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	KNEE-STRIKE COUNTER: Cung Le throws a right jab, and his opponent blocks it (1-2). The opponent then counters with a knee thrust, which Le stops with his forearm (3). The san shou expert grabs the other man’s right leg and left shoulder (4) before pulling him in close (5), lifting him into the air (6) and dropping him (7).
	COUNTER KNEE STRIKE WITH ARM THROW: Cung Le opens with a lead-hand hook, which his opponent blocks (1-2). The opponent then grabs Le’s neck and drives a knee thrust into his abdomen (3). Once the opponent withdraws his knee (4), Le traps his right arm and places his own right arm in position for the throw (5). The san shou stylist then spins counterclockwise (6) and executes the throw (7).
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	COMBINATION DOUBLELEG TO KNEE STRIKE: Cung Le shoots in for a double-leg takedown (1). His opponent partially negates the technique, leaving Le with only one leg in his grasp (2). The opponent then moves his trapped leg backward as he pushes Le away (3). Le grabs his head and launches a knee at his face (4). The opponent breaks free from Le’s hands and stands up straight, leaving himself open for a jumping curved knee strike to the temple (5).
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	ROUNDHOUSE LEG-CATCH THROW: Cung Le blocks his opponent’s knee thrust (1- 2), then pulls away to avoid subsequent attacks to his abdomen (3). The opponent delivers a roundhouse kick, which Le traps (4). The san shou instructor then advances and pivots (5) before sweeping the opponent’s supporting leg (6) and throwing him (7).

A lot has happened since Black Belt last checked in with san shou sensation Cung Le for the cover story of the January 2001 issue. The San Jose, California-based martial artist has opted out of the K-1, where he fought in a special bout under san shou rules in 2000 and had been scheduled to do so again. He has landed a number of lucrative endorsement deals with national companies, the latest of which is with Oxy-Water. He is preparing to launch a martial arts TV talk show called Off the Hook, and he recently won a unanimous decision over Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Shonie Carter in a special bout organized for victims of the September 11 tragedy.

One thing that hasn’t changed for Le—fortunately for his 800 students and all the readers of Black Belt—is his commitment to san shou, the dynamic Chinese art of kicking, punching and throwing. In this article, the Vietnamese-born champ will introduce you to three ways to dynamically defend against a relatively new element that has been tossed into the san shou technical mix: the knee strike.

KNEE-STRIKE COUNTER
To perform the knee-strike counter, you begin by throwing a right jab at your opponent, Le says. “As soon as he blocks it, he will probably counter with a rear knee thrust, which you block with your left forearm.

At the same time, you reach around his thigh and grab his leg with your blocking arm, then place your other arm over his left shoulder. To finish the technique, you squat down, get your hips close to him and pop up as you arch your back. The throw lifts him off the ground and drops him on his back near your feet.

Caution: Don’t lean into his knee strike, Le says. “Try to stay relaxed. As his knee comes up, don’t bend your supporting leg when he makes contact with your forearm. Just roll with it.”

Effect: “You get a lot of points for executing the throw, but be careful because your opponent can also score with his knee if you don’t block it right,” Le says. “If he does score with the knee, you can neutralize the point with your throw. If you do this technique just once, you will make him think twice about ever throwing a knee as a counter again.”

COUNTER KNEE STRIKE WITH ARM THROW
For the next technique, you start with a lead-hand (right) hook. Your opponent counters by blocking with his left arm, grabbing your neck with both hands and pulling you in as he prepares for a straight knee thrust to the abdomen. “Protect your body with your left forearm and deflect the knee with your right hand,” Le says. “Then use your left arm to clamp down on his right arm, trapping it against your chest. At the same time, place your right arm under his right arm and spin counterclockwise until your back is against his stomach and your legs are slightly bent. Then bend forward and straighten your legs for the throw.”

This technique works well whenever your opponent grabs your neck before initiating a knee strike, Le says.

Caution: To make the technique work, you must be fast, Le advises.

“And you have to ensure that he retracts his knee before you commit your arms to trapping his right arm—or you might find yourself eating more knees.”

Effect: In a tournament, the counter knee strike with arm throw will disorient your opponent and make him more cautious, Le says.

“And the throw gets more points because it’s over your head,” adds san shou champ Rudi Ott.

ROUNDHOUSE LEG-CATCH THROW
The roundhouse leg-catch throw on the defensive knee is designed to combat martial artists who are fast with their hands and fast with their knees, Le says. If such an opponent reaches out to grab your neck before delivering a knee thrust, sometimes you can’t avoid it. You just have to absorb it with your arms. But before he can get ahold of your neck with both hands and start hitting you with additional knees, you must break free so you don’t sustain any more damage.

“Then, instead of another knee strike, he may throw a roundhouse kick because it has a greater range; but when most fighters throw a roundhouse, it’s easy to do a legcatch,” Le says. “You block it with your left arm and trap the leg with your right by circling your arm under it.

Then you step forward, pivot and execute the throw by twisting your body as you sweep out his base with your right leg.”

Caution: “Make sure you’re able to get out of his grasp when he has ahold of your neck,” Le says.

“Otherwise, he’ll keep kneeing you. And be prepared for any attack that he is ready to deliver while you’re trying to escape.”

Effect: “The result is disorientation, with the wind getting knocked out of him,” Ott says. “He will also be hesitant about throwing any more roundhouse kicks.”

And when you think about it, that’s the most intelligent form of defense: making your opponent afraid of attacking you in the first place.