Shootfighting is a

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

and

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and kenpo. Shootfighting was previously used synonymously with

mixed martial art Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

s competitions in Japan, as opposed to shoot-style

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

competitions. The term has been retired from common usage because it became a registered trademark of Bart Vale, who uses it to describe his hybrid fighting system derived from

shoot wrestling Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

. However, it is still sometimes used colloquially. Examples which were once considered shootfighting styles, tournaments or organizations are

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki ...

, Shoot boxing and

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

, where many fighters still considered themselves to be ''shootfighters''.

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

is possibly the most recognisable shoot fighter, as it was the discipline he used during the early days of the UFC.

History

Shootfighting's use as a synonym for

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

had its genesis in the 1970s, when

Karl Gotch Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the ...

taught a group of Japanese professional wrestlers

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission ...

techniques, called "''hooking''" or "''

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles c ...

''". In 1976, one of these pro-wrestlers,

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage ...

, hosted a series of matches against practictioners of other martial arts, most of these were "worked" (predeterminated) but one particular high-profile one was against Muhammad Ali, which was in fact a

shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the sp ...

. This led to an increased interest in real and effective technique, and eventually led to the creation of

, with some shoot-style

organizations hosting legitimate mixed martial arts bouts, called "''shoots''". In the 1990s the interest grew, and certain shoot-style organizations like

and RINGS evolved into pure "shoot" organizations. The term "shootfighting" was frequently used to describe these events and styles. Bart Vale, an American with a background in

, champion of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

'' Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi'' (PWFG, a Japanese shoot-style

organization) for close to three years moved back to America and used the term "shootfighting", to describe his own hybrid fighting system, which was a combination of the

techniques he had learned in Japan, and his experience in kenpo,

jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

and

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

. He also founded the ''International Shootfighting Association'' to promote shootfighting as a

. He also would trademark the term, reserving the rights to use it for himself and his organization.

, at the time Pancrase champion and former Fujiwara Gumi alumni, entered in UFC 1 representing "Shootfighting", describing his fighting style at Pancrase. With Shamrock's success in the early UFC, Bart Vale would use a worked victory at Fujiwara Gumi against Shamrock claiming it was a real fight to promote himself in the United States as a MMA legend in Japan. His actual MMA record is 1-2-0.

Rules

Shootfighting is a hybrid martial art, with similar but more limited rules compared to

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

. Currently professional shootfighting matches consists only of a heavyweight (200 lb or more) division. But there are lighter divisions for amateur competitors. Pro matches run 30 minutes non-stop, amateurs 10 minutes. Held inside a standard

ring, competitors are allowed to kick,

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the human leg, leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest join ...

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the m ...

any part of the body except the

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial co ...

, as well as

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

. Punches are allowed to the body. Since no gloves are worn to facilitate wrestling, punches aren't allowed to the head, although open hand palms and slaps are allowed. Any type of

throw Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensil ...

or takedown is legal and competitors are allowed to hit a

downed opponent A downed opponent (also called a grounded opponent) is a combatant that is on the ground, as compared to a combatant that is in a standing position. This commonly implies that the downed combatant is lying on the ground, but can technically refer ...

. Additionally, any type of

joint lock A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension. In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 ''kansetsu-waza'', "joint lo ...

is legal as are chokes against the side of the neck. The only foul consists of punches to the face,

eye-gouges __NOTOC__ Eye-gouging is the act of pressing or tearing the eye using the fingers or instruments. Eye-gouging involves a very high risk of eye injury, such as eye loss or blindness. Eye-gouging as a fighting style was once a popular form of s ...

, techniques against the windpipe and groin strikes. Fights are won when a competitor is knocked down for a 10 count, knocked down 5 times or forced to

submit ''Submit'' is an EP by the British band Pitchshifter, released on 23 March 1992 by Earache on LP, cassette and CD. French black metal band Blut aus Nord Blut Aus Nord (, ) is a French black metal band from Mondeville, Calvados, that ...

. A fighter caught in a submission hold may grab the ropes to break the hold, but this counts as a 1/3 of a knock down. Grabbing the ropes 15 times equals a loss. Bouts that go to the full time limit are declared a draw.

References

* Chan, Sam
The Japanese Pro-Wrestling: Reality Based Martial Art Connection
''bjj.org''. URL last accessed January 7, 2006. * Herzog, Paul

''www.mindspring.com''. URL last accessed January 7, 2006. * International Shootfighting Association

''www.shootfighting.com''. URL last accessed January 7, 2006.

External links

International Shootfighting Association
The homepage of the International Shootfighting Association.
Official Shootfighting information & training in Vallejo, Fairfield, Vacaville & Davis, CA

American Kenpo & Shootfighting

Swedish Shootfighting Association
{{Martial arts Combat sports Hybrid martial arts Japanese martial arts Sports originating in Japan Sports originating in the United States North American martial arts Martial arts in the United States

History

Rules

See also

References

External links