It was 1980 in Japan, Their pro wrestling league the NPJW (Japan's equivilant to WWE) saw the arrival of a mysterious wrestler, clad in the mask of a Tiger. "Tiger Mask", as they would come to call him, stole the stage with a secret identity and a Luchador mask Japan had never seen before. Dominating the entertainment sport over the next few years he would eventually make his way to America in the WWF (Now WWE) League. Brett "The Hitman" Hart would call him "The Bruce Lee of Wrestling" because of his sheer athleticism and Martial Arts Talent.
The Man under the mask, Satoru Sayama worked endlessly to try to improve his performance wrestling game. Studying intensely the arts of Muay Thai, Sambo and Judo in order to stay on the cutting edge of his craft and make the faux fights look as realistic as possible. There was only one problem Sayama couldn't foresee in studying these arts... He was becoming a better, more talented, Real Life fighter.
The Entertainment Wrestling Scripts would sometimes force Sayama's Character "Tiger Mask" to lose in order to fulfill certain Character Archs. In most cases, to Wrestling Actors Sayama could easily beat... And As any Competitive MMA Athlete could tell you, the concept of this doesn't sit well.
It was at this Point Sayama left Entertainment Wrestling for good. Penning the infamous book "Kayfabe", A kind of "Magic Secrets Revealed" style book along the same vein as the "Penn & Teller: Bullshit" Television show. In this book Sayama exposes the secrets of the Pro Wrestling Circuit to the Japanese public.
In 1985, Eight years before the first UFC match up, he founded "Shooto." Derived from the expression "A Shoot" common in Entertainment Wrestling, Which means any Unplanned, Unscripted or Real Event in an otherwise Fake Wrestling Match up... In most cases, this referred to a Real Attack or Genuine Fight that occurred in the ring between the Actors.
Sayama simultaneously founded one of the first known MMA training gyms called "The Super Tiger Gym" in Tokyo Japan, and began training his own band on MMA Fighters also known as "Shooters". His ways were merciless, often demanding his students train 10 hours a day, 7 days a week in a brutal fashion... See video below. Among these proteges was Yorinaga Nakamura, Whom eventually would introduce the sport to the US in 1989.
It was Martial Arts Legend Dan Inosanto (of Bruce Lee fame) that provided Yori with the ability to bring Shooto to America. At the Inosanto Academy, Yori trained many a prominent Martial Artist in todays MMA scene such as Ron Balicki of the MARS Academy (Link >>HERE<<) and Eric Paulson of CSW fame (Link >>HERE<<). Under Yori, American Fighters would frequently be flown to Japan over the next 10 years to fight for the Shooto organization started a Decade and a half earlier.
So the next time someone tells you the Gracies or BJJ Invented MMA... You know different.
Today, the concepts of Tiger Mask's Shooto Lineage stays strong. Churning out competent fighters like Josh Barnett, Ken Shamrock, Renato Sobral, Cub Swanson, and James Wilks.
Oh yeah... and we can't forget your's truly.
Mike O'Laskey is a Welterweight Champion MMA fighter and Owner of O'Laskey Martial Arts in Burbank, CA.
1312 W. Magnolia Blvd Burbank Ca
91506
818-480-7810
olaskeyma@gmail.com
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