Shoot wrestling
Encyclopedia
Shoot wrestling is a combat sport
that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling
circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement. The name "shoot wrestling" comes from the professional wrestling term "shoot
", which refers to any unscripted occurrence within a scripted wrestling event. Prior to the emergence of the current sport of shoot wrestling, the term was commonly used in the in the professional wrestling business, particularly in the United Kingdom
, as a synonym
for the legitimate sport of catch wrestling
. Shoot wrestling can be used to describe a range of hybrid fighting systems such as shootfighting
, shooto
, pancrase
, RINGS submission fighting and shoot boxing
.
, Greco-Roman wrestling
, sambo
, catch wrestling
in the beginning, and karate
, kickboxing
, Muay Thai
and judo
in the final stages.
Karl Gotch is one of the most important figures in the development of shoot wrestling. Karl Gotch eventually graduated to the American professional wrestling circuit where he found moderate success. It was his tour of Japan though, that set the stage for the birth of shoot wrestling. 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" (mudgals) 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 name of Kamisama ('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 Muay Thai fighter and black belt
in judo. Satoru Sayama had studied Muay Thai with Toshio Fujiwara
and went on to study sambo with Victor Koga. This would eventually lead to added influences of karate, Muay Thai and judo to the wrestling style.
One of his students, Antonio Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts
matches in which he pitted his "strong style professional wrestling" against other martial arts. Inoki would go on to promote these techniques in his professional wrestling promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling
.
Later on, many wrestlers became interested in promoting an even 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 strong shoot style/strong style wrestling. This essentially meant that it employed effective and practical martial arts moves, which were applied with force. The organization even hosted some real mixed martial arts matches, where the wrestlers were able to test their shoot wrestling techniques against other styles.
After the breakup of the original Universal Wrestling Federation, shoot wrestling branched into several disciplines. Each of the disciplines were also strongly influenced by other martial arts.
Combat sport
A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...
that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement. The name "shoot wrestling" comes from the professional wrestling term "shoot
Shoot (professional wrestling)
A shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling - rather it is a carny term shortened from...
", which refers to any unscripted occurrence within a scripted wrestling event. Prior to the emergence of the current sport of shoot wrestling, the term was commonly used in the in the professional wrestling business, particularly in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, as a synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for the legitimate sport of catch wrestling
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
. Shoot wrestling can be used to describe a range of hybrid fighting systems such as shootfighting
Shootfighting
Shootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...
, shooto
Shooto
Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...
, pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
, RINGS submission fighting and shoot boxing
Shoot boxing
Shoot boxing is both a combat sport and a stand-up fighting promotion company based in Tokyo, Japan. The organization was founded by former kickboxer Caesar Takeshi in 1985....
.
History
Historically, shoot wrestling has been influenced by many martial arts such as freestyle wrestlingFreestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
, Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
, sambo
Sambo (martial art)
Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMooborona Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand to hand...
, catch wrestling
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
in the beginning, and karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
, Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
and judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
in the final stages.
Karl Gotch is one of the most important figures in the development of shoot wrestling. Karl Gotch eventually graduated to the American professional wrestling circuit where he found moderate success. It was his tour of Japan though, that set the stage for the birth of shoot wrestling. Gotch was a student of the "Snake Pit" gym, run by the renowned catch wrestler Billy Riley
Billy Riley
For the rockabilly musician, see Billy Lee Riley.For the 19th-century baseball player, see Billy Riley .Billy Riley was a practitioner and teacher of Catch Wrestling...
of Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. 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
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to practice the wrestling form of Pehlwani
Pehlwani
Pehlwani or Pahlavani or Kushti is a Persian style of wrestling popular in Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It was developed in the Mughal era through a synthesis of Indian malla-yuddha and Persian Varzesh-e Bastani....
, later on he would propagate the exercises using the "Hindu mace" (mudgals) and would go on to incorporate the Indian system of exercises using push-ups, neck exercises, yogic breathing exercises
Pranayama
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
and "Hindu squats" for conditioning. Gotch attained legendary status in Japan, earning the name of Kamisama ('god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
[of wrestling]'). In the 1970s he taught catch wrestling-based hooking and shooting to the likes of Antonio Inoki
Antonio Inoki
is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist who now resides between New York City and Tokyo. He was also the founder and former owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling before selling his controlling share in the promotion to Yukes...
, Tatsumi Fujinami
Tatsumi Fujinami
is a Japanese professional wrestler who is famous for his gimmick as "The Dragon." He is the one who is credited for inventing the Dragon Sleeper and the Dragon Suplex...
, Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
is a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
, Satoru Sayama
Satoru Sayama
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He's wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Super Tiger, Tiger King, Tiger Mask and The Mask of Tiger...
, Masami Soranaka, and Akira Maeda
Akira Maeda
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling show World of Sport. He helped develop the shoot-style of professional wrestling during the late 1980s....
. 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
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
. Yoshiaki Fujiwara was already a Muay Thai fighter and black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in judo. Satoru Sayama had studied Muay Thai with Toshio Fujiwara
Toshio Fujiwara
Toshio Fujiwara is a well known Japanese former kickboxer who teaches at his own gym, TOSHIO FUJIWARA SPORTS GYM, in Tokyo...
and went on to study sambo with Victor Koga. This would eventually lead to added influences of karate, Muay Thai and judo to the wrestling style.
