Damian and Seth from Dragon Breath Promotions completed the
hat-trick with their third successful multi-style fight event. Sanshou III
Firestorm included Muay Thai, MMA, LAPS (Light Armour Padded Stick) and a BJJ
demonstration in addition to the Sanshou fights, all apart from LAPS sanctioned
by ISKA. Sanshou is a Chinese competition that is increasing in popularity
around the world. It is perhaps most simply described as MMA minus ground
fighting. Despite some complications matching fighters and some late
withdrawals, Damian and Seth managed to provide some entertaining fights with
largely local fighters and only one change to the fight card on the night with
one interstate fighter hospitalised due to illness. Fights progressed quickly
and smoothly, with stunning ring girls Sarah and Abby keeping the crowd engaged
between rounds. Other off-ring crowd entertainment included equipment to
measure the punching speed of spectators.
The card was kicked of by local SA fighters Spiro Darzanos
(Somnguk Muay Thai) and Lex Hanegraaf (Southside Muay Thai) under modified Muay
Thai rules. From the first bell Spiro looked the stronger fighter, with some
crisp punch combinations, including a damaging hook from behind when his
opponent turned his back. Lex demonstrated some effective combinations towards
the end of the first stanza, but Spiro had more disciplined technique and was
controlling the ring. Spiro was finding the mark with his right cross in the
second round, and was avoiding Lex’s wilder punches with tight head movement.
Lex demonstrated some good kicks and knees, but his fitness was fading quickly
and he held the ropes to catch his breath during a short break in the second
round. Despite slipping headgear, Spiro continued to dominate the remainder of
the fight, almost knocking Lex out when he was saved by the final bell. Spiro
won the fight by unanimous decision and was later awarded ‘fighter of the
night’ for his efforts.
The first Sanshou bout of the night featured two more SA
fighters in Curtis Allan (Chop Shop) and Paul Solomon (International Wing
Chun Academy).
Paul did not look like he was going to
survive the first round as Curtis went on the attack early. Paul hit the mat
early and was lucky for this to be deemed a slip. He was then knocked down
twice more in quick succession and the referee considered stopping the fight.
Fortunately he allowed the fighters to continue and Paul fought back bravely
after barely surviving the first round. Curtis maintained control of the
strikes, but Paul managed some takedowns and kept pressing the action. Curtis had
the better technique, but was bleeding from the nose and slowed in the second
half of the fight, while Paul valiantly continued the pressure with almost
constant punching despite obvious fatigue. Curtis pulled off a nice spinning
back kick and backfist combination in the final round and had done enough to
win a unanimous decision.
SA boys Dan Olbryct (Dynamix MMA) and Jason Altman (Young
Lions Thai Boxing) fought next under Sanshou rules. Jason had fought twice
before for two draws and was unlucky not yet to have a win. He looked the
physically more imposing fighter and had vocal crowd support. Jason attacked
aggressively with his huge striking advantage, which Dan managed to mitigate a
little with some spectacular takedowns, including one that dropped Jason on his
head and seemed to stun him a little. By the second round Jason was looking
more cautious about Dan’s takedowns, but found his range with his right cross,
knocking Dan down for the count. Jason picked up his first win by TKO and the
crowd were elated with the first stoppage of the night.
Local fighters Mike Aarts (Chop Shop) and Ken Graham (IWCA)
fought under modified (no knees) Sanshou rules in the next battle. Ken looked
very strong and confident as he approached his corner at the start of this
bout, but Mike was not afraid. He took the fight to Ken, repeatedly picking him
up and throwing him down. On one occasion both fighters almost flew through the
ropes. Ken fought back with straight punches, but couldn’t find the mark and
was getting frustrated. Mike ended the fight as strongly as he began,
dominating the last round. Ken made contact with some jabs, but Mike was
looking to finish with strong right crosses as the final bell rang. Mike won a
very entertaining fight by unanimous decision. Watch this promising fighter for
future MMA shows.
Matthew Clifford (Zen Do Kai Golden Grove) and Steven Moss
(UFFC) broke up the empty-handed action with an evenly matched Light Armour
Padded Stick bout. LAPS had mixed reception from the crowd, who were largely
unaware of rules, but surprised at the ferocity of attacks and the welts that
appeared on the ribs of both fighters. The first round was a single stick
engagement in which Matthew quickly lost a point for dropping his stick that
may have cost him the final decision. The second round employed double sticks,
and the third, stick and ‘knife’- a shorter stick. In the third Steven dropped
his knife, but was able to pressure Matthew back to reclaim it and win by
decision.
