Free Combat

The free combat is a sport of complete combat associating pugilism and fight with the body with body, in which the two combatants can use many techniques such as the kicks, of fist, knee, elbow, the techniques of projections and tender ( Grappling ) and certain percussions on the ground (technical limited in certain federations). The most known organizations of free combat are the Pride Fighting Championship in Japan, the Ultimate Fighting Championship with the the United States and the TKO with the Canada. Too judged violent one, the free combat remains, officially, prohibited in France for the moment. But certain federations not to be out the law, organize arranged combat (pugilism upright and fights on the ground). Sport considered as recent, the free combat actually exists for a long time and one finds of them traces in many old arts.

Under the French denomination of free combat one generally gathers the following disciplines, names varying according to the points of view and the periods:

  • the Free-fight, anglophone translation indicating the “free combat”;
  • the Mixed Martial Arts, known as MY , anglophone term to indicate interdisciplinary meetings which are not possible that in free combat (for example a boxer can face a fighter within the permissive framework of the free-fight). This term takes all its direction since the combatants understood that they should not be locked up in their style of origin or predilection but on the contrary to be formed with the many sports which make it possible to apprehend certain phases of the engagements. Today, this term makes it possible to define this new sport of combat in whole share, with the multiple influences;
  • the total Combat, another French-speaking denomination, where the concept of total combat implies the large variety of techniques at the disposal of the combatants;
  • the Ultimate Combat, term mainly Québécois;
  • the Vale Tudo, name Portuguese being able to be translated by “all is allowed”, the ancestor of the modern free combat;
  • the No Holds Barred, known as NHB , term which is not appropriate that for the confrontations having very few rules, with the image of the tournaments of the type Vale Tudo and the first Ultimate Fighting Championships;
  • the Pancrace.

The great tournaments of free combat are mainly:

  • UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in the United States;
  • the Pride (Pride Fighting Championship) in Japan;
  • the K-1 Hero' S, also in Japan.

General information

The concept of the first tournaments of free combat recorded is simple: two men, in a cage or on a boxing ring, clash (almost all the blows are allowed) until the KB or the abandonment of a combatant. These tournaments aimed to allow the confrontation of various sports of combat (from where the concept of Mixed Martial Arts) with an aim of determining which styles were most effective.

After very discussed beginnings, because of a marketing campaign proposing the ultra violence and the absence of rules of the first mediatized tournaments, the free combat became sport with a whole very framed and regulated share. From these first tournaments, often bloody, the free combat descends modern , the organizations and the infrastructures are the same ones since the beginning but the rules evolved/moved because of the pressure of certain media, certain politicians and old sporting. Thus, it became rare to find an organization authorizing the blows of head or strike them with the genitals for example. The most effective techniques however remain present (tenders on the ground and strike conventional exits of the Boxes foot-fist). Doctors attend the combat, ready to make stop a meeting which would become too dangerous for one of the combatants. In spite of its evolution the free combat remains criticized for its violence and its detractors remain numerous.

The partisans of the free combat propose that, practiced in a framed way, it is not more dangerous than other sports of combat: the large variety of techniques set out again the zones of impacts, thus decreasing the chances of traumatisms cranial which one meets in boxing for example (where the head is struck in a repeated way). However, the English Boxe professional is not either famous being good for health, and it is primarily for historical reasons that it has a better social acceptance.

The free combat became today a Sport of combat, in which the combatants have vastest possible technical arsenal the, thus allowing them to fight in a quasi absolute realism, while complying with certain essential rules to preserve the health of the combatants (these rules vary according to the organizations).

To evolve/move in free combat, it is necessary to control the three distances from the combat: the combat upright remote where one uses punches and feet primarily, the combat upright with the body with body (see Clinch, Grappling and Takedown) and finally the combat on the ground, outdistance where one can try to subject his adversary with throttlings and key of arm or leg, or to make ground and pound, i.e. to benefit from an advantageous position on the ground to strike its adversary. No distance is neglected and each combatant has his field of predilection and his weaknesses, which it tries to attenuate by a particularly complete drive (see Cross training).

The médiatisées organizations of free combat are the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Pride (Pride Fighting Championships), which was repurchased in 2007 by the first. Currently this shape of combat is in full media expansion, and it could become as in the long term popular as the K-1 or the English Boxe

History of the free combat

The pancrace ( Pankration ) Greek was one of the first forms of sport of combat with naked hands with all the same a minimum of rules, it was introduced with the Olympic Games into 648 before JC.

Many combat without rules were organized in Europe at the end of the 19th century between fighters and other sportsmen, at the time of true sporting tournaments or of artistic contests (music hall).

