FILA Grappling

Corsier Open and Referees' Course

On 13 and 14 March 2010, FILA will host an important referees' course in grappling, pankration, and combat grappling followed by an international tournament in the three styles. The event will take place at the FILA headquarters in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. All candidate and existing referees are welcome to take part in the course in order to get information or extend their knowledge in the FILA disciplines and refereeing techniques. The course will be divided into a theoretical part punctuated with a written exam and a practical part that will take place during the tournament. It will also instruct the participants with the basic competition management skills that will help them carrying out their duties during the national and international competitions organized in 2010. The current FILA referees will be able to upgrade their category and the new canidates will receive their international FILA licence at the end of the course. The seminar will also be an excellent preparation for the upcoming World Championship that will be held in Cracow on 27-28 March 2010. It is reminded that the 8 best referees in the World Championship will be qualified to officiate at the SportAccord Combat Games that will take place in Beijing in September of this year. The number of spots being strictly limited, the FILA instructors will only select the referees who are able to judge both grappling and pankration. For that reason, FILA encourages all referees to attend the course and gain knowledge and training in all three styles in order to maximise their chances to be sent to China, all expenses covered.

The tournament will be open to athletes of all countries aged 18 and above (both beginners and advanced). In addition to pankration and No-Gi grappling, the tournament will serve as inauguration of combat grappling, the new discipline of amateur MMA developed by FILA. All athletes interested in putting the new rules to test and discovering the FILA headquarters are welcome to enter the tournament, in as many styles as they want. The participation fee will be 15 CHF for 1 discipline and 25 CHF for 2 or 3 disciplines. The participants will also be able to spend the night in dormitories for 15 CHF a night. Sleeping bags are however recommended. Complete information and program are available at the following link.

Ukrainian Grappling & Pankration Championship

The Ukraine Pankration Federation held its National Championship in Pankration and Grappling in Kharkov on 07-08 February 2010. Mrs. Anne Pellaud, FILA Non-Olympic Styles Manager, and Mr. Rafael Perlungher, Head of Grappling Europe, were invited to attend the competition and participate in several meetings with important representatives of the Ukrainian sport authorities. Their journey started in Kiev where they were welcomed by Mr. Alexander Mandrik, First Vice-present of the Ukraine Pankration Federation and member of the World Pankration Athlima Committee. The first meeting took place at the headquarters of the Sport Committee of Ukraine where the prospect of organizing major FILA events was discussed with Mr. Illia Shevliak, President of the Sport Committee. Mr. Shevliak confirmed his great interest in the promotion of the non-Olympic styles governed by FILA and announced that the infrastructures built for the European soccer championship in 2012 would greatly serve any future FILA event. The second meeting of the day took place at the Non-Olympic Department of the Ministry of Sport and was also very informative. The FILA delegates could meet with Mr. Aleksander Artemiev, Director of the Department, and go over the policies pursued in the country with regards to the development of the non-Olympic sports. Ukraine is one of the only countries that offers governmental support to the non-Olympic disciplines and this active help greatly favors the fast growth of sports such as pankration, grappling, or MMA. The actions undertaken by the government and the passion for all combat sports shown by the Ukrainian citizens make this country a very good partner for FILA. The third official meeting took place on Sunday, day of the presidential elections in Ukraine. Despite his tight schedule, Mr. Viktor Korzh, member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Vice-president of the NOC of Ukraine, and Chairman of the Ukraine Pankration Federation, honored the FILA delegates with his presence and organised a lunch meeting during which the strategies to increase the popularity of pankration and grappling in Ukraine and around the world were discussed.

The FILA delegates' visit was also the occasion of an international referees' course in pankration, grappling, and combat grappling. The course was led by Mr. Rafael Perlungher and Mr. Alexander Mandrik. All participants in the course had great previous knowledge in the submission and fighting arts and actively contributed to the seminar by asking very precise questions. They were generally delighted by the new concept developed by FILA around the three disciplines and common refereeing system. The best of them will be sent to the World Grappling and Pankration Championship that will take place in Cracow on 26-28 March 2010 and will try to qualify for the upcoming SportAccord Combat Games.