Professor Leo Arruda (International Combative Martial Arts)
and Michael Toyama
(SABJJ) provided a demonstration of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The crowd was in awe
of the beauty of the technique executed by these two champion martial artists.
The first (modified) MMA fight of the night, under C-class
rules which do not allow ground-and-pound, was between locals Brian Collins
(Chop Shop) and Kerry Smith (Junanshin Ju Jitsu). The first round was fairly
even, but Brian had the advantage in wrestling. He took Kerry down a couple of
times but was unable to capitalise. Brian secured the lead in the second stanza
with strong punches and wrestling. He took the fight to the ground, where Kerry
was mounted. Brian
slapped on an armbar that looked sure to finish the fight, but Kerry was
tenacious enough to make it to the end of the round. Both fighters finished
strongly in the last trimester, with Brian being warned for punching his downed
opponent, which is prohibited in C-class tournaments. Brian won a clear
unanimous decision.
The next MMA bout was between Cameron Hill (Dynamix MMA) and
Tyson Brown (Ringworks International). Cameron was presented with an MMA fight
of the night encouragement award for his efforts, but Tyson had a significant
grappling advantage, dominating on the ground. Cameron escaped an early armbar
to fall into a kimura armlock when he was saved by the bell. Tyson eventually
won by submission in the second round with an armbar.
The two last fights were both interstate affairs. A much
improved Sam Loy-Wilson (Mantis Boxing Society) from the ACT took on
Queenslander Angus Uebergang (Qld Korean Martial Arts) in a one-sided fight.
Sam dominated with aggressive punches, knees from the clinch and takedowns.
Angus answered with a couple of snappy round kicks, but these did not phase
Sam. He caught a kick and drove Angus into the canvas at the end of round one.
Angus looked exhausted as the bell rang and looked in no frame of mind to continue.
Officials attended to an apparent elbow injury, and Angus did not answer the
call at the second bell. Sam showed a lot more skill than when he fought local fighter
Garry Smith and it would be great to see a rematch between these two
heavyweight fighters.
The main event the night was a non-title full Muay Thai
battle between Queenslander John Duffy (Fighting Dragons Thai Boxing) and Matt
Cashmore (Fite N Fitness) from NSW at 64.5kg. Both fighters started tentatively
with John whipping in some strong kick and punch combinations. Toward the end
of round one the fighters clinched and Matt demonstrated his experience in this
range, landing several unanswered elbows over the top of John’s guard. Round
two opened at a faster pace, with John scoring with some crisp kickboxing
combinations. However, Matt’s advantage in the clinch proved critical, he
sliced in some sharp elbows before thundering in some knees to John’s body and
head. John looked dazed as he hit the canvas and indicated to the referee that
he could not continue. Matt topped off a great evening of fights with the
fourth stoppage of the night.
The next Sanshou tournament will be held on 23 October 2010.
Anyone wishing to compete should contact Dragon Breath Promotions via the
website below or call Seth or Damian on 0409994973 or 0409196908. www.dragonbreathpromotions.com.au
San Shou SA 3 - FIRESTORM will feature a dynamic mix of San Shou, Modifed MMA and Kickboxing! Further details will be announced shortly.
Review of San Shou S.A. II (4th April 2009)
The guys from Dragons Breath Promotions put on another very successful San Shou event, Saturday night. In what was the second San Shou promotion in South Australia by Dragon Breath Promotions, a total of thirteen gyms brought out fighters for ten highly entertaining bouts. Michael Aarts from City Gym started off the undercard with a cracking pace, dropping his opponent with knockdowns twice in the opening round. His opponent Kent Jones looked like he wasnt going to continue in round 2, but to his credit, fought on as hard as he could and hung in there to the final bell. Chris Anstey edged out Christian Sinclair in the next bout with a close decision. The only real difference that separated them on the scores, was that Chris landed a huge slam in the second round and took the air out of Sinclairs striking ability. The slam was hard enough to visibly shake the Sunrise fighter & it allowed Anstey to start landing some strikes of his own. Up next was a back & forwards battle between Justin Tucker and Jason Altman. From all the novice fighters earlier on the card these two were my pick for the best novice fighters and fight of the night. Altman came out like a house on fire and kept the high workrate going all through the first round, scoring with counter straights quite often. Round two saw Tucker adjust his style a bit, work some better combinations and his change of style paid dividends, dropping Altman hard with a counter. Round three was fairly even until the last 15 seconds, when Tucker was wobbled with a hard cross. Altman pushed hard and threw everything he had, but Tucker just wouldnt drop. The final judges decision was a draw.
