To Dynamo, Mark L and any others interested

There are three sources of San Da fighters in China. There is the government sponsored sport programs which were originally all amateur and designed to produce athletes to compete in the world championships. This group is very point oriented, not power related. I personally do not like it, but then again if you can not stalk them down and do damage then their approach can win them a match

The second source, actually the oldest, is the military. For obvious reasons, military train in a much harder style with more power. However, often they can not compete in international events because they are soldiers. There can be complications. A few have fought in the King of San Da circuit, but not many. Once they retire, they often make very good coaches. In fact, my own coach is originally a military athlete

The third source, which sprung up around 1996, is the private club. The private club is often based or connected to some traditional style. It is more power based than the government programs, though not as rough or conditioned as the military program. Most of the current champions in the King of San Da circuit are from this source. In fact, the fact that the private club athlete beat the government program athlete was a big shock to the government in the first year of the king of San Da series.

I can see why perhaps military athletes were not sent to Thailand, but I do not understand why more of the private club athletes were not sent.