History Quotes / UniversalWrestlingFederationShooto

-->''"In 1983, while still one of the most popular wrestlers in Japan, Satoru retired form the professional wrestling circuit to develop the realistic fighting skills used in Shooto. In 1984 he opened the Tiger Gym, which is now known as the Super Tiger Gym. Super Tiger is the name Satoru used as a professional wrestler. Since its grand opening, thousands of students have trained at the Super Tiger Gym. The training is physically demanding and requires students to progress through several levels in order to earn their professional status. After beginning students acquire a basic understanding of Shooto's various ranges, they are promoted to advanced students. Advanced students are required to pass a test before progressing to the level of Pre-shooter, which is the level of competence required for amateur competition in Shoot Wrestling tournaments. Professional Shoot Wrestlers are known as Shooters. Shooters are personally selected and tested by Satoru in the areas of mental and physical Shoot Wrestling competence, integrity, character and morals. All Shooters are certified instructors or coaches. An A-Kyu Shooter is one who has exceptional teaching ability which is recognized and certified by Wrestling/SatoruSayama."''

-->''"Shooto, also known as Shoot Wrestling, combines punching, kicking, throwing, and submissions in a dynamic martial art offering the best of many traditional martial arts. Shooto's founder, Wrestling/SatoruSayama, incorporated techniques from UsefulNotes/MuayThai, [[UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling Catch-As-Catch-Can wrestling]], Russian Sambo, and Japanese UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} to create "a totally combative sport martial art." Shooto was one of the first true mixed martial arts systems, with amateur matches starting in 1986 and professional matches in 1989. Some of today's top names in MMA can trace their roots back to Shooto."''

-->''"The guys were good at standing and ground. There's more kickboxing and when you clinch and went to the ground, you were allowed to fight on the ground for probably, I don't know, maybe 30 seconds or until there was no more movement. When there's no more movement, they'd break and then you would stand back up so your kickboxing or your standup fighting was very important because you had to have it, or you'd get knocked out. Now it's like, the rules have changed, a couple of punches, maybe a kick or two, and then boom, you hit the ground and they let you stay on the ground. Before then, they never let you stay on the ground. Then, the rules, you know, it's three 5-minute rounds so you're up and down. Your conditioning, I think, at that time, for the up and down fighting, was real difficult. I think some of the hardest training you can do is shoot boxing. Punch, kick, throw, takedown, stand back up, punch, kick, throw, takedown, stand back up. That's how we used to train so the training is now punch, kick, clinch, tackle, ground, position, punch, strikes, and if get submissions, submit, but it's based more on a positioning game now, definitely."''

-->''"There were so many submissions that Shooto teaches, it has 10 combinations and each combo has anywhere from eight to thirty locks in them. This gives an approximate total of 150 locks that you have to know to become a Shooter. Out of those 150 locks, it is hard to prefect and get really good at most of them, but it’s actually not the accumulation, it’s actually getting good at a few of them. One saying we have that we got from Greg Nelson, it's actually funny. The saying is “Jack of all, master at none”, he says “Master a few and jack everyone”."''

-->''"UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu really stresses the guard and the mount. We train a lot more cross body, which is yoko shiho. We train kesa gatame, which is head and arm, side headlock. 69 position, we call kami shiho. We use a lot of attacks from each of those positions. They has as many upper body attacks as lower body. I would say that Jiu-Jitsu is based more on positioning and the movement, whereas the Shooto, from each position there are several attacks that they teach so it's based more on a submission style art that...I mean Jiu-Jitsu is submission definitely, but it [Shooto] is based more on attacking because at the time it was developed, when you throw the guy and you hit the ground, you only have like, what, 15-30 seconds to finish a guy and if you don't finish him you have to stand back up so it's all based on attacking, very aggressive, turbo ground attacks. I would say that Jiu-Jitsu is take your time, let him make a mistake, capitalize on that person's mistake. Don't let him turn his back. If he turns his back, you're on his back, finish him."''

-->''"I think the establishment of shooting is a big and revolutionary step in the world of kakutōgi. But it's a bit different from what I do. It's too sportive. In my opinion, it can be a bit improved. Having weight classes is not a particular problem, but having time limits in the open weight class of Shooting Open is a problem. A smaller man needs more time to take the bigger man into more advantageous position on the ground. One round with time limits of 3 or 4 minutes is not enough for that. Also, the referee doesn't give enough time to work a submission, but instead stands the fighters up too quickly. The man doesn't have enough time to plan ahead, to set and then spring his trap. I believe that if changes like these are made, shooting will become more like a real fight. However, "shooting" is much better than anything else I've seen so far."''