Pat Millar cruised home with a decision win against Dan Pilgram next, taking rounds 1 and 2 comfortably. Rowan Thompson and Michael Vogelpoel fought to a draw, next. I couldnt call any of the rounds one way of the other in that fight, it was a very close contest. Shane Altman from Young Lions Thai Boxing was the first fighter to win by way stoppage, for the night. Shane was just too aggressive and too accurate for Hayden Williams and by late in round one, Hayden looked in trouble from kicks and knees to the body. Hayden came out firing in round two, but as he threw the punches, Shane ducked under, clinched and worked the knees to the body just relentlessly. In the end, Shane landed a big knee and it was all over midway in to the second round. In what was probably the first upset of the night, hard hitting Chris Baxter was out worked and out pointed by Sunrise fighter Steve Hartwell. Baxter scored well and landed damage when he managed to get on the inside, but Steve fought a very smart fight and used his speed and lateral movement to score, then get outside Baxters range. Steve earned himself a very hard fought decision victory.
Robbie Nienhaus from Barossa MuayThai and Andrew Koval from Sunrise kicked off the first of the three main events. The first round was fought at a cracking pace and both these guys showed very good striking. They both fought well above the skill level I was expecting to see, each landing some very nice counters, combinations and knees from within the grapple. Round two saw Robbie start to find range with his punches, and soon after a decent cut opened up on Andrews face, his corner waived off the fight when the doctor stepped in to check it out. It was a great effort from both fighters & i hope to see them back in action again, soon. The heavyweights were up next and they sure didnt disappoint. Sam Loy-Wilson from the ACT and local fighter Garry Smith put on an absolute slugfest. I dont mean one of those ugly haymaker slugfests that the heavyweights sometimes degenerate into either, Im talking about a serious throwdown with both guys using excellent boxing skills to really bust each other up well before even the end of the first round. These guys had by far the best hand skills of any of the fighters on the night, and they both used those skills to put on an absolute barnburner. Sam and Garry both had each other bloodied and bruised before the end of the first, Sam coming out better down the stretch in the end of the first round, landing 3 or 4 crisp combinations. It was enough to take the first, in my opinion. Garry came out a little too eager in the second and Sam used effective lateral movement and counter hooks to continue scoring well. Garry tried to tie up, grapple and throw, but Sam always did just enough to stay on his feet and avoid any damage. Sam slowed in the third after Garry started landing nice leg kicks and changing his patterns of attack, but it wasnt enough on the score cards to take the fight & Sam was given a standing ovation from the crowd when he was announced the winner. Both the fighters were brought out later in the night & did interviews & gave out prizes. They were both well received.
Final fight of the night was up next, with Anthony Cox from Sunrise fighting Myles Simpson of Willunga Kickboxing, for the ISKA Interim East Coast 63kg Title. These guys put on a great fight and showed real skill throughout the contest. Most of the first four rounds were a real tug of war, between Myles scoring at range and Anthony using the Teep to score and keep outside of Simpsons punching range. When inside and grappling, Anthony was the stronger of the two in controlling the clinch, but Myles seemed to the one landing scoring knees and avoiding the elbow attacks. I thought coming in to the final frame, Myles was probably up 40-39 on the cards. Both guys came right out and just started throwing down, Myles landing some good punches, landing with the kicks as well and Anthony next up really started pouring on the pressure, trying to claw back the round. Both guys started launching elbows midway through the final round and it was just on for young and old. With about 30 seconds left in the round, Simpson was visibly flustered from getting caught with an elbow from behind & looked to be pushed to the canvas while against the ropes. As the ref stepped in to separate the fighters, Myles complained about the elbow and the ref gave him an 8-count. ***Id like to express at this point that from my angle, this is what appeared to happen. The referee inside the ring was of the opinion that Myles dropped from the elbow and sunk in to the ropes, and that he was to be given an 8-count. The opinions of what happened are seemingly different, depending on what side of the ring this was seen from - I simply state this, as some people seem to read in to what I write a bit more than necessary.***. After the 8-count was over, Myles came right back out attacking and continued to land for the final 30-odd seconds of the fight. But with the 8-count against him and Anthony being in no serious trouble of being dropped in that final round at any stage, Cox took a split decision victory and the ISKA East Coast title. The fight certainly had a controversial finish & the crowd sure let us all know it - but hey, whats a fight night in Adelaide without some healthy rivalry and main event that has everyone on the edge of their seats to the final bell. It was a great night of fights in the end, everyone certainly got value for their money. The fights really had something for everyone, being won through either better grappling, entertaining slams, high quality MuayThai striking or great boxing technique. This time around, the grapplers showed much better defence and striking, the strikers showed improved defence against takedowns and the boxers showed they could kick and defend the takedowns, too.
