Hi guys and gals

I train in BJJ and want to do a CMA as well. I am thinking of either San Shou (Hung Gar based) or Wing Chun. Which of these two would you suggest to compliment my BJJ and for self defense.

Cheers

See that search box in the corner? That will give you multiple thread on Wing chun. You will quickly see the majority consensus about the chun. Sanshou, as long as they compete, is fine. I'd say focus on your BJJ for now.

Yeah, the consensus about the Chun looks bad.....hmmmmm. What about Jow Gar Kung Fu? There is a school close by as well and they do San Shou as well but I don't think they compete. The San Shou school I'm looking at do compete in Wushu and San Shou competitions. I'm leaning towards the San Shou as I think the striking and throws will compliment BJJ well.
Standing- San Shou
Clinch- San Shou
Ground- BJJ

Thoughts?

If they compete their is a smaller chance of learning BS. If they do no compete the BS chance rises substantially.

Try the San Shou and then come back here and tell us how soon untill you get to spar. If they spar quickly, then you are good. If they say that they don't spar or they only spar at higher levels, then leave.

I'm leaning towards the San Shou as I think the striking and throws will compliment BJJ well.
Standing- San Shou
Clinch- San Shou
Ground- BJJ

Thoughts?


Solid. I train in Choy Li Fut/Longfist based Kung Fu with an emphasis on the San Da ruleset. I also do teh Chun (kind-of) and my WC based style has a serious lack of application when used solely for the purpose of getting the fight to the ground. My instructor has even told me that the clinch/takedown techniques he teaches almost exclusively come from Kempo and Dumog.

IMO, the Chun is useful to bridge the striking and clinching aspects of a fight, but not to be used as your primary style. What you have in mind looks good, but incorporating SOME Wing Chun into your style can be beneficial to what you are learning.

IMO, the Chun is useful to bridge the striking and clinching aspects of a fight, but not to be used as your primary style. What you have in mind looks good, but incorporating SOME Wing Chun into your style can be beneficial to what you are learning.
No. This is a refrain we hear a ton for many CMA styles. If you want to train something else for fun go ahead. Muay Thai and kickboxing do this well. Good Sanshou will do the same thing.

A thing to maybe worry about with the way you're thinking is as a beginning Sanda practitioner, I'm not all that convinced it's easy to go from Sanda style throws to groundwork.

Anecdotally I saw a Sanda-rules tournament last weekend with WC guys and even aikidoka competing. One WC guy did alright, but there were no apparent advantages to the style. He had long arms but didn't use his range, preferring to let people come close, land a few strike and get thrown. Hardly representative of course.

Sanda / Sanshou will teach you awesome counters to people striking you.

Hi guys and gals

I train in BJJ and want to do a CMA as well. I am thinking of either San Shou (Hung Gar based) or Wing Chun.

Hmm. Who is going to teach you Hung Ga, and what kind?

Sanshou is good but it's a modern sport, not a traditional art. BJJ is a great complement to CMA because the ground it pretty much a universal weakness in CMA. I guess it could go the other way around too. I don't see why some CMAs would complement BJJ better than others... I guess the internal arts and Baji would be good since they like to get close, and BJJ tends to be more internal or soft as well. Tim Cartmel is a well-known example of this at shenwu.com.

With CMA as with most arts the instruction matters much more than the style.

Sanshou is good but it's a modern sport, not a traditional art. It is both traditional and Modern. It's a traditional CMA ruleset that was updated, no killing, for modern times.

I guess the internal arts and Baji would be good since they like to get close, and BJJ tends to be more internal or soft as well. Tim Cartmel is a well-known example of this at shenwu.com.

i wish that people would stop using tim cartmel as an example of how the so-called internal arts are a great compliment to BJJ. IMHO the more valuable lesson to be learned would be how *rare* it is to find someone with both good, fight-oriented CMA training and a mind open enough to embrace BJJ as a way to compliment their training.

the OP would be wise to realize that the chances of finding a good CMA sifu are very small, and that his goal should be to find the best striking coach they can find, regardless of style.

the OP would be wise to realize that the chances of finding a good CMA sifu are very small

^ This. I know there are both Tang Fong and Lam family schools in Australia, and if it's not one of these schools I'd be wary...

How about a link OP?

It is both traditional and Modern. It's a traditional CMA ruleset that was updated, no killing, for modern times.

Interesting. What are you calling traditional Sanshou, the way military trains it? That's not much older is it? Is it that the art of Sanshou was updated with new rules, or that a new sport was created which happens to have the same name as something else?

i wish that people would stop using tim cartmel as an example of how the so-called internal arts are a great compliment to BJJ. IMHO the more valuable lesson to be learned would be how *rare* it is to find someone with both good, fight-oriented CMA training and a mind open enough to embrace BJJ as a way to compliment their training.

Unfortunately it is all too rare. And like you said not just for internal CMA but for all of CMA. I think that says more about the traditions and mindset of the practitioners than how well the styles actually complement each other. Of course quality instruction trumps style any day.

new sport was created which happens to have the same name as something else?

This. San da/san shou was the original sparring component of CMA schools. It was de-emphasized throughout the 20th century as empty handed fighting became less common/necessary for the average Chinese, and taolu became emphasized, leading to the many shitty CMA schools we see today.

Where empty handed fighting never lost its emphasis or importance was in the Chinese military, so it was there that san shou was able to live on...and continue evolving into the military training/sport you're referring to. But in a traditional school pre-20th century, san shou would have been a seamless part of the training.

Back then if your kung fu was weak from a lack of training san shou, you'd probably end up dead. People today are free to do taolu all day long and never have to worry it won't help them in a confrontation.