Ju-Jutsu meets “Shou Shu“

19 enemies a “Shou Shu“- fighter has to battle at the same time during his black belt test. Henrik Stoldt, instructor of the Ju-Jutsu team at the Sports Club Fudji Ahrensburg had never heard of this martial arts when he met Shun Shifu Ted Guerrero (52) while touring the historical U.S. Route 66. In Kingman, Arizona, Ted Guerrero had established a new Shou Shu dojo after leaving California in 2006. Ju-Jutsu black belt Henrik Stoldt wanted to know more. What role is Shou Shu playing among the hundreds of martial arts around the world?

Shou Shu itself is not an old system. Actually it has been developed in the 1960s, pretty much at the same time as the modern German Ju-Jutsu. Ralph and Albert Moore are the fathers of Shou Shu. Their own story goes: Al Moore has studied ancient martial arts in China of the 1940s and even been a member of the Chinese triads. The Shou Shu secret knowledge derives from the 4,000 years old Shaolin Temple.

Indeed, Shou Shu uses parts of the seven animal styles of Kung Fu, but the secretiveness and Chinese myth is hardly more than a marketing tool. Serious research into the Shou Shu origin comes to other results.

Ralph and Albert Moore practised Kenpo-Karate of the Al Tracy style and were instructed by Bob Blackmore and Steve LaBounty. Says another oldtimer, Ted Sumner: “They looked like beginners then, not like people who had been trained in China.” Yet, in 2002, Al Tracy himself declared: “The Moore brothers belonged to our first black belts in the 1960s.”

When Richard Lee, a 10th degree black belt of the Tracy-system, established his own Bok Fu Do style, the Moore-brothers followed. Pretty soon they must have come to the conclusion, that it would be clever to set up a martial arts style of their own. Many of the Shou Shu techniques have copied their names from either Tracy-Kenpo or Bok Fu Do. Says a former Tracy team member: “The truth is Al Moore could not wait to get a black belt and get out of there, he used to get his ass handed to him every thursday night by all the jar heads, so what did he do, he got a bunch of big dumb guys to stand around him, and started his own dojo.”

A more appropriate comment is made by a U.S. American teacher: “Years ago, I studied directly under Ralph Moore along with his son Rusty and daughter Kelly, and with Rusty received my black belt. Many times, I had discussed the issue of the origins of Shou Shu with Mr. Moore who had said that he originally studied Kenpo and showed great respect for Ed Parker. He said that his brother Al had gone to China to study 'Shou Shu,' to the northern city of Tian Jin.

Years later, I too travelled to Tian Jin, but not to study martial arts, but Mandarin Chinese, as well as to teach English at a university. During that time, I attempted to learn more about the origins of Shou Shu. No one had ever heard of 'Shou Shu'.

However, apart from the ‘story’ of Shou Shu’s origins, I must comment that Al Moore’s martial art was certainly unique at a time when people practiced either hard styles like Tang Soo Do, which I studied prior to learning ‘Shou Shu’ or the soft Kung fu styles.

All martial arts draw on similar body movements. Developers like Ed Parker modified early forms, as did Bruce Lee. Is it any wonder that Al Moore would follow their example and create a form that truly has unique and borrowed elements? Al and Ralph Moore are simply American businessmen who developed a great idea into a nice little enterprise. Who can fault them for this?”