Martial Destination: Self Defense Sanda in Hong Kong with Coach Fu of the Xianggang (Hong Kong) Ji Quan Dao Wushu Xiehui, Sanda Self-defense Method (Sanda Ziwei Shu, 散打自衛術)

My family and I spent a month and a half visiting Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Japan during the summer. As expected, the summer heat was quiet a thing to get used to for people like us, used to the Canadian winters. As is customary when I travelled, I am always looking for opportunities to learn more about martial practices, this time around I wanted to concentrate on Sanda. Hong Kong for foreigners is very convenient, one can use Google maps to find train and bus routes, you can find people who speak English in many places, pay using major credit cards, cash etc. This is not the same in the mainland. Through my father-in-law we started looking for coaches in Hong Kong, our first attempt was a false start with an individual who was interested in playing politics. We were successful on our second try and contacted coach Fu Run Che (傅潤車) via WhatsApp. Coach Fu was exited to meet and train someone with my experience and agreed to meet us in the area we were staying on Aberdeen. Coach Fu holds public classes at one location over the weekend, but most of the time he provides private training to individuals or small groups around Hong Kong.

Coach Fu holds several certifications from the Hong Kong Wushu Association, the Australian Coaching Institute, Hong Kong Taichi Institute, the Boxing Association of Hong Kong to name just a few. We agreed on private lessons for myself and my teenage son every other day for the two weeks we would stay in Hong Kong. Because the training was going to be outdoors, we chose the Aberdeen Pier 6 as there was a small park beside it with some tree coverage and a pedestrian bridge, we could take shelter under in case of rain while training. Every class was 1.5 hours starting at 8:00 AM to try and escape the heat as much as possible. My wife helped with translations as coach Fu’s English is basic, however I did not have too much trouble following his instructions as I was able to understand the principles he was teaching.

Training was grueling due to the heat and humidity; we only had some respite when it rained prior to our session as there was a typhon expected days later. One of the interesting things from coach’s Fu approach was that he had drills that could be used for self defense and with minor modifications for competition Sanda. In addition, we covered self defense escapes from common grabs and other non sport techniques. Coach Fu is very professional, encouraging and generous with his teaching, and we recommend him to anyone looking for training in Hong Kong. In between breaks he shared some stories of his martial journey.

When he was younger, he was a fast learner, skilled and really wanted to pursue competition professionally. His coach suggested that he could do very well as a coach and should considered it. After some self reflection he decided to follow that advice. Sometimes he had to demonstrate his skill to individuals who wanted to see how good he is. One occasion he was teaching a private lesson outdoors, coach Fu was approached by a Wing Chun practitioner who wanted to “cross” hands. As they did coach Fu low kick his opponent on the leg. The challenger was not satisfied so asked to do it again. This time coach Fu faked the low kick and slapped his opponent’s face, after that the challenger conceded. On our last lesson coach Fu invited us to attend a Sanda competition on the weekend as he trains a group for sport competition, unfortunately we already had plans to visit Macau to meet with family so could not attend. Overall our two weeks training with coach Fu was very enjoyable and would visit him again next time we travel. Anyone interested in some quality one-on-one training with coach Fu, you can contact him via WhatsApp as per the information provided below.