At the end of their visit, the FILA delegates also approved the organization of the first international tournament under the FILA rules to take place in Ukraine. The tournament will be called "Ukrainian Golden Cup" and will be held in Kharkov on 19-21 April 2010. It will be open to all affiliated countries and showcase a competition in pankration, grappling, and combat grappling, for the first time since the launching of this discipline. FILA is very excited about this event and hopes that participants will be numerous to attend this first competition dedicated to amateur MMA.

The Ukraine Pankration Federation is the first National Federation that has included pankration, grappling, and combat grappling under its umbrella. This move was a very sound one now that all three disciplines are tightly interlinked and that the major FILA events will hold all three of them together. FILA encourages other National Committees or Federations to follow this example in order to further unify the various fighting communities in their countries.

German Grappling League - Alea Jackta Est!

With the initiation of the German Grappling League, another exciting chapter in the history of FILA Grappling has started. Not unlike the immensly popular German wrestling "Bundesliga" the grappling league will feature tightly organized team championships. The two founders, Daniel Ackerman and Franco de Leonardis - both well-known athletes in the international grappling communities - have managed to bring in other major players in the German-speaking grappling scene, such as Rafael Perlungher (Head of FILA Grappling Europe), Peter Angerer, and Frank Stäblein from the German Top Team. Other important contributors include Malte Janssen, Matthias Siebert, Michael Hockenjos, and Roland Laritz, just to name a few.

Although more than 30 teams applied, only 12 teams have been included into the league. They have been divided into two geographical zones: North and South. The North group includes: Grappling Team Berlin (Frank Burczynski), Taifun Luta Livre Düsseldorf (Armin Eslami), Ruhrpott Lutadores (Jean-Claude Capanna & Thomas Holtmann), Cologne Freefighters/Grappling Team Bonn (Mike Cüppers & Marcel Pino), Sparta Essen (Les Herden), and Grappling Team Hamburg (Matthias Sieber & Göksel Böttcher). The South group includes: Arte Suave/Stallion Cage Stuttgart (Franjo & Dominik Artukovic), German Top Team (Peter Angerer), Team Yogaka Root (Switzerland - Rafael Perlungher), Grappling Union Dornbirn (Austria - Roland Laritz), Suum Cuique Mainz (Frank Stäblein, Daniel Ackerman & Matthias Werner), and Monkeys Aschaffenburg (Franco de Leonardis).

A limited amount of athletes will have to be registered at the beginning of the year and teams will be limited to these athletes during the league year. The German League as it is planned now will allow teams from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. All participants have to be FILA licenced and all teams will have to be part of their National Grappling Federation.

The teams will face each other for the first time on 20 March 2010, in Dortmund for the North group and in Aschaffenburg for the South group. The competition will take place according to the FILA rules and weight categories (-65, -70, -75, -80, -90, +90 kg). The only exception to the FILA rules will be the allowance of heel hooks, generally considered to cause serious knee injuries. A report on this issue will be made after the first season of the German Grappling League to assess the validity of this decision.

The first and second of each group will be qualified for the playoffs where the winner of the league will be crowned. FILA is convinced that the concept is called to a bright future and will soon be duplicated in other countries, thus opening gates to the European Grappling League that has been on FILA's mind for quite some time. FILA wishes the German Grappling League and its initiators a great success!

More information can be found on the official German Grappling League website ww.deutsche-grappling-liga.de and in the article published in Groundandpound.de.

Synchronization of Grappling, Pankration & Combat Grappling

FILA has recently updated the Grappling and Pankration regulations and released the brand new international rules for Combat Grappling, the amateur form of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) that will be developed and promoted as per 2010. The three disciplines being tightly interlinked, notably because of their common management by many National Committees and their common participation in international competitions, FILA had to find a way to unify and standardize the three sets of rules.

The first measure taken was to unify the competition uniforms and protection gear in order to allow the athletes to switch from one discipline to the other without having to invest in several sets of equipment. The No-Gi grappling uniform (red for the first grappler called and blue for the second grappler called) will be the same as the combat grappling uniform (the rashguard will however be optional). The Gi used in grappling (white for the first grappler called and of any color for the second grappler called) will serve for pankration as well. Pankratiasts will have the choice between wearing a Gi or the traditional endyma according to their preference. The protection gear used in pankration (gel-filled MMA gloves and shin protectors) will be the same as the one required for combat grappling (with an additional helmet for the A-class athletes). FILA is in the process of approving protection gear and the selected models will soon be released. The senior World Grappling and Pankration Championship being early this year, an exception will be made for the Gis used in grappling. If athletes do not have a set of white and color Gis, belts will be used again to part the competitors. In order to match the colors of the Gis worn by the pankratiasts with the endymas, only white and blue Gis will be accepted.

