Empire Self Defense Kung Fu San Soo

Chin Siu Dek (Jimmy H. Woo), the man responsible for bringing Kung Fu San Soo to America, did not believe in the animal styles and hence taught only the 5 family styles (蔡李何佛雄). His words were, "We fight like men, not animals." San Soo was not created or taught as a tournament sport, but practitioners commonly incorporate forms of limited sparring. Kung Fu San Soo does not attempt to emulate the motions of animals with elaborate forms. The basic premise of San Soo is there are no rules in a fight, so the style is techniques oriented to remove a threat as quickly as possible through the seizing the initiative and keeping the opponent off balance. Like many martial arts, San Soo can be used by smaller or weaker persons against larger or stronger assailants by utilizing technique and knowledge of reaction to make up for a lack of strength. Techniques in San Soo are made up of Chin Na leverages, throwing, choking, joint-locking, strangling, strikes, and quick takedowns

Our goal is to teach our students how to survive and incapacitate their opponents as swiftly as possible. We do not approach a fight with a "UFC" mentality. This art is not a sport, it is a self-defense art with the mission to protect yourself, or the ones you love, from imminent danger from men with evil intentions.