What is Sanda? A close look at the Chinese martial art

Throughout the years, there have been many forms of martial arts. For anyone that knows anything about combat sports though, you will be well aware that many of these arts stem from China and have roots in the far east. In short, the likes of Wushu, Kung Fu and others all came from this area. More recently, other arts such as Wing Chun also spawned from the country. Having said this, you could argue that in modern day, Chinese martial arts have faded as time has gone on.

Recently with the growth of MMA, arts such as boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu have all thrived, whilst the likes of Wing Chun have faded a little. That is until Sanda came along and put Chinese martial arts back on the map. Used by the likes of UFC Champion Zhang Weili, it has proven to be successful in the cage which is more than can be said for the likes of other Chinese martial arts. Whilst this article isn’t to knock other martial arts down, it’s more to look at the strengths of Sanda.

Where did Sanda originate from?

Sanda was born out of the Chinese military and dates back to the 1920s. With this in mind, it’s relatively new in terms of martial arts but is still over 100 years old. Originally, this stemmed from Lei Tai which was kind of a Chinese no holds barred form of fighting but then became more organized. After a short while, rules were put in place that included the likes of headgear and boxing gloves. To this day, those rules remain. Such was the popularity of Sanda meant that it was also adopted by the People’s Liberation Army of China and from there it grew.

In its early days, it was also known as Sanshou but later changed to Sanda, which literally means ‘free fighting’. Over the next 100 years since its inception, it remained relatively obscure, but during the early 2020’s it also grew massively in popularity and mirrored China’s cultural growth and impact at the time.

What is Sanda?

Sanda is often referred to as Chinese Boxing or Chinese Kickboxing. In reality, it is actually much more detailed and rounded than just boxing and also involves grappling. Basically, Sanda does borrow from various types of boxing, but can also be comparable to Muay Thai too. That is because it also utilizes elbows and knees. With this said, you could even go as far to argue that Sanda is one of the most comprehensive forms of striking out there. Talking of Muay Thai, it also has a big emphasis on foot sweeps and trips.

Further, Sanda also goes a step further. That is, it also has a big part dedicated to catching kicks and flooring opponents from catching their feet and legs. If ever you’ve seen fighting at any level, this is a very important skill to learn and use to your benefit. Having said this, Sanda also has more options and isn’t just pure striking either. It also takes from Shuai Jiao which is an ancient form of Chinese grappling. Similar to Judo but with less restrictive rules, Shuai Jiao aims to teach those to take people down with strikes in mind. Because of this, Sanda can be considered a mixture of strikes and throws. This is where takedowns differ in Sanda compared to Muay Thai, as a variety of throws are used insted of trips.

Another key point about Sanda is its homage to Kung Fu. As said, it is from China after all. In short, a bit part of Sanda is learning combinations that originate from Kung Fu and Wushu. These days, some people can be snobby about Kung Fu and write it off. Sanda is doing its best at changing people’s views on Kung Fu and can prove that it is effective in any setting. Similarly, you could also argue that Sanda has some parts of Wing Chun. Wing Chun originally descended from Shaolin but wasn’t popularized until after Sanda was created. In brief, Wing Chun is based on close range strikes which uses quick hand movements. Although this isn’t all that Sanda uses, there are elements of Wing Chun involved.

What are the rules of sports Sanda?

One part of Sanda is that it is heavily involved with competition. This means if you train it and have MMA in mind, then competition Sanda can help you prepare for a future MMA bout or career. Like all martial arts though, all competitions have their own specific rules so this can vary from place to place. As China is such a huge geographic country too, it’s rules may differ from place to place. Generally speaking though, here’s the rules:

• Forcing the opponent out of the ring/arena will earn you 3 points
• Significant strikes to the body will earn you 2 points
• Catching a kick of the opponent will earn you 3 points
• Significant strikes to the head will earn you 3 points
• Kicking the legs earns 0 points
• Knocking the opponent out will win the bout
• Combination punches can add 1 point onto strikes already landed
• If an opponent is swept or taken to the floor, you will earn 3 points

On the subject of Sanda as a sport, there are a couple of other rules which are commonly followed. These are that practitioners wear headgear and chestgear as well as boxing gloves. Sometimes during sparring though, this is not the case. Funnily enough, many Kung Fu schools that compete will do so under Sanda rules.

What is the difference between Sanda and MMA?

So far, it’s been acknowledged that Sanda and MMA have a lot in common. However, saying that they’re the same is simply not true. In short, MMA continues once a fighter has been taken to the ground, whereas Sanda does not. In this sense, you could argue that Sanda is more compatible to Muay Thai with takedowns. Another comparison could be that Sanda is a combination of Muay Thai and Judo or wrestling.

For those wondering about training Sanda for MMA, it would probably be best to combine training with separate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training. This is because BJJ isn’t really used in Sanda, and is probably the one area where it significantly differs in comparison to other fighting styles and MMA.

Does Sanda have sparring?

As mentioned briefly throughout the article, Sanda does involve sparring which can get quite tough at times. This sparring is sometimes done without headgear so you can expect injuries. The benefit of this is that it will sharpen your fighting skills and make you better. However, the negatives are that due to its brutality, it can also lead to injuries and concussions. This is no different to many striking arts though, such as boxing which has been practiced since ancient Greek times. Of course, a large part of Sanda also involves drilling too. With this in mind if you do like practicing moves without resistance then Sanda can be trained, however – expect sparring too.

Conclusion

In conclusion, put simply, Sanda is a mixture of Muay Thai and Judo (with some differences) and mainly relies on striking. Although it has been around for roughly 100 years, it is only beginning to take off in recent times. Whether for self defense or for sports or fitness, Sanda offers a lot of benefits and should not be taken lightly. Because of this, Sanda is ideal for those looking at something realistic yet tough whilst also being well-rounded. However, for older martial artists, or those worried about their health then slower paced options may be more suited.

Due to the growth of MMA and Chinese culture in recent times, it’s quite fair to add that you can look forward to the growth of Sanda which will probably become more popular and mainstream as time goes on.