The modern free combat has several influences, first of all them violent meetings of Vale Tudo in Brazil and then the Shoot Wrestling in Japan. Vale Tudo, which means “all is allowed”, appeared in the years 1920 in Brazil with the famous Pardoned Challenge which opposed the Famille Pardoned to other representatives of martial arts. In Japan in the years 1970, some Antonio Inoki organized series of meeting, which inspired the creation of certain movements…

The known free combat a media exposure without precedent in 1993 when Rorion Gracie imported the concept of the Pardoned Challenge on the American ground with the first UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) gained with three recoveries by his/her brother Royce. In Japan, first Pride (Pride Fighting Championship) was organized in 1997 and revealed Rickson Gracie.

Phases of a combat

The free combat is a relatively young sport and he knows permanent evolutions. The drive, the comprehension of the combat, the strategies and the techniques evolve/move constantly. However certain elements do not change, it exists thus three principal phases at the time of a combat of MY:

  • the phase of combat upright , field of predilection of the Boxing, the Kickboxing or the Karate, phase at the time which the two adversaries are upright and clash by using mainly kicks, fists, knees and elbows.
  • the phase of fixing upright Clinch, field of predilection of the Fight, the grappling, the Sambo and the Judo, where one seeks to return in contact with his adversary, to bring it on the ground using a projection or of a supply on the ground, to even strike it with its knees as one sees it in the Thai Muay.
  • the phase of combat on the ground , field of predilection of the Brazilian Jiu jitsu, the judo, the sambo or the fight, at the time which one will try to take the best possible position, to pass the guard and to attack its adversary either in Ground and pound or with movements of tender such as the key throttlings or the .

At the time of the first events of modern free combat, one could see a large variety of very different styles all (of the sumotoris, ninjas, boxers keeping on their, karate expert in dogi, English fighter boxing gloves in boxer, etc). But as the sport evolved/moved, the “exotic” styles and the traditional styles disappeared little by little, because the free combat asks for a control of these three distances and rare are the hyperspecialists of only one distance being able to compete with the specialists in the free combat, practitioner the Cross training and involving themselves specifically for this discipline.

Drive

The drive in free combat varies according to specificities of the combatant and his team. Some are specialized on the ground, others in foot fist.

The drives generally arise in several phases:

  • a base Foot Fist,

  • a drive on the ground according to the specificity of the TEAM, Fights, all-in wrestling, Judo, JJB, Grappling, Ju Jitsu…
  • a physical preparation with musculation, cardio training…
  • without forgetting rest and a good food hygiene.

A training session is composed of several parts:

  • the heating,

  • the practiced, technical sport and sparring,
  • stretchings.

Strategies

General rules

The rules are overall similar but each organization makes its small modifications according to the will of the athletic commission of the country in which the event occurs. In general, the combatants do not have the right to strike the adversary in the genitals, to draw the hair or to bite. The blows of knees, elbows and feet to the face or elsewhere are generally allowed. There are several categories of weight but they different from one organization to another. The ways of gaining a combat are the same ones in all the organizations.

Category of Weight

Names of the categories of weight differ according to the organizations, only the UFC respects true names (compared to English boxing).

How to convert the books into kilos? It should be known that 1 kg = 2.2046 lbs.

UFC

  • Heavyweight (heavy Weights ): - + of 93kg /205 lbs with 120.45 /265
  • Light Heavyweight (light Weight heavy ): + 83.9 /185 with 93 /205
  • Middleweight (average Weight ): + 77 /170 with 83.9 /185
  • Welterweight (welterweight Weight ): + 70 /155 with 77 /170
  • Lightweight (light Weight ): + 65.7 /145 with 70 /155

Pride Fighting Championships

  • PRIDE Heavyweight division: +93 kg/204.6 lbs
  • PRIDE Middleweight division: -93/204.6 to 83/185
  • PRIDE Welterweight division: - 83/185 to 73/161
  • PRIDE Lightweight division: - 73/161

King off the Cage

  • KOTC Unlimited division: + 120.45 kg/265 lbs
  • KOTC Heavyweight division: 93.64 to 120/206-264
  • KOTC Light Heavyweight division: 84.55 to 93.18/186-205
  • KOTC Middleweight division: 77.73 to 84.09/171-185
  • KOTC Welterweight division: 70.91 to 77.27/156-170
  • KOTC Lightweight division: 66.36 to 70.45/146-155
  • KOTC Bantamweight division: 57.27 to 65.91/126-145
  • KOTC Flyweight division: - 56.82 kg/125

Pancrase

  • Pancrase Openweight division: Any authorized weight.
  • Pancrase Super Heavyweight division: - 100.45 kg or +/221 lbs or +
  • Pancrase Heavyweight division: 90.45 to 100.45 kg/199 to 221 lbs
  • Pancrase Light Heavyweight division: 82.27 to 100.45 kg/181 to 199 lbs
  • Pancrase Middleweight division: 75.32 to 82.27 kg/165.7 to 181 lbs
  • Pancrase Welterweight division: 69.32 to 75.32 kg/152.5 to 165.7 lbs
  • Pancrase Lightweight division: 64.27 to 69.32 kg/141.4 to 152.5 lbs
  • Pancrase Featherweight division: + 64.27 kg/+ 141.4 lbs

Ways of gaining a free combat of combat

Which are the various possible ends at the time of a combat of MY?