-->''"Becoming ranked in Shooto isn't easy. It's taken me a long time to get where I am. I worked my way up from Amateur class C (It goes from Amateur class C, B, A, the Amateur All Japan tournament, then Pro class B, A, and into the rankings.) to being currently ranked No. 6 in the welterweight class. The hard part is that every body is experienced, technical, and trains religiously. There are no easy fights in Shooto. I've accomplished everything I have today by sacrificing a lot of things to pursue my training. I moved away from home at 17."''

-->''"Now, let's take a look at Shooto. It has its own commission which does nothing but maintain the official rules of Shooto as well as training and cultivating referees for the sport. People from Shooto once told me that, "Shooto itself is not an organization, the official rules themselves are Shooto!""''

-->''"Considering the fact that the UFC started with bear knuckles and the UWF did not allow closed-fist strikes, it is fair to conclude that the original rules of Japan Shooting where way ahead of their time in terms of MMA as a professional spectator sport for the general public."''

-->''"Definitions of Shooto vary. To some, it's a slightly obscure Japanese mixed martial arts promotion — the very first mixed martial arts promotion, in fact, organizing amateur events as early as 1986 and staging professional fights in 1989, four years before either Pancrase or the UFC got off the ground. To others, including those who run it and many who compete under its banner, Shooto is not just another mma promotion, but instead its own distinct sport, indeed its own distinct martial art. Caol Uno, when recently asked by a fashion publication to introduce himself, answered in part, "My life revolves around training and the mastery of techniques, more specifically Shooto, a form of martial art that continues to evolve." Shooto isn't a company he competed for; it's the discipline he trains in. Note, also, that Uno had competed in Shooto a grand total of once in the nine years before that interview, and yet Shooto defined him as a martial artist still. It's an integral aspect of his identity. Regardless of your perspective on that academic point, whether you understand Shooto to be a style unto itself or a proto-mixed martial arts organization ahead of its time, there is one thing both sides of the question can invariably agree on: Shooto is really, really awesome. It began in 1986, when Satoru Sayama, formerly New Japan Pro Wrestling's original Tiger Mask, grew weary of the world of professional wrestling. The shoot-style UWF was tantalizingly close to real, but still not real enough to satisfy Sayama. And so Shooto. The name, derived from the English word "shoot" — to wrestle for real, rather than follow a predetermined script — is represented by Japanese characters that can be translated back into English as "learn combat." That's fitting, since there is a kind of pedagogy at work in Shooto's well-developed amateur system, which every aspiring Shooto fighter must successfully navigate before earning professional status. Professional Shooto status hardly guarantees a life of fame and fortune. Despite the passion and loyalty Shooto inspires among both fighters and fans, it has only ever attracted a small audience. But that audience has been witness to some of the greatest fights and the greatest fighters Japan has produced. Hayato Sakurai, Caol Uno, Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, Shinya Aoki, Kid Yamamoto, and Akiri Kikuchi are but a few of the many who've come up through the ranks; Matt Hughes, Anderson Silva, Joachim Hansen, and Carlos Newton a handful of the top fighters from around the world who have competed in the Shooto ring. All have taken in part in something quite unlike anything else in mixed martial arts."''

-->''"Dan Inosanto tells us not to box with a boxer. By implication, we'd better not wrestle with a wrestler, swap shins, knees and elbows with a Thai, play the ground game with a Brazilian, or engage in a stick fight with Eric "Top Dog" Knauss. They are better than we are at what they do. Also by implication, we are better than they are at one or more things that they don't specialize in, and that's what we should do (or try to). That's the theory. In reality, some guys are better than you are at everything. Even if they aren't, it still might be a problem imposing your game on them and avoiding theirs. In that case, you will need to be lucky. The shooto guys have chosen option B, which is to be all-around. Their training incorporates both ground and stand up in equal measure."''

-->''"The April issue of Kung Fu magazine has a story about former wrestling great Satoru Sayama's attempt to start his own sport called "Shooting." Sayama's sport, which according to those who have seen it, is legitimate in that the foes don't work with one another, combines punching, kicking, wrestling and judo throws and wrestling submission holds. The match can end with a knockout coming from a throw punch or kick or a submission coming from a wrestling hold. The concept is to employ all the martial arts into a competitive sport situation."''