The second measure pertains to the refereeing system. The grappling, pankration, and combat referees will have to be interchangeable and will therefore wear the same uniform and have common verbal and hand signals. Grappling matches will still be refereed by a central referee in charge of the orderly conduct of the bout and of awarding the points to the grapplers and a mat judge in charge of supervising the mat table, keeping score, and cooperating with the central referee in case a consultation is needed. The refereeing system in pankration had to undergo a deep reform in order to comply with the international standards set by FILA. From now on, pankration matches will be refereed by a central referee in charge of the orderly conduct of the bout and of the athletes' protection. Two side referees will stand facing each other and keep score by means of clickers. At the end of the match, both of their scores will be added up and devided by two in order to reach the most accurate score. When the international refereeing body will grow, three side referees will be assigned to each match in order to further increase the accuracy of the final score. The pankration matches will also be supervised by a mat chairman who will be responsible for controlling the table staff, announcing the final score, classification points, and winner.

The refereeing system adopted for combat grappling is a mix of grappling and pankration. A central referee will be in charge of the orderly conduct of the bout and of awarding the points for ground positions. Two side referees will record the striking points by means of clickers and a match chairman will supervise the work of all three referees assigned to the matches. Through this system, FILA intends to be able to hold international events that will allow athletes and referees to easily participate in all three styles, thus encouraging the permeability of these sister disciplines and increasing the athletes' chances of medals by multiplicating the number of bouts in an event.

Important Changes in the FILA Grappling Regulations

Weight Classes

In order to unify the rules and participation in Grappling, Pankration and Combat Grappling competitions, FILA has adopted new weight categories for these three styles. Compared to last year's grappling categories, one weight class has been added for men and women to provide smaller weight differences in the lighter categories. The new categories are as follows and come into effect immediately:

Men: 60-65-70-75-80-90-110kg and Absolute

Women: 50-55-60-65-75kg and Absolute

Participation Quota

Starting in 2010, the participation in senior World Championships will be limited to 1 competitor per country and per category. For Continental Championships, the participation will be limited to 2 competitors per country and per category. This measure has been taken in order to increase the fairness towards countries with unequal economic ressources.

Considerations for Future Rules Modifications

Further to the 2° World Grappling Championship, two issues were raised by several National Committees. The first one was about the takedown point and the second one about the sweep/reversal point. The philosophy that has always been defended by FILA is to consider the guard position as neutral, because depending on the grapplers' abilities, both top and bottom positions can be considered favorable. The other position that FILA defends is to keep the rules as straight forward and simple as possible in order to avoid disputable situations.

Takedowns

In the current edition of the rules, any takedown is awarded with 1 point. It means that a grappler with strong wrestling capabilities can take his opponent down and end up into the top guard position and then stall the rest of the match in order to bring his point to safety. Suggestion: Since the guard is considered neutral, a takedown landing in the guard should not be awarded a point, because the attacking grappler went from standing to bottom neutral. To be worth a point, a takedown should at least land in half mount. Consequently, a valid counter-attack against a takedown (i.e., the defender trying to land in the guard in order to avoid being in a disadvantaged position) would be acknowledged by not awarding a point to the attacker.

Sweeps

In the current edition of the rules, a point for sweep is only awarded if the sweeper goes from a disadvantaged position into an advantaged position. According to the philosophy defended by FILA, an attempt that would not result in an improvement of the position should not be awarded a point. Indeed, a reversal from bottom guard into top guard cannot be awarded with a point, because the grappler goes from bottom neutral into top neutral. Suggestion: A sweep from a disadvantaged or neutral position into an advantaged position will be awarded with a point.

These issues are up for discussion and we encourage all athletes to report their suggestions to their national leaders who will then be responsible for transmitting them to FILA. In order to be taken into consideration, all suggestions will have to be sent to info(at)fila-grappling.com before 31 January 2010. The World Grappling Committee will then study the proposals and make its final decision. The possible modifications will be applied at the World Championship taking place in Cracow on 26-27 March 2010.

