Retro Martial Arts: Shoot Fighting

Quoted from Wikipedia:

“Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). Shootfighting incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestling and kenpo. 

Shootfighting was previously used synonymously with mixed martial arts competitions in Japan, as opposed to shoot-style professional wrestling competitions. This usage of the term is 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. However, it is still sometimes used colloquially. 

Examples which were once considered shootfighting styles, tournaments or organizations are Pancrase, Shoot boxing and Shooto, where many fighters still considered themselves to be shootfighters. Ken Shamrock is possibly the most recognisable shoot fighter, as this was the discipline he was credited as using in the early days of the UFC

Shootfighting’s use as a synonym for mixed martial arts had its genesis in the 1970s, when Karl Gotch taught a group of Japanese professional wrestlers catch wrestling techniques, called “hooking” or “shooting”. In 1976, one of these pro-wrestlers, Antonio Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts matches. This led to an increased interest in real and effective technique, and eventually led to the creation of shoot wrestling, with some shoot-style professional wrestling organizations hosting legitimate mixed martial arts bouts, called “shoots”. In the 1990s the interest grew, and certain shoot-style organizations like Pancrase evolved into pure “shoot” organizations. The term “shootfighting” was frequently used to describe these events and styles. 

The word “shootfighting” was however coined by Bart Vale, an American with a background in Concocted Combat. He was the Japanese Professional Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG, a Japanese shoot-style professional wrestling organization) champion for close to three years. Upon moving back to America, Bart Vale used the term “shootfighting” to describe his own hybrid fighting system, which was a combination of the shoot wrestling techniques he had learned in Japan, and his experience in kenpo, jujutsu and Muay Thai. He also founded the International Shootfighting Association to promote shootfighting as a combat sport. “

**********

The ISA’s website has not been updated since 2005.  Bart Vale’s dojo at shootfighting.org has not been updated since 2007