Shooto
修斗A Japanese mixed martial art (MMA) that Satoru Sayama founded as a separate sport. In Japan it is run by the Japan Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Shooto
About Shooto
Shooto is a Japanese mixed martial art (MMA) that Satoru Sayama, the first Tiger Mask, founded as a separate competitive sport. The Japan Shooto Association (JSA) describes it as MMA born in Japan, the first in the world to turn mixed fighting into a sport, and it claims to revive the ancient pankration. We have not been able to verify the year of origin unambiguously, sources differ. The JSA gives 1984 as the year of founding, Sportiva places the origin of the sport under the name Shooting in 1985, and according to it Sayama renamed Shooting to shooto after September 1985 and founded the association in 1986.
Read more
According to the JSA, amateur competitions began in 1986 and professional ones in 1989. The International Shooto Commission (ISC) was established, according to the official rules, on 7 May 1996 to govern shooto and vale tudo. Sportiva states that Sayama withdrew from running shooto in 1996. The JSA writes that shooto set itself apart from the then shoot-style wrestling through a commission, licences and oversight of referees, to prevent fixed matches. According to the ISC and JSA rules from 2026, a professional round lasts 5 minutes, bouts have 2, 3 or 5 rounds, and they are won, among other ways, by submission, KO or decision. The rules distinguish professional licences of class A and B and list 12 weight classes from atomweight to super heavyweight. Amateur shooto differs, according to the JSA, by a helmet, shin and knee guards and a ban on elbows and strikes to the head of a grounded opponent.
History
According to Sportiva, after leaving New Japan Sayama opened a gym in the Setagaya district and founded a new combat sport there called Shooting, while from July 1984 he also fought in the first UWF as Super Tiger. In September 1985, according to Sportiva, he left UWF, then renamed Shooting to shooto and founded the association in 1986. English Wikipedia states that the name was changed to avoid confusion with sport shooting. Japanese Wikipedia places the founding of the association in 1987 and the first professional event on 18 May 1989, while English Wikipedia places the first professional event of 1989 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. According to the official rules, the International Shooto Commission was created on 7 May 1996 at the association's proposal to govern shooto and vale tudo. Sportiva states that Sayama worked in shooto for ten years as its founder and withdrew from its management in 1996. According to Japanese Wikipedia, the JSA became a public interest association on 1 October 2012 after a dispute over non-transparent management, and on 21 June 2015 the first official shooto bout in a cage was held in Hiroshima.
How it differs
Under the ISC and JSA rules, shooto allows ground fighting and can be won by submission, whereas shootboxing bans it entirely under its own rules. An older text from the professional shooto website sets it apart from striking sports such as boxing, karate, kickboxing and K-1 and from grappling sports such as judo and wrestling, saying shooto, like MMA, allows strikes and holds together. According to the JSA, shooto set itself apart from the shoot-style wrestling of the time through a commission, licences and oversight of referees, to prevent the arranged bouts that the JSA says were common in Japanese fighting shows. Under JSA rules, amateur shooto differs from professional in the helmet, shin and knee guards, the ban on elbows and the ban on any strikes to the head of a grounded opponent.
Technique
The professional shooto site states that Shooting arose by combining the essence of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, sambo and other styles, and that Sayama's 1986 handbook covered striking, throwing and joint-lock techniques. According to the JSA, the ideal of shooto is not the strike, throw or lock alone, nor their mere sum, but fluid, uninterrupted linking of techniques. The 2026 ISC and JSA rules define the ground position as any body part but the feet and hands touching the floor, and the bans on kicks and knees to the head follow from this. The professional rules prohibit, among other things, headbutts, finger attacks to the eyes, blows to the back of the head and spine, attacks on the fingers and groin, and kicks and knees to the head and neck of a grounded opponent. The JSA amateur rules prohibit, among other things, strikes with the forearm and elbow, palm strikes, kicks to the front of the knee, standing locks with a drop of weight, and any strikes to the head on the ground.