My thanks to the Dragon Breath Promoters - Seth especially. To the ISKA officials, the gyms, fighters and trainers who were all kind enough to pose for photos and provide me with access to any info I needed. The Dragons Breath Promoters should be VERY pleased with their second event. The fights went well, were matched fairly evenly and a good number of gyms put guys in for some experience at something new. In an event that has no ties or affiliations to any one gym, style of Martial Arts, or one group of fighters over another - these San Shou events will likely continue to become bigger and better. The beauty of San Shou is that its simply just a set of rules, that brings together all codes of full contact martial arts and competitive forms of ring fighting, to fight under one set of unified rules, that no one seems to have any particular problem with. The fighters seem to like them, the gyms are happy and the government officials and sanctioning bodies are supporting it. The event is excellent experience for those fighters wanting a slow or easy learning curve in to Mixed Martial Arts or MuayThai / K-1 fighting down the line. Its a good mix of grappling and striking and the fights are quite entertaining to watch, from a fan perspective. The night finished off with some final words from the promoters and a plug for the next Knees Of Fury and Anzac Day kickboxing events. The crowd was very receptive to the fighters all night long & there were no issues with security or the crowd. Overall, it ran very well from start to end.
To sum it up nicely... I simply cant wait for whats on offer, at San Shou III.
Cheers,
Adam Orlowski.
(This review was originally posted on the forum on infinitemma.com)
Review of our first show! September 5th, 2008
The guys from Dragons Breath Promotions put on a very successful San Shou event, tonight. In what was the first San Shou promotion in
South Australia, a total of nine gyms brought out fighters for eight well contested bouts. In what was a surprise to many, the event was completely sold out. I made the silly mistake of not getting to the venue 30mins prior to the first fight starting & got stuck waiting in a line that went down flights of stairs, through a foyer, out the front of the building and down the street. Making the best of the situation, i took the time to have a chat to the people waiting to get in. Most people had only even heard the event running just a matter of 24-48 hours prior, either through word of mouth, friends, reading it on the internet, or noticing a few posters in the
Adelaide markets. The people attending the event seemed to span a variety of martial arts backgrounds, ages and club affiliations. Having never been inside the main area of the Dom Polski centre before, i was pleasantly surprised to see how well the two level function centre was laid out for events such as Boxing / MuayThai / San Shou. The place was pretty well packed, on both the ground floor and first level. Next time i come back, i’ll probably plant myself upstairs & borrow a flash & use the long-lens for a different angle of photography.
First fight of the night featured Dylan Parry from Young Lions and Robert Leaver from the Wrecking Crew gym. Dylan set the pace very early on in the first round and found range with crisp boxing. Robert was knocked down with a heavy right cross midway through the first & was not able to recover enough to get back in the fight, from there on. Continuing down the same path in round two, Dylan landed another big right cross and Robert was unable to continue.
Chris Anstey from the
InternationalWingChunAcademy put on a dominating performance in the nights second bout, defeating Mark Djikic from the Mantis Boxing Society. Chris dominated round one with evasive footwork setting up a nice counter left hook, to knock down Mark. Round two saw both fighters work well within the grapple, each landing a variety of impressive takedowns and throws. Chris pushed on well in round three however, and dominated with crisp punching combinations and a few nice throws.
Shane Altman from Young Lions and Matt Thompson from the
InternationalWingChunAcademy put on a close contest. Shane dominated the striking for the first two rounds, but Matt equally dominated the grapple and throws through the same rounds. In a fairly intense final round, Shane was able to use nice footwork to evade the takedown’s and eventually landed a nice counter uppercut, causing Matt to take a standing 8-count. It was just enough for Shane to seal the decision and get the victory.
