Bart Vale's Shootfighting

[Evan_The_Kid_1]

Is it a legit martial art? Anyone here practice it? How would it compare to Ken Shamrock's shootfighting in the '90s?

 

[PSJJJJ]

Bart Vale owns the right to the term "shootfighting" I believe. He used to perform in worked shoots at the same time as Ken, not completely sure about his legit career (if any).

 

[Evan_The_Kid_1]

Bart Vale owns the right to the term "shootfighting" I believe. He used to perform in worked shoots at the same time as Ken, not completely sure about his legit career (if any).

all i know is that Vale was a pro wrestler, trainer, and part time mma fighter

 

[Jimmy Cerra]

"Worked shoots" is an oxymoron.

 

[Corey Kuropas]

I believe Vale's Shootfighting is legit.

It's very well rounded. Basically Muay Thai + Catch Wrestling.

Now, it's not as extensive on the ground such as BJJ, but it's damn good. And pretty leg lock heavy.

It's a good system.

Also Bart didn't have a great real MMA career. But he's a good trainer.

 

[DirectDrive]

Is it a legit martial art? Anyone here practice it? How would it compare to Ken Shamrock's shootfighting in the '90s?

vale's shoot fighting is in reference to pro-wrestling shoots. they have a predetermined winner but the moves are "stiff" meaning that they are real. basically like old pancrase, but looks more like pro-wrestling than a real fight.

 

[Corey Kuropas]

vale's shoot fighting is in reference to pro-wrestling shoots. they have a predetermined winner but the moves are "stiff" meaning that they are real. basically like old pancrase, but looks more like pro-wrestling than a real fight.

Um no, it's actually a style of hybrid martial arts.

 

[Kakkarot]

its legit mma style

 

[yodaman]

Vale was a pro wrestler who was 1-2 in real fights.

History lesson time-

Vale was a member of the Professional Wrestling Fujiwaragumi, a Japanese pro wrestling organization that emerged from the split of the UWF, the first org to promote shoot style worked matches. Fights were fake with the intention of looking real, forgoing tables, chairs, jumping off the top rope, etc, in favor of striking and grappling. By today's standards, it looks laughable and obviously fake to the eye used to Matt Hughes vs. George St. Pierre 3. In one of these fake fights, Vale "beat" Ken Shamrock by KO. Years later, Vale tried to advertise himself as the man who KOed Ken Shamrock (back when that mattered) before Ken threatened to sue for libel and challenged Vale to a legit MMA match. Vale backed off fast.

When the Professional Wrestling Fujiwaragumi began to hook up with regular pro wrestling orgs like Universal Lucha Libre, etc in preparation for cross-promotion with New Japan, one wrestler, Masakatsu Funaki basically said "Enough. You're full of crap Fujiwara, and I'm sick of faking fights." He and a lot of the newer, legitimate fighters such as Minoru Suzuki and Ken Shamrock went off to form Pancrase.

Bart Vale stayed loyal to Fujiwara while Funaki started an MMA career that still has people chanting his name. As a reward, Fujiwara gave Vale the Fujiwaragumi championship (Vale's supposed shootfighting heavyweight championship title). Vale, in America, began to take out ads for his style of fighting based on shoot style pro wrestling (Muay Thai and catch wrestling, not nearly as refined as Sayama's SHOOTO ciriculum or the divided striking/grappling training of Pancrase dojos and the famous Lion's Den where you would have a MT coach and a grappling coach, much like today.)

Afterwards, Vale's hype machine was set to get him booked into a fight with Renzo Gracie at the original MARS event before he pulled out (replaced with Oleg Taktarov)

Vale went 1-2 in pro fights. His first fight was a brutually ugly affair puncuated with headbutts. His second fight, against judo stylist Kazunari Murakami was an ugly, primitive affair where Murakami got behind Vale (after Vale attempted a straight armbar from the back that was obviously pro wrestling inspired) and TKOed the shootfighting champion. Vale's last fight was a total squash, a TKO loss at 36 seconds into Rd 2 against everyone's favorite Freddy Mercury impersonator, Dan "The Beast" Severn.

Vale was a big guy, and he had a decent marketing idea and the sense to trademark the term "shootfighting" when people assumed shootfighting = MMA. However, a legitimate fighter he was not. Vale, for lack of a better explanation, lied about his exploits, claimed pro wrestling was real, and hasn't trained anyone of note.

 

[WhiteCrow]

Why did Bart Vale win Full Contact Fighter of the year award in 2006?

 

[Title Fight Productions]

His first fight was a brutually ugly affair puncuated with headbutts.

I saw this fight, it was ugly. He fought some Polynesia kid who was about 185lbs (Vale was +260). The kids style was "the art of breaking bones", no joke. He was actually pretty good and had decent to good ground game for sure.

Wish i had found out where he learned from, also was bummed to see he never fought again.

Anyways it was a brutal fight with Vale on top most of the fight headbutting and elbowing and CACCing him. But the kid, all bloodied up would not quit and actually reversed the big man late in the fight, but he just couldn't carry all that weight for that long and finally got tired and choked out to an very ugly arm triangle/neck crank.

They hyped Vale big in this fight as the guy who 1 punch K.O.'d Ken Shamrock!:icon_surp

 

[metalgearsmiffy]

I just saw one of Bart Vale's fights on Youtube. Brutal affair, much like the other ones I have read about; headbutts, blood, hair pulling and eye gouging.

He also wraps the guys hands up with a keylock attempt and headbutts him through the hole.

Needless to say, badass, but I'm glad not everyone sees those kinds of fights.

 

[Title Fight Productions]

Also Bart didn't have a great real MMA career. But he's a good trainer.

Who has he trained?