmy started using the term to describe the live technique drills, and later it came to refer to the style as a whole. The name of the style is Choi (Tsoi) Li Ho Hung Fut. I've also seen it listed as Choi Li Ho Fut, though I'm not sure why one of the family names is omitted in that version.

[Banjos_dad]

i just saw another post from few days ago about Tai Yim, what e teaches is called Hung Fut so i was wrong.
Waidan, thanks for the sig tag content by the way.

[Waidan]

Hehe, no problem ;)

[Green Cloud]

I know sifu Tai Yim and his Hung Fut is not the same thing as San Soo.


greencloud.net