The San Soo Story

[Icetuete]

i recently heard this story... i dont know how many SanSoo schools are affected or whether its true or not. please just post your opinion and whether you think its true/crap and whether its many schools or few, that are run by these guys.

 

in the early days, Jimmy H. Woo and his students practiced his new style 'Kung Fu San Soo'. the beginners training mainly consisted about intense power training and slow motion technique training.

 

some guys didnt attend class regularly because the training was too intense and so they kept stuck in the slow motion techniques. after some time, they went away to open their on dojos and teach San Soo, but the only thing they knew were the slowmotion techniques. Jimmy did not seem to mind it...

 

and now these guys train something with the name san soo that consists of slowly done techniques and they probably think you'll become a super deadly fighter.

 

the end.

 

 

 

so? what do you make of this? i gotta admit it kinda troubles me.

[Treebranch]

Well I studied San Soo under Master Dave Carter and it wasn't super slow, it was half speed training during techniques. The idea was to flow from movement to movement and slowing increase the speed. The BB's would go pretty fast and sometimes get carried away. Two of the BB's were sparring and tried some kind of throw on his partner and broke his leg. Another time someone dislocated their shoulder. Basically at the beginning levels the techniques are done slow so that you learn how to move correctly. Just like walking to running. The thing many people don't understand is that the true training should come from you the individual. Train what you've learned outside of class as well as in class. The class I was in had bag work and punching, blocking, kicking drills and such. We also did randori with multiple attackers and such. I found it to be very practicle and effective. I have a lot of respect for the art of San Soo. That doesn't mean there might not be some hack San Soo teachers out there, but that goes for every MA. But from the way my teacher taught his classes I highly doubt that story is entirely true. I've used San Soo in fights and I always walked away from the fight victorious. Against a trained fighter well that all depends on your tactics. The guys that attacked me were just average guys with bad attitudes and with the first movement they didn't even know what hit them.

 

My teacher was kind of a thug and got into a lot of fights in my neighborhood. This was one of the reasons I stopped going, it just got too crazy. The last straw was when he brought a shot gun to class and had it behind his desk. He told us that if he yelled duck we should all hit the deck. I guess some people were after him. People would always tell me stories about my teacher beating the crap out of people at bars and clubs. He was a Vietnam Veteran, a boxer in the Marines, and an 8th degree BB in Kung Fu San Soo taught directly from Jimmy Woo. Not a guy I would want to be enemies with. So judge the hacks harshly, but don't disrespect the Art. Not that I think you are, but just thought I should add that.

[Rich67]

My teacher was kind of a thug and got into a lot of fights in my neighborhood. This was one of the reasons I stopped going, it just got too crazy.

Hee hee hee... sounds like the same class I was in, LOL. I started taking San Soo through a mutual friend and we basically worked out in this guy's wherehouse that had a mat and a drinking fountain. Our instructor gave us the skinny on biting, eye gouging, groin strikes, throat strikes, and various breaks. You cannot practice that stuff full-boar. I only took it for a couple years, but I remember in the beginning most moves were slow and deliberate. We learned a lot about striking areas, joint locks, that sort of thing, things you really couldn't practice full speed. I had 10 years of TSD behind me, so I was a little more comfortable with the moves, so I usually picked up the speed in class as did my training partners. It can be pretty rough on the body. I had my lip split open once, had more bruised thighs and shins than I can count, and finally tore my ACL when I was kneed in the thigh. Thus endeth my San soo days. Like Treebranch said, it is effective. The whole mentality behind San Soo is to severly disable your opponent immediately before he has a chance to injure you. You have to get the element of surprise; something you can't teach in a class. It works well in the street, and I can vouch for what Treebranch said- it works well. Back in my "wilder" days, my buddy and I used to go out and try to get into stuff just to see how we could apply what we learned. I lost a few, but I was wiser for the experiences, and applied my corrective measures the next time. I'm now older and wiser, and I still say San Soo is a pretty practical style- probably a better base for self-defense than TSD was for me.

[Zhong Gau]

i recently heard this story... i dont know how many SanSoo schools are affected or whether its true or not. please just post your opinion and whether you think its true/crap and whether its many schools or few, that are run by these guys.

 

in the early days, Jimmy H. Woo and his students practiced his new style 'Kung Fu San Soo'. the beginners training mainly consisted about intense power training and slow motion technique training.

 

some guys didnt attend class regularly because the training was too intense and so they kept stuck in the slow motion techniques. after some time, they went away to open their on dojos and teach San Soo, but the only thing they knew were the slowmotion techniques. Jimmy did not seem to mind it...

 

and now these guys train something with the name san soo that consists of slowly done techniques

 

from this description it sounds like Hung Gar, as drunken monkey has pointed out several times. DM, did you get you info from this thread or other experience?

[Shane]

I let my guys pick up the pace only after I'm sure they have control with the technique they are working. I have never studied San Soo myself but from what I know from reading and talking with a San Soo instructor a lot of the techniques are similar to our program and a lot of these techniques you dont want to go all out on they are designed to finish your attacker and in training you can go combat speed with them. Now that does not mean staying slow forever you need to pick it up but thats in time.

 

The story you speak of could be true, or it could just be the way the instructor chooses to train their students until they master the techniques and then letting them progress.

[iron duckee]

at my school, when we first start, we're taught to go half speed, stopping 6" from the target. as you progress, you put more and more power and speed to your punches, stoping closer and closer also. this, as they say, builds dynamic tension..

 

-- ironduckee