 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Shootfighting is a hybrid of submission, grappling and Thai Kickboxing. The martial art/sport of shootfighting
is a recent creation. It has its genesis less than 25 years ago
when a famous German wrestler taught the art of real wrestling,
or "shooting", to a group of top Japanese martial artists.
The wrestling they learned bore only a superficial resemblance
to today's professional wrestling. The current world champion of the
Fujiwara Gumi is Miami's Bart Vale, the first non- Japanese to
reach the higher levels of the sport. Vale, who coined the term
shootfighting to describe the style, combined the wrestling For more information, visit the official website of the International Shootfighting Association. |
SHOOTFIGHTING
Official matches have been held for
almost 10 years and the sport's popularity has grown. It is now the third
most popular spectator sport in Japan behind baseball and sumo. There
are currently three main organizations sanctioning matches and teaching
the style. Of these, the oldest and largest is the Fujiwara Gumi (family)
run by founder and former champion Yoshiaki Fujiwara.
and Muay Thai techniques he learned
in Japan with his experience in American karate and kick boxing
to advance the sport even further. He is presently attempting
to promote the sport through his Miami shootfighting school and
by holding regular matches in Florida and California.