These days, when thinking about grappling in an MMA setting, most people use terms such as wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, going back nearly 20 years ago – there was another term, ‘Shootfighting’. Shootfighting originated in Japan, and like Catch Wrestling, it has since faded a little.
Whilst it is still taught and relatively popular in Japan, the term as a whole has declined in recent times. Here, we shall look at what Shootfighting is, and what it involves. For history nerds and MMA fans, you may find this article quite interesting.
Table of Contents
What is Shootfighting?
Created in Japan, Shootfighting was a specific ruleset that lends nicely into MMA. This means that Shootifighting is different from MMA, but the two have many similarities. Perhaps the most famous shootfighter ever was Ken Shamrock. Shamrock dominated early UFC fights and was often seen as the answer to Gracie Jiu Jitsu. In short, he could throw punches but mostly relied on submissions to win fights.
Interestingly, a lot of MMA at the time focused on the brilliance of BJJ. Whilst that is certainly true, Shamrock’s grappling proved that the Gracie’s weren’t the only ones who could submit people. In particular, Shamrock’s leg attacks were also far superior to the Gracie’s at the time. This is no surprise, given that the Japanese were light years ahead at the time in terms of leg attacks.
However, it wasn’t Shamrock who was responsible for the birth of Shootfighting. This credit belongs mostly to Karl Gotch. Gotch was known for his Catch Wrestling skills and bought the art over to Japan. Combined with strikes and other submissions, Shootfighting was born.
What are the rules of Shootfighting?
Shootfighting uses striking whilst standing, but does not whilst on the floor. This is where grappling takes over. In other words, you can kick, elbow and slap opponents whilst standing. However, the second someone goes to the ground, you must try and submit them. Sound familiar? Whilst it’s not quite MMA, you can see where the similarities lie. Unlike MMA, Shootfighting also takes place in a traditional wrestling ring.
In the ’90s, Japanese promotions such as Pancrase and Shooto emerged that fought using Shootfighting rules. For instance, MMA great Bas Rutten fought in Pancrase and was one of the best Shootfighers ever. Early on, the Dutchman focused on using his kickboxing skills to win. But, after getting submitted on the ground, he quickly learnt grappling and BJJ. After this, Bas was known for his submissions, just as much as he was with his striking.
For ease of explanation, Shootfighting is basically Muay Thai whilst standing, with BJJ on the floor. This means you can’t headbutt or hit the groin, nor can you strike a downed opponent. These days, MMA allows you to hit people on the floor which is where the two differ. Nonetheless, you can see how a decent Shootfighter would succeed in MMA, especially in the early days.
What is the difference between Shootfighting and MMA?
Moving into the specific details, there are a few other bits where Shootfighting differs from MMA. As mentioned, the key difference is no strikes on the floor. Having said that, there are a few other areas of difference which will be mentioned below:
- Shootfighting fights last for 30 minutes without rounds. That means if you tire, or get in a bad position then you can’t stop unless you forfeit. MMA commonly has 3-5 rounds where fighters can get a breather and restart from a new position.
- Shootfighting often doesn’t use gloves. This depends on organizations but typically MMA gloves are not used. Whilst some may see this as barbaric, there is some evidence that gloves can actually cause more harm than being hit with bare knuckles.
- Shootfighting often doesn’t use punches (again, this is dependent on each organization). Bas Rutten famously became very good at slapping his opponent’s, as this was technically legal. As seen with the technique of Bas, he could quite easily knock out opponents with a hard slap.
- When attempting a submission, a fighter can grab the ropes if close enough to stop the submission, just like in WWE. In MMA, the only way to stop it is to tap or escape. If you do grab the ropes, you will be deducted points.
How effective is Shootfighting for MMA?
These days, whilst the term Shootfighting may be dying out, the actual art of training in that way is still very much alive. If you step into an MMA gym which structured rounds, often their sparring will look a bit like Shootfighting.
Basically, you will see fighters strike from standing, then if it goes to the ground, they will work on grappling. Of course, sometimes MMA fighters will continue punching from the ground, but often this will be done in a controlled setting, meaning you may opt to strike with open palmed slaps. With this in mind, it’s fair to say that Shootfighting rules will certainly help improve your MMA. At the same time, it’s also useful to spar with full MMA rules when approaching an MMA fight.
Perhaps the biggest issue with using Shootfighting too often for MMA is that you may get comfortable with being on the bottom. As strikes aren’t allowed, you may neglect defense which is fine, until strikes are allowed and you start to struggle. This is where a combination of Shootfighting and Combat Jiu Jitsu probably benefits most MMA practitioners.
How effective is Shootfighting for BJJ?
Due to Shootfighting using strikes whilst standing, it’s clearly designed for MMA. However, it also has it’s place in BJJ. One place where this is highly relevant is with Combat Jiu Jitsu, which has exploded in popularity in recent times.
Like Shootfighting, Combat Jiu Jitsu (CJJ) also uses slaps instead of punches. The difference is that you can’t slap whilst standing in CJJ, but you can on the floor. In other words, the rules are similar – but opposite…if that makes sense? Having said this, what the two parties do have in common is combining strikes with BJJ. This is very important for those wanting to learn grappling for self defense. Basically, by involving the threat of strikes into your game, it will re-shape your guard. Now, you will be more mindful of head position and where to place your limbs.
Another benefit of putting Shootfighting into your Jiu Jitsu is that it should make you respect stand-up more. A long-term criticism of BJJ is that people neglect takedowns. If you don’t like being hit, then learn takedowns, then you can train Shootfighting with less fear. In brief, most BJJ players won’t bother with Shootfighting. However, it certainly adds another dimension to your training and will open your eyes to the threat of strikes.
What is Shootboxing?
This is a term coined by John Danaher and Georges St-Pierre. Basically, it involves setting up takedowns by threatening strikes. St-Pierre was incredibly successful at this, and has spoken about using his Karate to feint for takedowns. Unlike traditional wrestling, Shootboxing offers the threat of strikes to force the opponent into altering their stance. When this is done, they are then vulnerable to takedowns.
As seen, in fighting the term ‘Shoot’ means to go in for a takedown. In Shootfighting and Shootboxing, these are paired with strikes when standing.
Conclusion
To sum up, Shootfighting is a hybrid mix of striking and grappling on the ground, with its own set of exclusive rules. Whilst these days it isn’t considered particularly groundbreaking by today’s standards – you have to respect that back in the early ’90s when it burst on the scene, it was incredibly effective.
Obviously, whilst BJJ took the credit for improving MMA, Shootfighting was arguably more important in the development of the sport. Here, it combined grappling and striking which was previously not done. You could even go as far in saying that Shootfighting birthed promotions like Pancrase, which eventually led to PRIDE and UFC. By doing this, it helped advance and evolve MMA forever. As a result, its importance should not be ignored and it plays a huge part in the history of fighting.