In the first of the two 85kg battles for the night, Chris Baxter from Street Heat Evolution out boxed Jordan D´Silva from Mantis Boxing Society. Both fighters chose to slug this fight out toe-to-toe and not worry about any of this grappling or kicking business. Jordan rocked Baxter with a hard overhand right midway through the opening round, but then charged in with his hands low and ate a big counter right hook for his trouble & only narrowly beat the count, himself. Baxter took over from this point and early in the second round, ended the bout with a heavy left hook, that had
Jordan planted on the canvas & the referee waiving off the bout.
In what was the second 85kg bout of the evening and crowd favorite for fight of the night, Pat Millar from the International Wing Chun Academy used a nice variety of takedowns, throws and low kicks, to edge out a majority decision over Sai Schuts from the Wrecking Crew Gym. Sai finished well in the third, however, the wind was well and truly taken out of the sails from Pat Millar late in the contest, by multiple unintentional kicks to the groin. Pat was brought out later in the night and awarded with a merchandise pack from Boon MuayThai Equipment, for his efforts as fighter of the night.
Julian Toh from
Sunrise and Shannon Peake from Street Heat Evolution put on the most highly skilled display of fighting for the night, next. In a bout that could have been a feature on any MuayThai event, Shannon pressed hard with nice punching and low kicks, while Julian countered with exceptional teep kicks, footwork and body shots. The two 61kg fighters showed a great display of combinations, counter striking and clinch work. In what proved to be the decisive factor coming down the home stretch, Julian’s body shots slowed Shannon down late in the bout just enough for the Sunrise fighter to nip in and out almost at will, landing scoring punches on the way in and counter kicks on the way back out. It was a well fought and hard fought decision win for Julian Toh.
Second to last fight on the card featured Sean Walker from Shidoshi Martial Arts and Dominique Liddle from ISO Health fight out a closely contested battle. So close in the end, the judges gave the fight a draw. Sean was never really able to capitalise on his boxing skills, while Dom was unable to secure many clean throws or takedowns. What resulted was a battle of MMA-style dirty boxing from inside the clinch and both fighters nullifying each others strengths. Neither fighter seemed disappointed with the decision and each will take home a good learning experience, if nothing else.
The final fight of the evening featured a heavyweight showdown between Garry Smith from Southern Wrestling and David Arthur. Garry used nice footwork to keep on the move and land nice counter jab after nice counter jab. Stuffing each and every takedown attempt, Garry continued his boxing work, systematically picking apart David Arthur with simple yet effective 1-2 and 1-2-3 boxing combos. Midway through the second round, David slowed to a virtual standstill and Garry took advantage, lnading about 15 clean unanswered punches and collapsing Arthur in the corner. Stepping in to prevent Arthur from sustaining any further punishment, the referee waived off the bout. A well fought and thorough victory for Garry Smith.
My thanks to the Dragon Breath Promoters - Seth especially. Also to Sam Binetti, the ISKA officials, the gyms, fighters and trainers who were all kind enough to pose for photos and provide me with access to any info i needed. The Dragons Breath Promoters should be VERY pleased with this first event, now the dirt and dust has settled. The fights went well, were matched fairly evenly and a good number of gyms put guys in for some experience at something new. In an event that has no ties or affiliations to any one gym, style of Martial Arts, or one group of fighters over another - these San Shoe events will likely catch on and become bigger and better from this point on. The beauty of San Shou is that its simply just a set of rules, that brings together all codes of full contact martial arts and competitive forms of ring fighting, to fight under one set of unified rules, that no one seems to have any particular problem with. The fighters seem to like them, the gyms are happy and the government officials and sanctioning bodies are supporting it. The event is excellent experience for those fighters wanting a slow or easy learning curve in to Mixed Martial Arts or MuayThai / K-1 fighting down the line. Its a good mix of grappling and striking and the fights are quite entertaining to watch, from a fan perspective. The night finished off with some final words from the promoters and a plug for the next Knees Of Fury event. The crowd was very receptive to the fighters all night long & there were no issues with security or the crowd. Overall, for a first event, it ran very well from start to end. At this stage, the next event is set for March next year, so until then San Shou fans, stay healthy.
