Coincidentally I just posted this in the striking forum if anyone is interested in learning Sanda in Beijing, China:
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/sanda-散打-kickboxing-school-in-beijing-china.3873641
Here's a reproduction of the original post for convenience (please see the other thread for more information):
Hi guys, I have a Chinese friend who use to fight professionally in Sanda and has just opened a Sanda school in Beijing.
For those who are not familiar with it, Sanda is the Chinese form of kickboxing, based on traditional Chinese Wushu and wrestling (摔跤 or Shuai Jiao). It's like Muay Thai but with throws. This is what
Cung Le,
Zabit Magomedsharipov,
Muslim Salikhov competed in before they started MMA, and it is the base of a lot of the Chinese fighters now entering the UFC. Here is a
Vice article about it,
Wiki, but a video says 1000 words.
The school is pretty centrally located next to central Beijing Railway station, within the 2nd ring. It is in the recreation club of a luxury hotel, so there's ultra modern facilities like a swimming pool and hotel quality private bathrooms and showers. It's luxurious compared to a normal gym. Here's some pictures of the pool and hotel (sorry I don't have any pictures of where they set up the gym but its right next to the pool).
I think this is a pretty nice way to learn real Sanda, in a private, relaxed, and well furnished setting with a real fighter who came up and competed in the standard Chinese national programs. He's also a pretty nice guy. If you happen to be in Beijing and are interested, or have questions, just let me know. I can probably get you a good discount.