Training
According to Sportiva, after leaving New Japan Sayama devoted himself, in a gym in Setagaya, to training successors for a new combat sport. The JSA now states that in official shooto clubs throughout Japan one can often train jiu-jitsu and kickboxing at the same time, and that shooto also serves to shape the character of children. Under the JSA rules of 2026, amateurs must wear approved open-fingered leather gloves, a helmet, knee guards and shin guards covering the instep, and men a groin guard. Under the same rules, an amateur competitor must belong to an official club recognized by the JSA.
Ranks and progression
Under the JSA rules of 2026, competitors may enter amateur shooto from the age of 16, up to 18 with parental consent, and up to 50 at most. The JSA rules for children divide competition into Kids Shooto, from preschoolers to primary school pupils, and Junior Shooto for lower secondary pupils. The Beginner category has rounds of 2 minutes and bans knees, front kicks to the face and heel hooks, and the Expert category is fought over 2 rounds of 3 minutes. According to an older text from the site of professional shooto, the path leads from an amateur registered with the JSA through professional class B to class A, which is entered by whoever the commission recognizes after successes in class B. The ISC and JSA rules state that the license is valid for a calendar year and requires blood tests for hepatitis B and C and HIV and an eye fundus examination. Mynavi News gives as an example Tatsuro Taira, who debuted in amateur shooto at 17 and became a professional shooto world champion.
Competition
Under the 2026 ISC and JSA rules, a professional round lasts five minutes with a one-minute break, and bouts run 2, 3 or 5 rounds. A class A fighter may enter all of them, a class B fighter only two- and three-round bouts. A bout can be won by submission, technical submission, KO after a strike or throw, TKO, decision or the opponent's disqualification. The rules give 12 weight classes, from atomweight up to 47.6 kg to super heavyweight over 120.2 kg, and allow a ring with three or more ropes or a cage with six or more sides or a round one. They expressly list as fouls a fixed bout and a show without full commitment. Under the rules, the ISC announces a world ranking once a month and the JSA a regional ranking, with one champion in each weight class, possibly also an interim one. According to the JSA, amateur shooto is fought over 2 rounds of 3 minutes, in a tournament over 1 round of 4 minutes with a final of two 3-minute rounds.
Today
JSA states that amateur shooto is held from Hokkaido to Okinawa, culminates in the Japan Championship with selection in ten regions, and around 50 fighters a year advance from the amateurs to the professionals. According to the JSA, around 30 professional events are held yearly, and bouts have taken place in more than 20 countries and regions, including Australia, the USA, the Netherlands, Brazil and Germany. The JSA amateur commission is headed for 2026 by former champion Rumina Sato. Professional shooto is run by the company Sustain, founded on 1 April 1999 according to its website and led by Kazuhiro Sakamoto. English Wikipedia states that on 14 September 2018 UFC Fight Pass signed an exclusive contract with shooto, and that in January 2019 shooto entered a partnership with ONE Championship.
Did you know
Bungeishunju calls Sayama the founder of MMA and writes that in New Japan he learned about the pre-arranged results of wrestling and decided to create a truly competitive bout. According to Sportiva, Sayama says that New Japan, Shooting and shooto are all connected in him, and everything begins with Antonio Inoki. The website of professional shooto states that Sayama's 1986 handbook was republished after 30 years as THE WAY OF SHOOTO in a print run of 1000 copies. According to Japanese Wikipedia, in roughly 1996 to 2000 the shooto fighters Rumina Sato, Hayato Sakurai and Kaoru Uno became popular also in fashion and subculture. English Wikipedia states that Vale Tudo Japan was held annually from 1994 to 1999 and was revived in 2009.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded shooto?
According to the JSA, Sportiva and Bungeishunju, shooto was founded by Satoru Sayama, the first Tiger Mask. Sportiva states that Sayama withdrew from running shooto in 1996.
When did shooto come into being?
We have not been able to verify the year of origin unambiguously. The JSA gives 1984 and Sportiva 1985 for the origin of the sport Shooting. Amateur competitions began in 1986 according to the JSA, and professional ones in 1989.
How long does a professional shooto bout last?
According to the ISC and JSA rules from 2026, a round lasts 5 minutes with a one-minute break, and a bout has 2, 3 or 5 rounds. A fighter with a class B licence may only enter two- and three-round bouts.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.