We're soon starting a new martial arts group in Dendermonde. We train every Monday at Sporthal Appels, starting at 21:00. Get in touch and come along to a first session.
The sport
Sanda (散打, also called sanshou or Chinese boxing) is the full-contact fighting form of Chinese wushu. It looks like kickboxing — until someone catches your kick and puts you on the floor. Alongside punches and kicks, catches, sweeps and throws are a full part of the sport, in competition too. It's a complete, all-in-one martial art that makes you strong in body and mind, with room for creativity and fun.
That means Sanda happens at three ranges: long, close, and in the clinch. You need to be at home in all three. A pure boxer gets thrown; a pure wrestler gets hit on the way in.
Competitions are both light- and full-contact. Bouts are fought on a raised platform, the 擂台 (leitai). Clean punches and kicks score, but a well-executed throw scores most. Elbows aren't allowed, and the clinch is kept short: you may grab, you may not hang on.
踢
Tī
Low kicks, roundhouse, side and push kicks. Range, timing, and the discipline to bring the leg back.
打
Dǎ
Jab, cross, hook, uppercut — a solid boxing base. Guard, footwork, and combinations that actually lead somewhere.
摔
Shuāi
Catches, sweeps, hip throws. This is what sets Sanda apart from every other kickboxing style, and usually what keeps people hooked.
Training
We train every Monday at 21:00 at Sporthal Appels, and every session follows the same shape. A session lasts 1 hour: short enough to fit after work, long enough to be worth it.
Free sparring with a partner at your level is possible. You don't have to spar to take part. Plenty of members never do, or only after a year. Contact is built up at your pace, with gear and supervision. Never as a test, never as a surprise.
Who it's for
Everyone is welcome to join: people who have never worn a glove, and people who have trained for years. Both have something to gain here, from the sport and from each other.
Questions
No. Competing is for those who choose it, and that's a small minority. Most train for the technique, the conditioning and the people.
Sanda is a contact sport, but a training session isn't a fight. Contact is built up step by step, with protective gear, and with a partner working at your level. You learn to fall before anyone throws you.
Yes. Sanda combines boxing, kickboxing and throws, which makes it a strong base for self-defence: keeping distance, holding your guard, breaking free from a grab and staying on your feet when someone tries to take you down. We train it as a sport, not as street fighting, but the reflexes come with you.
Fit enough to show up is fit enough. You go at your own pace, and nobody looks twice if you need to catch your breath.
For your first sessions: sportswear, clean indoor shoes or bare feet, a towel and water. That's it. You'll only need a mouthguard and gloves once you start doing contact. We'll tell you what to buy and where in good time, so you don't spend money on gear you don't need.
Every Monday at Sporthal Appels (Dendermonde), starting at 21:00. A session lasts 1 hour (21:00 to 22:00). Send us a message and we'll arrange your first session.
A couple of euros per session. Enough to cover the hall, no more. This isn't a gym chain with an annual contract; we want a friendly group working on ourselves together in a good atmosphere. We'll confirm the exact figure, but it stays in that range.
Get in touch
This commits you to nothing. Tell us briefly who you are, and we'll get in touch to arrange your first session.
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