-->-- '''Roberto Pedreira'''

-->-- From the book; '''The MMA Encyclopedia'''

-->''"Definitions of Shooto vary. To some, it's a slightly obscure Japanese mixed martial arts promotion — the very first mixed martial arts promotion, in fact, organizing amateur events as early as 1986 and staging professional fights in 1989, four years before either Pancrase or the UFC got off the ground. To others, including those who run it and many who compete under its banner, Shooto is not just another mma promotion, but instead its own distinct sport, indeed its own distinct martial art. Caol Uno, when recently asked by a fashion publication to introduce himself, answered in part, "My life revolves around training and the mastery of techniques, more specifically Shooto, a form of martial art that continues to evolve." Shooto isn't a company he competed for; it's the discipline he trains in. Note, also, that Uno had competed in Shooto a grand total of once in the nine years before that interview, and yet Shooto defined him as a martial artist still. It's an integral aspect of his identity. Regardless of your perspective on that academic point, whether you understand Shooto to be a style unto itself or a proto-mixed martial arts organization ahead of its time, there is one thing both sides of the question can invariably agree on: Shooto is really, really awesome. It began in 1986, when Satoru Sayama, formerly New Japan Pro Wrestling's original Tiger Mask, grew weary of the world of professional wrestling. The shoot-style UWF was tantalizingly close to real, but still not real enough to satisfy Sayama. And so Shooto. The name, derived from the English word "shoot" — to wrestle for real, rather than follow a predetermined script — is represented by Japanese characters that can be translated back into English as "learn combat." That's fitting, since there is a kind of pedagogy at work in Shooto's well-developed amateur system, which every aspiring Shooto fighter must successfully navigate before earning professional status. Professional Shooto status hardly guarantees a life of fame and fortune. Despite the passion and loyalty Shooto inspires among both fighters and fans, it has only ever attracted a small audience. But that audience has been witness to some of the greatest fights and the greatest fighters Japan has produced. Hayato Sakurai, Caol Uno, Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, Shinya Aoki, Kid Yamamoto, and Akiri Kikuchi are but a few of the many who've come up through the ranks; Matt Hughes, Anderson Silva, Joachim Hansen, and Carlos Newton a handful of the top fighters from around the world who have competed in the Shooto ring. All have taken in part in something quite unlike
anything else in mixed martial arts."''

-->''"Definitions of Shooto vary. To some, it's a slightly obscure Japanese mixed martial arts promotion — the very first mixed martial arts promotion, in fact, organizing amateur events as early as 1986 and staging professional fights in 1989, four years before either Pancrase or the UFC got off the ground. To others, including those who run it and many who compete under its banner, Shooto is not just another mma promotion, but instead its own distinct sport, indeed its own distinct martial art. Caol Uno, when recently asked by a fashion publication to introduce himself, answered in part, "My life revolves around training and the mastery of techniques, more specifically Shooto, a form of martial art that continues to evolve." Shooto isn't a company he competed for; it's the discipline he trains in. Note, also, that Uno had competed in Shooto a grand total of once in the nine years before that interview,
and yet Shooto defined him as a martial artist still. It's an integral aspect of his identity. Regardless of your perspective on that academic point, whether you understand Shooto to be a style unto itself or a proto-mixed martial arts organization ahead of its time, there is one thing both sides of the question can invariably agree on: Shooto is really, really awesome. It began in 1986, when Satoru Sayama, formerly New Japan Pro Wrestling's original Tiger Mask, grew weary of the world of professional wrestling. The shoot-style UWF was tantalizingly close to real, but still not real enough to satisfy Sayama. And so Shooto. The name, derived from the English word "shoot" — to wrestle for real, rather than follow a predetermined script — is represented by Japanese characters that can be translated back into English as "learn combat." That's fitting, since there is a kind of pedagogy at work in Shooto's well-developed amateur system, which every aspiring Shooto fighter must successfully navigate before earning professional status. Professional Shooto status hardly guarantees a life of fame and fortune. Despite the passion and loyalty Shooto inspires among both fighters and fans, it has only ever attracted a small audience. But that audience has been witness to some of the greatest fights and the greatest fighters Japan has produced. Hayato Sakurai, Caol Uno, Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, Shinya Aoki, Kid Yamamoto, and Akiri Kikuchi are but a few of the many who've come up through the ranks; Matt Hughes, Anderson Silva, Joachim Hansen, and Carlos Newton a handful of the top fighters from around the world who have competed in the Shooto ring. All have taken in part in something quite unlike

-->''"Definitions of Shooto vary. To some, it's a slightly obscure Japanese mixed martial arts promotion — the very first mixed martial arts promotion, in fact, organizing amateur events as early as 1986 and staging professional
fights in 1989, four years before either Pancrase or the UFC got off the ground. To others, including those who run it and many who compete under its banner, Shooto is not just another mma promotion, but instead its own distinct sport, indeed its own distinct martial art. Caol Uno, when recently asked by a fashion publication to introduce himself, answered in part, "My life revolves around training and the mastery of techniques, more specifically Shooto, a form of martial art that continues to evolve." Shooto isn't a company he competed for; it's the discipline he trains in. Note, also, that Uno had competed in Shooto a grand total of once in the nine years before that interview,

-->-- From the article; "Lord of the Tiger Mask: A Sacred Cup Named Shooto Part 2" by '''William Lue Frymer'''

-->-- The USA Shooto Association's answer to; '''What is Shooto?'''