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About

KUNG-FU SAN SOO

All the information in this section comes from conversations with
Jimmy H. Woo from 1968 through 1976 at the El Monte studio.

What is Kung-Fu San Soo?

Kung-Fu San Soo is literally every way to use you hands, feet and body to defeat an opponent - and much more. This Art teaches an individual to be able to fight. That means, learning to use your mind and body to respond to what ever an opponent may try on you.

Kung-Fu San Soo is not a limited series of techniques as in other arts. A student is taught techniques which are made up of a series of blocks, punches, kicks, leverages and throws. Such techniques are designed to acquaint the student with various moves and motions. The technique also familiarizes the student with the various places on the human body that may be attacked - and all the different directions from which it may be done.

The student then practices the technique until it is understood and can be done with coordination. Then the student is encouraged to mix the new technique into previous lessons to create new techniques. As the days, months and years go by, the student amasses literally thousands of combinations.

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What is Kung-Fu San Soo?

Students work out one on one - in a fighting format. This builds reaction and timing in the student. After some time, the student reacts automatically with the body and the mind working as one. Eventually, the student develops the ability to fight as a skilled and smart fighter reacting to any situation.

Finally, the student acquires the psycology of a fighter which enables him/her to understand a situation and often diffuse it or turn it to his/her advantage. All of this coupled with the ability to take the opponents balance and to maintain an element of surprise throughout a conflict, puts Kung-Fu San Soo head and shoulders above other martial arts.

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History San Soo Kung-Fu

For thousands of years, the neighboring principalities in Southern China maintained their owned armed forces and taught their own hand to hand fighting systems to their soldiers. When one area succumbed to a warring neighbor, the fighting systems were consolidated. In this way, several well developed fighting systems evolved in Southern China, over one or two thousand years, by the nineteenth century.

When a kingdom or fiefdom fell of decay, the accumulated literary works were sometimes saved and conserved in local monasteries. Such was the case that the art of Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung was conserved within the Kwan Yin monastery in the area around present day Chien Tien.

The accumulated writings that represented the Art were compiled into two volumes during the Ming dynasty. These volumes were used as the teaching texts from which the monks at the monastery were trained.

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History San Soo Kung-Fu

Eventually, Chin Moon Don became the teaching master of the Kwan Yin monastery. He was very skilled as a teacher and so his students, the monks, were very capable fighters. This fact was not lost on the local Warlord of the region. In time, he made an offer to Chin Moon Don. If he would leave the monastery and teach the Art to the soldiers of the Warlord, Chin Moon Don would be made the head of his own great family and become rich and feared. If he refused, soldiers would shoot many arrows into him.

This was a hard offer to refuse. So Chin Moon Don left the monastery. He took with him the two ancient teaching volumes as well as one additional volume that is believed to be his own written record of the lessons he had learned as a student himself.

Chin Moon Don taught for many years and eventually passed the task on to his son, Chin Leoung Kick. Kick then passed the honor on to his son, Chin Siu Don who passed it on to his nephew, Chi Siu Hung.

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History San Soo Kung-Fu

The Japanese overran the area around Chien Tien in the 1930's. The fact that the populace deferred to the Chin family instead of the military authority angered the Japanese greatly. The military commander decided that he would stage a fight to the death between Hung (then over 70 years of age) and the regimental Karate champion. He reasoned that having his champion kill Hung in hand to hand combat would show to the locals that the Japanese were superior and must be obeyed.

Hung was told that he must fight or that the entire population of the village would be killed. He agreed to fight. Hung killed the regimental Karate champion within twenty seconds. This of course caused the military commander to go into a rage. He ordered Hung and all those present machine gunned to death.

Prior to this, Chin Siu Dek had fled the country to the United States and the invaluable books were smuggled to Hong Kong by Hung's Son. In the 1960's they were sent to their intended heir, Chin Siu Dek, who we know as Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo.

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Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo

Jimmy H. Woo was born during the second decade of this century near the City of Cien Tien which is near present day Canton in Southern China.

As a small boy at the age of 4 years, he was taken to his uncle Hung, the teaching master of the Chin family, to begin the study of Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung. (Kung-Fu San Soo).

Young Dek took to the Art immediately and it was apparant to all that he would excel as a master of the Art.

While still a young boy, Jimmy was groomed to be his great uncle Hung's successor as the family teaching master. He was raised very much as a young prince of a very powerful family.

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Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo

As he grew into adolencence, Jimmy was exuberant and overflowing with confidence. Jimmy acquired a taste for gambling with the other young men of his class and developed a temper,especially when he lost. Following a violent altercation with another youth of the ruling class, Jimmy found himself in trouble.

The word went out that he was persona-non-grata and that his life would be very difficult if
he remained where he was. His family secured for him a passport in the pseudonym Jimmy H. Woo. They gave him the passport and a bag of money, and placed him on a steamship destined for the United States. They belived that he would be safe there.

By the time Jimmy arrived in southern California, he had gone through all of the considerable
funds that his family had given to him. And, there was no way to secure money from home.
For his first home here, Jimmy had cardboard accomadations beneath the Santa Monica Pier.

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Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo

Jimmy began work delivering produce for an oriental green grocer. From this start, Jimmy
worked many different jobs and vocations throughout California, in Las Vegas and other places.
His work for the China Town Merchants Association as private security is still remembered today.

Jimmy taught the fighting art he learn throughout his life to members of the chinese community
and to others on a private basis. Occasionally he consulted even in movie productions.

Finally, his uncle, who had secreted the family teaching texts out of mainland China and into Hong Kong, contacted him. It was his uncle's intention to send to Jimmy these ancient texts since it was the wish of Chin Siu Hung that Jimmy suceed as teaching master of the Art.

This was now the 1060's and Jimmy opened his studio in El Monte California behind the Midway Shopping Center on Lower Azusa Road. He call the Art Karate Kung-Fu back then.

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Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo

Even in retirement Jimmy continued to teach at the El Monte studio until his death on Valentines day 1992.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Jimmy H. Woo remember a warm happy person who never tired af telling endless stories of his adventures and misadventures. We also marvel at his great skill in the Art of Kung-Fu San Soo, the truly Ancient Chinese Art of Self Defense.

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