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In considering
what San Soo is, we must first determine what it is not. San
Soo as taught by Grandmaster Jimmy H.Woo is not a sport. A
sport is a game like basketball or football. In these games
the intention is to score points and have fun. Although the
practice of San Soo can be fun, when used in combat, it is
brutal! In our application, if rules were applied to San Soo
for the purpose of organizing a tournament, the art could
no longer be called San Soo.
The Chinese
character 
"Kung" or "Gung" translates to working.
The Chinese character
 "Fu"
translates to man or husband.
When
these two characters are combined they do not refer to fighting
although they have become known as such through the media
of television. They actually mean "time to do something"
or "effort devoted to a task". In order for these characters
to actually refer to fighting they need a qualifier. If you
asked someone in China if they have any Kung-Fu they would
think you meant spare time.
The character
"San" translated to English means to scatter,
disperse or dissipate.
The
character  ("Sao"
Cantonese) ("Soo" Grandmaster Woo's Dialect) or ("Shou"
Mandarin) translated to English literally means hand.
When
the characters San and Soo are combined they literally mean
"free Sparring" or 'free fighting". In
our application we practice free fighting. In China however
they have San Shou tournaments, yet what they are doing is
not the same as Tsoi-Li-Ho-Fut-Hung San Soo.
For many
years San Soo practitioners have been under the impression
that San Soo translates to "a man articulate in
the use of his hands in combat", however this is not entirely
correct more accurately it implies this statement.
Kung-Fu
San Soo as taught by Grandmaster Woo is a fighting technique
which utilizes highly scientific principles of physics involving
movement and leverage, as well as intense concentration and
controlled breathing to give the San Soo fighter extreme power.
The techniques
of San Soo are based on combinations of blocks, punches, kicks,
throws, and leverage moves performed in perfect rhythm and
directed toward vital points of the human body. These techniques
can be changed instantly to suit any situation because they
do not follow a set pattern.
Added
benefits of San Soo practice are agility, balance, coordination,
humility and respect for one's fellow man. Thus it can be
said that Kung-Fu San Soo is a complete art which leads to
the development of human character.
As Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo put it;
"The
art of Kung-Fu San Soo lies not in victory or defeat, but
in teaching and building human character".
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