2010: Upcoming FILA Grappling Events

Please refer to the international caldendar for detailed information and programmes.

2010 will be the year of reinforcement and further development of the fast growing sport of grappling among long-time established martial arts and within the international sport community. The first major meeting of the year will be the 3rd World Championship held in Cracow (POL) on 26-27 March 2010. The event will also serve as qualifyer for the SportAccord Combat Games that will take place in Beijing (CHN) on 03-04 September 2010. The first eight grapplers in the following weight classes will be automatically qualified: No-Gi Men 70-80-90kg and No-Gi Women 60kg. The qualified athletes and referees will have their expenses (travel and accommodation) covered by the organizing committee and will be able to enjoy participating in this unprecedented martial art event that will take place in the 2008 Beijing Olympic wrestling venue. For more information on SportAccord (i.e., the governing body of all International Federations), please visit their website at www.agfisonline.com. For the moment, the event website is only available in Chinese, but the English version will soon be released.

Another important event will be the first Cadet and Junior World Championship and second Veteran World Championship that will be organized in Dakovo (CRO) on 20-22 August 2010. At the same time and place, an international tournament for novice and schoolboys will be held. After the SportAccord Combat Games, the second edition of the European Championship will take place in Gorlice (POL) on 23-26 September 2010. Gorlice will also welcome the first European Championship for the new discipline of Combat Grappling right after the No-Gi and Gi competitions.

Many National Committees have sent requests to host international Opens in 2010. For the moment, FILA received prosposals for the following events: Austrian Open, Hungarian Open, Swiss Open, German Open, Italian Open, Canadian Invitational, and Mediterranean Games in Greece. They are all under pending approval and official information will soon be published in the calendar. Countries wishing to host an international tournament next year can send their proposal of dates and places at info(at)fila-grappling.com.

2009: The Year that Changed the Face of Grappling

Although having included grappling as an official associated style since 2007, FILA had to wait until 2009 to get a firm grip on the discipline and reach out to the international grappling community. Through the establishment of a new set of rules clearly geared towards the needs of today's sumbssion fighting styles, common grounds were created to give athletes from diffrent fighting backgrounds the opportunity to fairly compete at the international level. With the first World Championship organized in Lucerne (SUI) in December 2008, it became obvious to everyone that a structured international governing body had become essential to bring grappling a step further. FILA thus appointed a new World Committee formed of continental representatives in charge of affiliating and developing national structures on their respective continent. The strong submission fighting background of each Committee member contributed to an unprecedented growth of the grappling activity throughout the world.

The difficult process of finding the best representative in each country slowed down the affiliation process in the beginning, but then led to the emergence of a strong international network of national committees that helped spread the philosophy and values defended by FILA. The hundred-year-old experience and Olympic background contributed to the implementation of professional tournament structures that were welcomed by athletes used to somewhat lower standards. All tournament organizers were offered support in logistics and manpower to reach optimum organizing conditions. Even if all first attempts were not perfect, the tight cooperation between FILA and its National Committees is a guarantee for a solid improvement of future grappling events.

Thanks to their dedication, the organizers of the FILA Opens and Championships greatly contributed to the fast-paced growth that characterized grappling in 2009. At this point, FILA would like to acknowledge and thank the organizers of the following events: Austrian Open - Swiss Open - Canadian Invitational - Hungarian Open - Italian Open. The World Belt Wrestling Committee also greatly contributed to last year's success by welcoming the 1° senior European Championship and the 1° veteran World Championship within the World Wrestling Games that took place in Siauliai (LTU). FILA also would like to thank USA Wrestling for taking over the organization of the 2° World Championship held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The groundbreaking news of the year 2009 was without a doubt the announcement of the acceptance of grappling within the program of the SportAccord Combat Games that will take place in Beijing (CHN) in September 2010. That major multi-sport event will be the first occasion for grappling to be showcased next to Olympic sports such as Wrestling, Judo, Boxing, Taekwondo, and other established sports such as Karate, Sumo, Muay Thai, or Pankration. Such participation brings the attention and future of grappling to a whole new dimension and FILA is extremely proud of having helped to achieve such an important goal with grappling.