I've been living, training, and fighting in China for the last three years. Here are a few tricks I've picked up. In mainland China, 散打 "Sanda" is Mandarin for "Free Fight". Many westerners know it by the name 散手"Sanshou", meaning "Free hand" in Mandarin. It's the exact same thing.
Sanda is the Chinese national combat sport. All punches and kicks are allowed, as well as leg grabs, throws, and takedowns (provided that the attacking fighter remains standing). The sport of sanda was originally intended to be a platform for mixed martial arts competition between the numerous disciplines of Chinese kungfu. Today, many sanda fighters cross train in non-Chinese disciplines as well, including boxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, kyokushin karate, Greco Roman wrestling, and judo among others.
Many sanda throwing techniques transition very easily into the sport of modern Mixed Martial Arts when combined with basic positional wrestling skills. This combat sport is definitely worth investing some time and training for any serious mixed martial artist.
