San Shou means 'free hand' - in other words this is Gong Fu competition fighting, in armour, full contact.

"Ancient Skills in Modern Competition Fighting" means that our training methods primarily come from Shaolin Gong Fu from the Masters of Shaolin Temple, Henan in China; Northern 7 Stars Praying Mantis Gong Fu which also originated in the same Shaolin Temple and also from Chen Style Taijiquan which is the 400 year old Chen family internal fighting system more often referred to as Tai Chi.

"Train Hard. Train Soft" means that we incorporate training method for both the internal and external development of the body and the character of the martial artist training with us. Training regularly will push your fitness, flexibilty, focus and confidence to a higher level and then some. The training is hard and even the soft aspects are challenging and will make you ache physically and intellectually. Then the results will come...rest assured, the journey is not all pain and discomfort, on the long road to gaining skill there are many warm fires to rest by and friends to share stories with!

San Shou Southwest is part of Gong Fu Southwest and the International Taijiquan and Shaolin Wushu Association (ITSWA). We are dedicated to teaching Chinese Martial Art to the highest level, to maintain good relations with our community and to bettering ourselves through our training in martial arts.

Shifu Robert Byrnes