Before the limit

  • Knock Out ( KB ) - an adversary is completely or practically unconscious following strike and it combat is stopped because the person is in a state where it is completely unable to be defended.
  • Technical Knockout ( TKO ) - One KB technical (TKO) is a situation or a combatant is in the technical incapacity to continue the combat normally. Many situations can carry out has a TKO. One of them is the stop by the referee. When a combatant receives too many blows and that it is not able any more to be defended, the referee intervenes to stop the combat, in order to preserve the health of the combatant, in the contrary case the blows could bring it to the complete KB. For example, a combatant not managing more to face a too intense Ground and pound, a persistent and visible pain due for example to too much low-kicks received, a beachcomber of blows upright will lead the referee to stop the combat whatever the opinion of the combatant in order to preserve his health.
A cut is another situation leading to the TKO, in the event of too important cut caused by a blow, the referee, with the opinion of the doctors, can decide to stop the combat. When the men of corner throw the éponge/la towel (throw towel) to stop the combat, and thus to give up. This can be due to a persistent pain (broken coast for example) which prevents it from fighting normally, or to a too great difference in level between the two combatants, one receiving a too large " punition" , its corner will decide to give up.
  • Tender - Situation where a combatant is physically forced to give up, “to type” hand on its adversary (often 3 times) to announce its defeat, following a key exerted on him or a technique of throttling (blood or respiratory) by its adversary.
A combatant can also announce to the referee the desire to stop itself verbally the combat (Verbal Submission).
  • Technical Submission - is declared Technical Submission when the referee decides to put an end to the combat when he considers that the combatant who undergoes the key soumission/la is engaged too much and that the articulation, the muscle, or that the combatant will disappear, while at the same time this one does not have to type three times (abandonment).
  • Disqualification (DQ) - When that a combatant deliberately violates a rule of the organization while carrying for example a prohibited blow (soccer-kicks, stomps* with the UFC for example leads to a disqualification. : strike out of hammer
  • Technical Decision (TD) (Unanimous, Partagé) - When for example a combatant is in the incapacity to continue the combat following an accident arrived not intentionally. The judges choose a winner then. For example a combatant opens the head while falling from the boxing ring, the doctors prevent it from continuing the combat, the combat is thus stopped as if it had reached the limit of time and the judges give their decision.
  • Technical Draw (Unanimous, Divided) - Even situation, but Draw is declared.
  • No contest (NC) - nonintentional Cut due to an irregular blow or positive test with the illicit products at the conclusion of a victory, or asks for cancellation of decision by a combatant who considers that the stop of the combat was premature, etc

On decision

  • Unanimous Decision (UD) - unanimous Decision, the 3 judges deliver the same opinion.
  • Split Decision (SD) - shared Decision, 2 judges are from the same opinion, 1 of the adverse opinion.
  • Majority Decision (MANDELEVIUM) - Decision in the majority, 2 judges are from the same opinion, 1 gives equality.
  • Unanimous Draw - unanimous Equality, 3 judges gives the equality.
  • Split Draw - shared Equality, 1 judge gives the victory for a combatant, 1 other the defeat with this same combatant, and the last the equality.
  • Majority Draw - Equality in the majority, 2 judges give the equality, the third a victory with the one of the 2 fighters.

Main organizations

See also: List of the organizations of free combat

UFC and the Pride FC (which was repurchased in 2007 by the UFC) are the two larger worldwide organizations of free combat. In Europe, the Cage Rage English also proposes high level posters.

  • Out of cage :

    • the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the United States - ufc.tv
    • the Cage Rage and Cage Warriors]], England - cagerage.tv
    • KOTC (King off The Cage), the United States - kingofthecage.com
    • ROTR (Rumble One The Rock'n'roll), Hawaii
    • WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), the United States
    • TKO Major League MY - Canada.

  • On carpet :

  • Fight contact

    • French Union of Fight Contact.
    • Section Fights Contact Paris - Championnet.

    • free Combat WKA

  • On a boxing ring :

    • the PRIDE, Japan - pridefc.com
    • the K-1 Hero' S, Japan - k-1gp.net
    • the Jungle fight, Brazil (in the past the IVC)
    • ZST - Japan. zst.jp
    • the Pancrase - Japan. so-net.ne.jp/pancrase

French English lexicon of free combat

Very many terms of MY are used in their anglophone forms and are not translated literally. For example the terms Takedown, Ground and pound or Clinch are usually used such as it is by the initiates.

