The 36th KSF US Open Kung Fu Challenge tournament will kick off in the city of Norcross in June. Cung Le and his US Team Sanshou/Sanda Coach DeRu (Shawn X. Liu) along with friends, fighters, coaches, trainers, and masters will host the 2022 KSF- US Open Kung Fu Challenge 36 along with the KSF-Super (K. Super) Fight at the Shaolin Institute located at Business Park Dr. Ste C, Norcross, GA 30071 on June 11th, 2022.
This is a special event that gathers not only some of the most well-known original US Sanda/Sanshou team members and masters but also many younger fighters and coaches who have participated in our Sanshou/Sanda events in the US for the past 30 years, according to the director of the event.
It will especially showcase the new star Sanda fighters who are coming to the stage. Cung Le and his coach DeRu Shi (Shifu DeRu) will be the co-promoters, partnering together with fighters, trainers, and friends as well as supporters in this joint venture to revive the KSF – US Open Kung Fu Challenge. The KSF (Kung Fu Sanda Federation) is part of Shaolin Chan Foundation (a non-profit organization promoting Asian wisdom, natural healing, health, and martial arts).
Day-event will consist of traditional Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and other martial arts forms, weapons and light contact competitions, as well as continuous sport sparring with limited light contact and youth Sanda.
US Open Kung Fu Challenge tournament preliminary fights will start at 12:00 PM, and the final tournament will start at 7:00 PM until all fights are completed.
Registration and weigh-in starts Friday, June 10, 2022 at 1:00pm – 8:00pm. All fighters will complete their weight and medicals by 10:00 a.m.
As Shifu DeRu has expressed: It’s been almost 30 years since the very first official US Open International Sanda/Sanshou fight in the US at the Mobile Convention Center, where we showcased the skills of amazing fighters such as Cung Le, Alan Honeycutt, and David Sanders among many others from international countries.
Later championships presented some of the US and world’s best fighters like Rudi Ott, Al Loriaux,and later K.J Noon, Albert Pop, Mike Norman, Robert Pritchett, Scott Sheeley, Brian Madigan, Russ Middleton, Patrick Barry, Li Jie, Melvin Guilard, Wael Karika Muhammed, Edwardo Fujihira, Ruslan Adryuschenko, Andre Assis, James Cooper, Mike Altman, Max Chen, John Dixon, James Cooper, Dustin Carbajal and A. J. Verret among so many others …
Sanshou, or Sanda, developed from Kung Fu like Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, is a growing sport. Sanda’s popularity is on the rise, and together we will reignite the world’s interest in Sanda. “The exciting new era of Sanda is coming,” said DeRu.
The US Open Kung Fu Challenge is unlike any other MMA sport, as it incorporates full body contact with greater freedom to use all styles of combat skills. It is a very exciting combat style for audiences to watch. Fighters are allowed to apply the techniques of punching, kicking, kneeing, throwing, interception, and wrestling with limited grappling.
