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The results are in. Chinese Sanda fighters have defeated muay thai in the Sanda vs muay thai challenge that happened yesterday. Although the 4-3 score is not nearly as one sided as the Chinese fighters' usual victories (which are usually in the area of 4-0, 3-1, etc), it is victory nonetheless. Various Sanda champions faced off with some legit muay thai champions from around the world. The muay thai side i think was overconfident and foolish and probably didn't prepare enough to face off with this style of fighting. The Chinese on the other hand were very smart and have been dissecting muay thai and how to counter it for awhile now. The thai side was even dumb enough to let the Chinese impose a rule of no elbow strikes and no knees to the head! The Chinese also limited themselves by using a rule of no offensive throws, only defensive throws (which doesn't make too much of a huge difference since san shou type throwing is usually most effective when used as a defense/counter to an overzealous attacker rushing in with strikes). Still, by all accounts it was a very interesting event and even with the rules imposed on them and their lack of experience fighting san shou, the muay thai fighters still put up a great fight and showed the Chinese that beating muay thai would not be the cakewalk that beating karate, kickboxing and TKD was.
It is worth noting that this event was actually a prelude to the main sanda/muay thai challenge which is slated to happen later this month. This next time, the thais will have no rules restricting their weapons. Hopefully they will be smart enough to learn from this first defeat and go in more prepared this time around. Much props to the Chinese. They've been working hard and taking it to everyone and have proved themselves formidable athletes. The Sanda guys have done what the classical kung fu guys have not been able to do for decades: bring victory and honor back to the chinese martial tradition. I think it is very likely that we'll see a much better fight from the thais next time, but until that day comes, it is a dark day for muay thai. This is one of the only and one of the biggest publicized defeats of muay thai to another Asian ring fighting sport in history. The Thai people take such great pride in their art (which is why it is their national sport) and I have a feeling that this bitter defeat will send shockwaves through Thailand.
For those of you who don't know, Sanda/San Shou is a new wave Chinese MA/fighting sport. It's also known as Chinese kickboxing. Basically its kickboxing with throws (similar to Draka or Shootboxing). The art itself combines techniques from kung fu, kickboxing and Chinese and freestyle wrestling. It was initally largely based on the kung fu system taught to the Chinese military and police. In their efforts to further promote the sport, the Chinese have done various challenge matches against teams from other fighting sports. They have decimated American kickboxing 4 times in a row (it has been an annual challenge since 1997 or 98), they have beaten a team of American boxers, and they've also mopped up the floor with Japanese full contact karate and Korean TKD teams. They have now just barely pulled victory against muay thai, and there will be yet another muay thai challenge late this month. This time, there will be no rules restricting muay thai technique. In any case, the Chinese fighters have been proving their ability time and time again. This sport may in the future find a link to MMA.
It is worth noting that this event was actually a prelude to the main sanda/muay thai challenge which is slated to happen later this month. This next time, the thais will have no rules restricting their weapons. Hopefully they will be smart enough to learn from this first defeat and go in more prepared this time around. Much props to the Chinese. They've been working hard and taking it to everyone and have proved themselves formidable athletes. The Sanda guys have done what the classical kung fu guys have not been able to do for decades: bring victory and honor back to the chinese martial tradition. I think it is very likely that we'll see a much better fight from the thais next time, but until that day comes, it is a dark day for muay thai. This is one of the only and one of the biggest publicized defeats of muay thai to another Asian ring fighting sport in history. The Thai people take such great pride in their art (which is why it is their national sport) and I have a feeling that this bitter defeat will send shockwaves through Thailand.
For those of you who don't know, Sanda/San Shou is a new wave Chinese MA/fighting sport. It's also known as Chinese kickboxing. Basically its kickboxing with throws (similar to Draka or Shootboxing). The art itself combines techniques from kung fu, kickboxing and Chinese and freestyle wrestling. It was initally largely based on the kung fu system taught to the Chinese military and police. In their efforts to further promote the sport, the Chinese have done various challenge matches against teams from other fighting sports. They have decimated American kickboxing 4 times in a row (it has been an annual challenge since 1997 or 98), they have beaten a team of American boxers, and they've also mopped up the floor with Japanese full contact karate and Korean TKD teams. They have now just barely pulled victory against muay thai, and there will be yet another muay thai challenge late this month. This time, there will be no rules restricting muay thai technique. In any case, the Chinese fighters have been proving their ability time and time again. This sport may in the future find a link to MMA.
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