See also: Vocabulary of the free combat

Some champions of free combat famous

Classified alphabetically, here some combatants having marked the world of the free combat.

See also: List of the combatants of free combat

Signal 10

Classification on the site of MMAWeekly .

Signal 10 - Heavy trucks

According to '' MMAWeekly '',
  1. Fedor Emelianenko
  2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
  3. Mirko “Cro COP” Filipovic
  4. Josh Barnett
  5. Randy Seams
  6. Gabriel Gonzaga
  7. Tim Sylvia
  8. Andrei Arlovski
  9. Fabricio Werdum
  10. Aleksander Emelianenko.

Signal 10 - Heavy semi weights

Weight limit: 205 pounds.

According to My, updated February 2007.

Signal 10 - Average weight

Weight limit: 185 pounds.

According to MMAWeekly, updated February 2007.

Signal 10 - Weight welterweight

Weight limit: 170 pounds.

According to MMAWeekly, updated February 2007.

Signal 10 - Weight lightweight

Weight limit: 160 pounds.

According to MMAWeekly, updated February 2007.

FAQ on the free combat

See also in English, Sherdog FAQ.

Which was the greatest multitude for a free event of combat?

August 28th, 2002, with the Stadium National of Tokyo, a Co-promotion between K-1 and Pride, called Pride Dynamites/Shockwave, was held in front of more than 90.000 spectators and much more still of televiewers with the pay per view.

How much person died in free combat?

The free combat is flattered of a very low number of serious accidents or mortals. In all the history of the modern free combat, since the 1st UFC in 1993, no person died at the time of an official event.

With regard to the nonofficial évèvements, in which no medical visit is necessary, one counts some deaths to date. The first fatal accident is that of Douglas Dedge, deceased at the time of a nonofficial tournament in Kiev in Ukraine, at the time of International the Super Challenge on March 16th, 1998. According to a close friend, it presented before its combat of the central nervous system disorders which would have prevented it from taking part in a tournament in the USA.

The free combat is often compared with English boxing, known to be particularly dangeureuse. Thus one counts in 2006, throughout the history of boxing, a number of deaths equal to 1326 . In Sweden, countries where professional boxing because is considered to be prohibited too dangeureuse, the competitions of free combat are however authorized.

Compared to the first tournaments, where almost all the blows were allowed, where the categories of weight did not exist, where the combatants could connect to three engagements of sharp in the same evening, current rules changed well, going in the direction of the protection of the combatants. Thus certain too dangerous blows were removed, of the categories of weight and the medical tests were founded, and of controls antidopage are asked in certain great tournaments.

Which combatants of free combat gained an Olympic medal or Championnant NCAA?

  • NCAA Championship: Royce Algiers (x2), Mark Coleman, Alan Fried, Mark Kerr, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Monday, Kevin Randleman (x2), Mark Schultz (x3), Mike Van Arsdale

  • Olympic Silver (Freestyle): Kenny Monday, Townsend Saunders
  • Olympic Gold (Freestyle): Kevin Jackson, Kenny Monday, Mark Schultz
  • Olympic Bronzes (Greco-Novel): Rulon Gardner
  • Olympic Silver (Greco-Novel): Matt Lindland
  • Olympic Gold (Greco-Novel): Rulon Gardner, Karem Ibrahim
  • Olympic Gold (Judo): Pawel Nastula, Hidehiko Yoshida

Why the free combat is prohibits in France?

The official competitions of free combat remain prohibited in France, whereas they are authorized in other countries, in Asia, in the United States or even in Europe.

In a article published in the newspaper Le Monde in May 2006 , it is learned that to justify the prohibition of the free fight in France, the minister of sport, Jean-François Lamour, is based on a recommendation of the Council of Europe of 1999, estimating that " the cruel violence and acts and savages made in the name of the sport are stripped of statutory value in a civilized company which respects the rights of the homme". The veto was extended, at the beginning of 2006, with the television channels by the Superior council of audio-visual (SCUMS), which considers that the retransmission is " likely to harm seriously physical, mental or moral blooming of the mineurs". Eurosport and Multivision thus had to put a term at their programs.

In the same article, concerning the free fight apart from the competitions, one learns that the techniques used are those of duly regulated sports, the authorities cannot prohibit the drives in France either. Paradox which leads to the birth, in all legality, several French clubs devoted to the free fight. . However certain combatants defend the use of such a setting in scene: That awakes primary education instincts. Me, I feel well inside , entrusts Jean-François Lenogue, a French combatant, actor in the life

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