San Soo (Fut Ga) Style

[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

[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