For over 30 years I have studied different forms of Martial Arts but none of them have matched the balanced power and fluidity of Kung Fu San Soo. Kung Fu San Soo is a fighting art, not a sport. The skills it teaches consist of a balanced combination of punches, kicks, leverages, throws, forms, takedowns, and weapons. San Soo techniques can be changed to suit any situation and need not follow a set pattern. This is important in dealing with the reality and the uncertainty of a street altercation. As you know, you can't do "Lesson Number 3" on the street. It would be great if you could tell your opponent how to attack you, however, since you can't it is important to develop a set of tools that you can adapt for use in any situation. Kung Fu San Soo provides exactly that. Its techniques are practiced with a partner who moves realistically to give the workout an authenticity that you do not get in many other martial arts styles.

Martial Arts, in general, have gone through many changes over these last 30 years. I have been practicing styles that were designed for kicking people off of horses which now include leverages and hand techniques; grappling arts now apply boxing-type punches to their systems, etc. I look at this constant adaptation as a positive necessity due to the increasing number of people learning self-defense, which increases the ability of the average person to defend themselves. The Martial Arts have had to adapt in response to this. What sets San Soo apart from other styles is that, from its conception, it was designed to be adaptable. San Soo techniques work against all types of attacks, against any style, against any form of assault. The only limitations are in our abilities as students and teachers to use the art.

This adaptability is what first drew me to San Soo. When I first saw the style it stunned me to see the realism of the workout and how the fighters used different combinations of kicks, throws, leverages and punches. What I noticed most about the fighters was their accuracy. Each strike, kick and movement was targeted at a specific area of the body. Although the movements unrehearsed and seemed chaotic, there was a method and purpose for each move. At first glance the San Soo fighter appears to be responding to the attack (defending) but they were actually attacking the opponent with blocks, kicks, punches throws, etc.. This idea of being offensive in the process of defending was something that is important in street fighting. I unfortunately knew what is was like to fight on the street, and this unpredictability of what can happen is magically dissipated by the movements of Kung Fu San Soo.

If you would like to learn more about the Art of San Soo or take lessons please contact Master Andre Salvage.

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