Sanshou: Why Fewer Injuries?

[Monarch]

A 2007 study looked into the frequency and patterns of injury for athletes training and competing in the Taiwan National Wushu Competition. Despite the fact that Sanshou is a full-contact combat sport, the results don't seem too severe in contrast with MMA, which has an injury rate of 228.7 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (so about a 23% risk of injury), versus Sanshou's meager 11.65%.

It seems that the vast majority of Sanshou injuries, at least in this study, occurred during training due to preventable circumstances (i.e. insufficient warm-up and lack of safety equipment), and the injury pattern indicates that only 6.72% of injuries were delivered to the head and neck, versus MMA where the head was the most common area of injury at an estimated range of 66.8%-78.0%.

This was the only study I could find pertaining to Sanshou injuries, so perhaps this is not the norm; I'm not familiar with Taiwan's competition and rules so it's hard for me to say. However, given that the only element Sanshou excludes from its rules that MMA does not is ground fighting (which, as a sport in itself, has a fairly low injury rate), it seems odd that the injuries would be so much lower.

Any thoughts as to why this might be?

 

[Xue Sheng]

No cage and no ground and pound in Sanshou. Also Sanshou rules can vary based on location. Taiwan is not exactly the same as mainland and neither is the same as Hong Kong and I think there may be different rules in the USA

 

[drop bear]

No cage and no ground and pound in Sanshou. Also Sanshou rules can vary based on location. Taiwan is not exactly the same as mainland and neither is the same as Hong Kong and I think there may be different rules in the USA

Cage?.......

 

[drop bear]

Gloves,shinguards,headgear,chest protector?

 

[clfsean]

Rule set & training methodology in large part, echoing Xue.

I know my school, my Sifu has a strict training regimen for Sanda. There are non-debateable, non-bendable rules in place for safety and training.

 

[Monarch]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Yeah, equipment differences did occur to me, but these vary quite a bit from one SS tournament to another. Also, looking at the ICMAC rules, it appears that at least in their tournaments, 2 points are awarded for head kicks and throws, while head strikes are only awarded 1 point. While a well-landed head kick is more severe than a well-landed punch, I remember reading that some experts have expressed more concern over repetitive minor blows to the head than occasional heavy hits when it comes to long-term head trauma.

And it definitely makes sense that the absence of ground and pound would lead to fewer traumatic head injuries.

So my next question would be, for a 22 year old male living in the US, what kind of certification would I need to begin competing in this style? I am experienced in Hak Fu Mun, but not certified with any sort of governing body. Would I just need to qualify in amateur bouts to move forward, or will I need any kind of approval from a Wushu organization to get into it?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Cage?.......

Sorry, the Ring I see a lot of MMA fighters fight in. It can be rather different than what you see in San Shou and it is very different than what you can see in San Shou on mainland China. In some cases on mainland there are no ropes, just the raised platform

 

[Xue Sheng]

Gloves,shinguards,headgear,chest protector?

Not sure about Taiwan rules, but I do believe you have that in Hong Kong, but you do not have that on Mainland.... Well gloves, but the rest no. And I believe they are not boxing gloves because in all San Shou (Sanda) events, Shuaijiao is allowed

 

[Xue Sheng]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Yeah, equipment differences did occur to me, but these vary quite a bit from one SS tournament to another. Also, looking at the ICMAC rules, it appears that at least in their tournaments, 2 points are awarded for head kicks and throws, while head strikes are only awarded 1 point. While a well-landed head kick is more severe than a well-landed punch, I remember reading that some experts have expressed more concern over repetitive minor blows to the head than occasional heavy hits when it comes to long-term head trauma.

And it definitely makes sense that the absence of ground and pound would lead to fewer traumatic head injuries.

So my next question would be, for a 22 year old male living in the US, what kind of certification would I need to begin competing in this style? I am experienced in Hak Fu Mun, but not certified with any sort of governing body. Would I just need to qualify in amateur bouts to move forward, or will I need any kind of approval from a Wushu organization to get into it?

You can go amateur but I highly recommend, if this is what you want to do, that you find a place that trains specifically for Sanda (Sanshou). I know there is a big group in Florida another in NYC and one in Boston. There are likely more, I just don't know about them.

 

[drop bear]

Sorry, the Ring I see a lot of MMA fighters fight in. It can be rather different than what you see in San Shou and it is very different than what you can see in San Shou on mainland China. In some cases on mainland there are no ropes, just the raised platform

See I would have thought falling out would be. riskier.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Why Fewer Injuries in Sanshou?

IMO, the reasons are:

- Most Sanshou uses 16 oz boxing gloves instead of MMA gloves.
- Since there is no ground game, jump guard and pull guard are not used.
- Head dropping throws are not allowed.
- Since Sanshou encourage remain balance after throw, one body dropping on top of another body won't happen that much.
- Since low roundhouse kick on the leg can get 1 point, there will be more kicks on the legs.
- ...

 

[clfsean]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Yeah, equipment differences did occur to me, but these vary quite a bit from one SS tournament to another. Also, looking at the ICMAC rules, it appears that at least in their tournaments, 2 points are awarded for head kicks and throws, while head strikes are only awarded 1 point. While a well-landed head kick is more severe than a well-landed punch, I remember reading that some experts have expressed more concern over repetitive minor blows to the head than occasional heavy hits when it comes to long-term head trauma.

I'll be there next month at the Orlando tournament, but this year we're only fielding one fighter with the others looking to the USWKF event late in July. 3 points clean take down with decreasing value based on your contact with the ground if any, 2 points for a kick, 1 point for a punch (all techniques have to be clean).

And it definitely makes sense that the absence of ground and pound would lead to fewer traumatic head injuries.

Maybe. Last year I wanna say there were 8 fighters throughout the course of the day's elimination fights that were carted out by EMT's.

So my next question would be, for a 22 year old male living in the US, what kind of certification would I need to begin competing in this style? I am experienced in Hak Fu Mun, but not certified with any sort of governing body. Would I just need to qualify in amateur bouts to move forward, or will I need any kind of approval from a Wushu organization to get into it?

Well it's not a style. It's application of your style within a competitive fighting ruleset.

If you want to fight, I'm mostly sure you just need to show up, clear the physical, pay the fees & step up. If you don't have a school you may need to ask for corner help, but there's no governing body or the like. If you've never fought competitively before, you'll fight in the "C" levels your first event.