One of his students, Antonio Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
matches in which he pitted his "strong style professional wrestling" against other martial arts. Inoki would go on to promote these techniques in his professional wrestling promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
.
Later on, many wrestlers became interested in promoting an even more realistic style of professional wrestling and in 1984, the Universal Wrestling Federation
Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...
was formed. The UWF was a professional wrestling organisation that promoted the strong shoot style/strong style wrestling. This essentially meant that it employed effective and practical martial arts moves, which were applied with force. The organization even hosted some real mixed martial arts matches, where the wrestlers were able to test their shoot wrestling techniques against other styles.
After the breakup of the original Universal Wrestling Federation, shoot wrestling branched into several disciplines. Each of the disciplines were also strongly influenced by other martial arts.
Major forms
Shoot wrestling branched into several sub disciplines after the breakup of the original Universal Wrestling Federation. The main forms are listed below.- Yoshiaki FujiwaraYoshiaki Fujiwarais a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
's students Masakatsu FunakiMasakatsu Funaki, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
and Minoru SuzukiMinoru Suzukiis a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
founded PancrasePancrasePancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
.
- "Tiger MaskTiger Maskis a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's Bokura Magazine from 1968 to 1969 and was later published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1970 to 1971...
" Satoru SayamaSatoru Sayamais a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He's wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Super Tiger, Tiger King, Tiger Mask and The Mask of Tiger...
founded ShootoShootoShooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...
, which added Muay ThaiMuay ThaiMuay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
, SamboSamboSambo may refer to:*Sambo , a racial term for a person with mixed African and Native American heritage * Sambo , a martial art developed in the USSR* Sambo from The Story of Little Black Sambo, a book...
and JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
to the shoot wrestling arsenal.
- Kickboxer Caesar TakeshiCaesar TakeshiCaesar Takeshi is a Japanese former kickboxer and the founder of shoot boxing.- Career :*Asia Pacific Kickboxing Federation Welterweight champion *Asia Pacific Kickboxing Federation Middleweight champion...
founded Shoot boxingShoot boxingShoot boxing is both a combat sport and a stand-up fighting promotion company based in Tokyo, Japan. The organization was founded by former kickboxer Caesar Takeshi in 1985....
, a Stand-up fightingStand-up fightingStand-up fighting is hand-to-hand combat that takes place while the combatants are in a standing position. The term is commonly used in martial arts and combat sports to designate the set of techniques employed from a standing position, as opposed to techniques employed in ground fighting...
league allowing standing submissions and throws.
- Akira Maeda's founded Fighting Network RingsFighting Network RINGSFighting Network Rings, trademarked as RINGS, is a Japanese combat sport promotion that has lived three distinct periods; puroresu promotion from its inauguration to 1995, mixed martial arts promotion from 1995 to its 2002 disestablishment, and the revived mixed martial arts promotion from 2008 to...
, a defunct league which emphasised submissions.
- Another Yoshiaki FujiwaraYoshiaki Fujiwarais a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
student, Bart ValeBart ValeBart Vale is an American former kickboxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is known for his "old school" American martial arts look, consisting of a mustache, mullet and American flag trunks...
, developed ShootfightingShootfightingShootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...
.
- World renowned gyms like the Lion's DenLion's Den (mixed martial arts)The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
, Takada DojoTakada DojoThe Takada Dojo is a mixed martial arts academy in Tokyo, Japan. The dojo takes its name from Nobuhiko Takada its founder. Many members, including Takada, have participated in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts...
and Shamrock Martial Arts Academy propagate shoot wrestling-based styles of martial arts.
- Dutch kickboxer and MMA legend Bas RuttenBas RuttenSebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
trained with shoot wrestler Masakatsu Funaki.
- Canadian standouts Arthur Lee and William Hamilton developed "pro style" shoot wrestling. A mix of light strikes, basic submissions and traditional folk wrestling, the style stemmed from traditional pankration and was later incorporated in early MWW events.
- In 2004 pro 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.
- Junior National Korean Tae Kwon Do champion Masa Kin Jim has trained in shoot wrestling. During a brief tour of Japan promoting Korean Martial Arts Masa Kin Jim was fascinated with the style shoot wrestling brought to Martial Arts. He opened one of the first shoot wrestling academies in South Korea in 1998.
- In 2002 shoot and pro wrestling superstars Jushin "Thunder" Liger and Minoru Suzuki squared off in a mixed martial arts match-up. Suzuki won via submission (rear-naked-choke) at 1:48 of the first round.
See also
- PancrasePancrasePancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
- Professional Wrestling in Japan
- ShootfightingShootfightingShootfighting is a combat sport and martial art, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association . Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principle of these being Muay Thai and Catch Wrestling.Shootfighting was...
- ShootoShootoShooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...
External links
- Scientific Wrestling.
- Website of the film 'Catch - the hold not taken', which looks at the history of shoot wrestling
- Chan, Sam. The Japanese Pro-Wrestling: Reality Based Martial Art Connection. bjj.org. URL last accessed January 7, 2006.
- Shoot Wrestling Canada. Ron Beer's Family Self Defense, home of Shoot Wrestling Canada.