Teaching effective use of physics, body
dynamics and common sense, San Soo trains
the mind and body to generate maximum power
while instantly adapting to any combat
situation. Principles of leverage, balance,
momentum, timing, controlled breathing and
concentration give San Soo fighters extreme
power. Because of its effective, no-nonsense
approach, San Soo is used by many military
and law enforcement agencies across the
country.
In addition to agility, balance and
confidence is one's self, San Soo developed
self discipline and respect for others.
The historical roots of Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung,
known in America as Kung Fu San Soo, go back
about 1500 years to the Temples in China.
However, due to the constant upheaval in
China's history, many records have been lost
or destroyed, leaving some questions
unanswered. As dynasties were overthrown and
Emperors changed, China was divided and
sub-divided into various warring factions,
and each faction produced many different
types of fighting styles. The art of Tsoi Li
Ho Fut Hung is a combination of some of
these fighting styles that emerged
throughout the tumultuous history. The
Martial artists, throughout China's history,
have been forced to fight for the Emperors
or against them using their fighting skills.
It is only due to their unique fighting
skills that the monks and the martial arts
are still in existence today.
Although the martial arts came out of the
monasteries, the monks are not the
originators of the arts. The Buddhists
religion is one of peace and not violence,
so the monks would not have spent their time
devising means of combat. However, according
to Han and Tang Law, soldiers were not
allowed to leave their positions unless they
died or entered monasteries. Many of these
soldiers left their positions to become
monks, but took their martial arts exercises
with them. While they had become monks to
leave their positions behind, they continued
to train in the arts and eventually trained
many of the other monks.
One of the monasteries that trained in the
martial arts was the Kwan-Yin monastery in
the village of Pon Hong, Guangdong Province
in Southern China. The main reason these
monks began to train in the martial arts was
to protect themselves from bandits and
outlaws. They traveled from village to
village collecting supplies and donations
for the monastery. Many times they were set
upon by outlaws and killed for their
supplies.
One young monk that trained at the Kwan Yin
monastery was Leoung Kick. He was an orphan
when the monks took him in at the age of 10.
Leoung Kick was at the monastery until the
age of 30, when he decided to leave. Upon
leaving, he took with him the training and
experience he had gained as a fighter in
Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung, the fighting style that
was developed by the monks at the Kwan Yin
Monastery. He was the Great, Great, Great
Grandfather of Chin Sui Dek, a.k.a. Jimmy H.
Woo.
Three generations later, Chin Siu Hung,
following in the footsteps of his family,
became a well-known San Soo teacher. Hung
was a big man both in status and in size. He
was 6'5", 320 lbs., and the overlord of his
province. As a practitioner of San Soo, he
became a participant of the Lei Ti matches.
These were competitions between martial
artist of northern and southern China. They
were also great social events for martial
arts experts. Hung was famous for issuing
challenges to the entire crowd of
practitioners. In these events, the
participants fought until their opponent
submitted and often ended in death. When
Hung issued a general challenge, there were
rarely volunteers and the meeting became
strictly a social event. Hung's style of
fighting was known for it's crippling
ability and few would challenge him.
In 1918, Hung's nephew, Chin Siu
Dek, Jimmy H. Woo, came to live in
his province. At the age of 4, the
family taught Dek little fighting
"tricks". When he turned 5, his
formal training began. From the
beginning, Dek was his Great Uncle's
prize student. He learned extremely
fast and loved the grueling workouts
on the hard floors. In his teens,
Dek became a travelling teacher of
the art of Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung. If
someone in the province needed a
grievance settled, Dek was the
enforcer. When the village elders
decided it was time for the young
men to learn to defend themselves,
Dek was sent to the village to stay
for months and teach them.
In December 1962, Jimmy opened his
martial arts studio at the Midway
Shopping Center in El Monte,
California. In the early years, he
called it "Karate-Kung Fu" because
no one knew what kung fu was at the
time. He also opened up his studio
to non-Asian students. He was the
first Si Fu, Master, to teach
American students. He went by the
name Jimmy to these American
students, and referred to the art of
Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung as Kung-Fu San
Soo. He used the term San Soo to
reinforce the combat style of his
art.
