Shoot wrestling
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Focus | Mixed Martial Arts |
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Olympic sport | No |
Shoot wrestling is a
The first wave of shoot wrestlers were students of Antonio Inoki and Karl Gotch from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), two wrestlers which already were advocates of a stiffer and more realistic wrestling style. Their students left NJPW to form the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1984, pioneering in the new style.[3]
Shoot wrestling was popular in Japan from the 1980s until the mid-1990s, fading from popularity due the demise of the leading shoot-style promotion
Prior to the emergence of the current sport of shoot wrestling, the term was commonly used in the professional wrestling business, particularly in the
History
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Professional wrestling |
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Historically, shoot wrestling has been influenced by many martial arts, most influential of them being catch wrestling, but also freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and then sambo, karate, Muay Thai and judo in the sport's later stages.
Karl Gotch is one of the most important figures in the development of shoot wrestling. Karl Gotch would begin his journey into wrestling in the German and North American professional wrestling circuits, where Gotch found moderate success. However, it was in his tours of Japan that the early formations of shoot wrestling took place. Gotch was a student of the "Snake Pit" gym, run by the renowned catch wrestler Billy Riley of Wigan. The gym was the centre of learning submission wrestling as practiced in the mining town of Wigan, popularly known as catch-as-catch-can wrestling. It was here that Karl Gotch honed his catch wrestling skills. Karl Gotch also travelled to India to practice the wrestling form of Pehlwani; later on he would propagate the exercises using the "Hindu mace" (large clubs) and would go on to incorporate the Indian system of exercises using push-ups, neck exercises, yogic breathing exercises and "Hindu squats" for conditioning. Gotch attained legendary status in Japan, earning the nickname God of Wrestling. In the 1970s he taught catch wrestling-based hooking and shooting to the likes of Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Satoru Sayama, Masami Soranaka, and Akira Maeda. Most of these professional wrestlers already had backgrounds in legitimate martial arts. Masami Soranaka had been a student of full contact karate, kodokan judo, and sumo. Yoshiaki Fujiwara was already a black belt in judo, while Satoru Sayama had studied Muay Thai with Toshio Fujiwara and went on to study sambo with Victor Koga. This would eventually lead to the added influences of karate, Muay Thai and judo to the wrestling style.
One of Gotch's students, Antonio Inoki, hosted a series of
Later on, many wrestlers became interested in promoting this more realistic style of professional wrestling and in 1984, the Universal Wrestling Federation was formed. The UWF was a professional wrestling organisation that promoted the shoot and strong styles of wrestling. While predetermined, the UWF featured effective and practical martial arts moves, which were applied with force. The organization would even host some legitimate mixed martial arts fights, where the UWF wrestlers were able to test their shoot wrestling techniques against fighters with other styles, mimicking Inoki's own exploits. However, internal conflicts between the wrestlers soon resulted in a breakup of the company.[3]
After the breakup of the original Universal Wrestling Federation, shoot wrestling branched into several disciplines. One of the first top stars to leave was
The multiple successors and organizations inspired by the UWF range from professional wrestling, to MMA and even standalone martial arts styles, they are collectively known as the "U-Kei" ("U-Group" or "U-Class").
Shoot wrestling itself was popular until the mid-90s due the demise of the
Currently, a few companies have been promoting shoot-wrestling events.
Major promotions
Shoot wrestling branched into several sub disciplines after the breakup of the original Universal Wrestling Federation. The main forms and revivals are listed below.
- Yoshiaki Fujiwara's students Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki founded Pancrase in 1993, a mixed martial arts promotion predating UFC which originally used shoot wrestling rules in real non-scripted matches.
- Akira Maeda founded Fighting Network Rings in 1991, a shoot-style wrestling promotion that transitioned to MMA.
- World-renowned gyms like the Lion's Den, Takada Dojo, and the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy propagate the shoot wrestling-based style.
- Dutch kickboxer and MMA legend Bas Rutten trained with shoot wrestler Masakatsu Funaki.
- Junior National Korean taekwondo champion Masa Kin Jim has trained in shoot wrestling. During a brief tour of Japan promoting Korean Martial Arts, Masa Kin Jim became fascinated with the shoot wrestling style. In 1998, he would go on to open one of the first shoot wrestling academies in South Korea.
- In 2004, shoot wrestling received official sport status in western Canada and was eligible for licensing. The first of many matches were held open to the public to build a foundation of awareness for the new sport.
Derived styles
Combat wrestling
Focus | Shoot Wrestling |
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Olympic sport | No |
Combat wrestling, also known as "MMA without strikes" is a shoot wrestling variation founded by Kiguchi Dojo.
Doojo, a former wrestler, incorporated classic wrestling rules in his sport. Famous mixed martial artists also participate in the tournament and a tournament is also held throughout Japan. Even matchmaking, which is usually not seen by amateur wrestlers and mixed martial arts fighters, is attractive and is now a successful door for mixed martial arts fighters.
In addition, joint levers and chokes are considered fouls unless they lead to a fall, but in combat wrestling a fall does not result in victory (it will be a point at judgment). If a wrestler taps from joint blocks or throttling, a winner is declared. The basic rule is that percussion techniques are basically prohibited and are often practiced as mixed martial arts performed by amateurs.
Shooto
Professional wrestler Satoru Sayama, a student of Antonio Inoki, founded Shooto in 1985 with the goal creating a sport that revolved around a realistic and effective fighting system. Shooto is focused on all aspects of fighting: striking, stand-up grappling and ground fighting. Practitioners are referred to as shooters or shootists.
Shootfighting
An early term for MMA, based on the pro wrestling term "
Shootboxing
Kickboxer
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "Combat Submission Wrestling". Archived from the original on 2010-01-03.
- )
- ^ a b c d e "The World's Greatest Fighter Was A Pro Wrestler Who Couldn't Fight". Deadspin. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ a b "Nobuhiko Takada: MMA's Most Important Bad Fighter". www.vice.com. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Pure Dynamite by Tom Billington & Alison Coleman, page 7, Dynamite Kid Co 2001 edition
- ^ Bull, Andy. "The forgotten story of ... Muhammad Ali v Antonio Inoki". The Guardian. November 11, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "A Blood Called Shooto - Home Called Shooto". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
- ^ Grant, T. P. (2013-05-02). "MMA Origins: Fighting For Pride". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
- ^ Blanchard, Matthew (2020-08-20). "Former Pro Wrestling NOAH Owners LIDET To Debut New Promotion, GLEAT". The Overtimer. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ Raimondi, Marc (2018-04-05). "Minoru Suzuki vs. Matt Riddle will now headline GCW's Bloodsport event". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
- ^ "Josh Barnett's Bloodsport Preview and Predictions". MMA Sucka. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
References
- Catch: The Hold Not Taken (DVD). 2005.