Shootfighting is a

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

and

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a 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 opponent (''knock ...

, 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 martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and kenpo. Shootfighting was previously used synonymously with mixed martial arts competitions in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, as opposed to

shoot-style Shoot wrestling is a Japanese hybrid grappling style and combat sport. Shoot wrestling incorporates techniques from various wrestling, submission grappling, kickboxing and karate styles. It was particularly inspired and influenced by catch wrest ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

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 Japanese hybrid grappling style and combat sport. Shoot wrestling incorporates techniques from various wrestling, submission grappling, kickboxing and karate styles. It was particularly inspired and influenced by catch ...

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

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

, Fighting Network RINGS, and Shooto, where many fighters still considered themselves to be ''shootfighters''.

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

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) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

had its genesis in the 1970s, when

Karl Gotch Karl Istaz (born Karel Alfons Ceclie Istaz; August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007), best known by the ring name , was a competitor and trainer in Professional wrestling, professional, Amateur wrestling, amateur, and catch wrestling, born in Antwerp, B ...

taught a group of

ese professional wrestlers

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

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 missile ...

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

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

, hosted a series of matches against practitioners of other martial arts; most of these were "worked" (predetermined), but one particular high-profile one was against Muhammad Ali, which was in fact a shoot. This led to an increased interest in real and effective technique, and eventually led to the creation of

, with some

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

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 '' Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi'' (PWFG, a Japanese

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 ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

and

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

. 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

. 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 A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the 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 joint in the hu ...

elbow The elbow is the region between the upper 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 t ...

any part of the body except the

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

, as well as

headbutt A headbutt or butt is a targeted strike (attack), strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's Skull#Humans, cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of ...

. 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 or takedown is legal and competitors are allowed to hit a downed opponent. 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 (, "joint locking technique"Ohlenkamp ...

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