Rules & Regulations

Shooto Commission (SC) Amateur Rules Summary

“Australian Shooto Commission (ASC)” is the organisation that supervises Shooto Wrestling. ASC proposes an idea of “Full Contact Martial Arts.”

(1) The time of the round is 3 minutes. The match shall consist of 2 Rounds. The interval between each round is 1 minute.

(2) The refereeing of a match, is carried out by one chairman, one referee and two sub-referees.

(3) Mouth pieces and a protection cup must always be worn. Knee-pads, shin-guards, and headgear authorized by SC must also be worn. Feet must be bare. Pants and tights suitable for fight must be worn. The use of Vaseline, oil, or similar substances on the body, face, or hair is forbidden. The nails must be cut close.

(4) The competitors are allowed to have three persons in their corner and only one chief corner man can enter the ring before the match. If a corner man enters the ring or touches the competitors during the fight, his competitor shall be judged the loser.

(5) There are weight restrictions as follows:

Flyweight (52.0kg or less)
Bantamweight (56.0kg or less)
Featherweight (60.0kg or less)
Lightweight (65.0kg or less)
Welterweight (70.0kg or less)
Middleweight (76.0kg or less)
Light-heavyweight (83.0kg or less)
Cruiserweight (91.0kg or less)
Heavyweight (110.0kg or less)
Super-heavyweight (110.0kg or more)

(6) The ring shall be a square type. Mats, instead of the ring, may be used.

(7) Shooto gloves (open-finger and palm style) authorised by SC must be worn. Any alterations in the shape of gloves are forbidden.

(8) Bandage may be used only for the purpose of protection to the knuckle area. The tape used for fixing the bandage must not be worn on the knuckle area. The use of tape, instead of bandage, on the knuckles must be three pieces or less. After the bandage or tape is worn, it must be checked and signed by the SC.

(9) The determination of the winner of any match shall be made according to the following.

a) Knock out (KO):

A competitor goes down and does not show his willingness to continue the fight in a standing position by the end of a count of five called by the referee. The opponent must wait at the neutral corner during the count down or until the referee gives further direction. If the opponent does not await, the referee shall stop his count. In such a case the referee shall start the countdown after the competitor returns to the neutral corner.

b) Technical knock out (TKO):

(i) A competitor goes down three times in a round (three knock down system).
(ii) The referee can stop the fight due to a competitor’s damage, injury, or loss of will to continue the fight.
(iii) It may be stopped by a competitor’s corner, by the act of “throwing in the towel.”
(iv) The attending medical practitioner directs the referee to stop the contest if, in the opinion of the medical practitioner, a contestant is exhausted or injured to such an extent as to be unable to defend himself or to continue the fight.

c) IPPON or Submission (S):

Submission by a competitor shall be expressed either verbally or by tapping two times or more on the mat or on the opponents body with a hand or a foot.

d) Technical IPPON or technical submission (TS):

When a submission is almost effective, the referee shall call “Catch” and ask the competitor whether he will give up or not. If the competitor does not defend against the submission hold, or does not respond to the question or screams in pain, the referee may judge the submission hold complete, and will stop the fight.

e) Disqualification (DQ):

When competitors hit foul, they shall receive a caution, and a lot of cautions shall equal disqualification. If the foul is to wicked, the competitor shall be immediately disqualified.

f) Decision:

When rounds are over, striking points and grappling points are summed, and the competitor who earns more points shall be declared the winner.

The two sub-referees shall judge striking points as follows.

10:10 no difference
10:9 a little difference (clean effective hits)
10:8 difference (knock down without serious damage)
10:7 clear difference (knock down with serious damage)
10:6 overwhelming difference (almost knock out or technical knock out).

The Referee shall judge grappling points as follows.

(i) Takedown
2 points - to the competitor who gets a takedown, which gains positioning or submission points
1 point - to the competitor who gets a takedown, which does not gain positioning points or submission points

(ii) Positioning
5 points - back mount position
4 points - mount position
2 points - side control or knee on stomach held for at least 3 seconds

(iii) Submission
1 point to the competitor who earns “catch.”

10) Fouls are as follows.

a. Illegal attacks:

i) head butting
ii) elbow blows
(iii) blows with a hand except the knuckle part (open hands blow or chop blows)
(iv) blows to the spine
(v) any attacks to the fingers
(vi) blows to the opponent in ground position (definition of ground position is where more than three limbs, either knees and or hands, touch the mat, or the back or abdomen touches the mat)

b. Ill mannered acts;

(i) bitting or pressing with the teeth
(ii) scratch with the nails
(iii) putting into the eyes, nostrils or ear holes the fingers
(iv) taking the skin with the fingers
(v) pulling the hair, nose or ears
(vi) catching the wear
(vii) attacks and defences using the ropes, corner or mat
(viii) attacks to a knocked down opponent
(ix) pushing an opponent out of the ring or off the mat
(x) disobeying the referee’s instructions
(xi) offensive language or insult to an opponent or a referee

c. Escape:

(i) deliberately leaving the ring
(ii) spewing the mouth piece

d. Faked match:

(i) match fixing
(ii) collusion
(iii) failing to fight in good faith

(11) When the fight becomes deadlocked, the referee shall call “break” and the competitors must separate from each other, and continue the fight in the standing position.

(12) When both competitors are about to fall out of the ring or off the mat, the referee shall call “Don’t move.” In this case, both competitors must stop their motion, and the referee with the assistance of one or both sub-referees will if needed move them to the centre of the ring and then after the command “Fight” continue to fight.