San soo and san shoo

[harmoniouswarrior]

so does san soo have any strong resemblances to kempo or wut?

San Soo is straight up combat, not sport (even in roughest forms as MMA, etc.), and not even self-defense. Kempo (I'm using the 'm' on purpose so it can be taken as either American Kenpo, Hawaiian Kempo, or Shaolin Kempo), is more self-defense.

Drawback to San Soo for the street is you don't always want to maim or kill an opponent, but advantage is you'll probably live though the attack. A lesser drawback of San Soo as I learned it is the number of preset techniques (combinations) is few-to-none, so you're relying on 'lower' brain (or instinct) to come up with the right thing at the right time.

Drawbacks to Kempo are: it's a mix of Japanese and Chinese methods (karate and kung fu), and so some of it is too rigid (squared up, straight ahead, responses mostly to single, in-front attacker) for me to deem reliable in all street situations. Advantages to Kempo are: it's a complex art with many, many techniques, so after a few years, you can begin to mix and match your own combinations (and pick out tried and true favorites).

I guess in short, the two arts intersect through their kung fu, although Kempo has more karate mixed in (seems maybe 40-50% to me).

If you get a chance to do work in both over time, it can really turn into something. Gives lots of confidence one can handle any situation with just the right amount of force necessary.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[shogeri]

so does san soo have any strong resemblances to kempo or wut?

Harmonious gave a decent reply.

The better question would be does kempo hold similarities to san soo, and the answer would be yes, but not necessarily strong references.

[Goju_boi]

so does san soo have any strong resemblances to kempo or wut?

San Soo is straight up combat, not sport (even in roughest forms as MMA, etc.), and not even self-defense. Kempo (I'm using the 'm' on purpose so it can be taken as either American Kenpo, Hawaiian Kempo, or Shaolin Kempo), is more self-defense.

Drawback to San Soo for the street is you don't always want to maim or kill an opponent, but advantage is you'll probably live though the attack. A lesser drawback of San Soo as I learned it is the number of preset techniques (combinations) is few-to-none, so you're relying on 'lower' brain (or instinct) to come up with the right thing at the right time.

so what makes san soo so tough? Isn't "straight up combat" and self defense the same thing?

[harmoniouswarrior]

The problem with San Soo for street defense, is that it doesn't differentiate for example between a fist to the philtrum--which really hurts and will stop most attacks--and a fist to the throat (larynx), which will probably kill the other guy. In combat, the enemy isn't going to sue me, the police aren't going to dissect the event and decide I used excessive force to respond, and so prosecute me. In my mind, this is a drawback to San Soo in some schools--no discretion taught, and someone with little street experience is naturally going to do what they've practiced a thousand times, which may be more than they want to live with later.

'Combat' looks good in glossy magazines, and sounds like it makes us tough guys, but it may be overkill (literally) in many street situations.

OK, let's lighten this up, now! I'm getting depressed...

[Goju_boi]

OK, let's lighten this up, now! I'm getting depressed...

let's talk about our feelins