What competitions allow striking,throws & grappling but with safety gear/low contact?

Hey guys, i've been kickboxing on-and-off since 2005-the kickboxing is based on Lau Gar Kuen and we do both sport karate (points) and kickboxing (kicks above waist/no knees or elbows). Anyway, due to frustration of lack of progress (Sport karate record: 3-8-0 Kickboxing: 1-8-0), I quit (that and bad relations with many of the other clubs' instructors meaning I can't fight in comps with them there without being humiliated).

Since last year I have been training in Tenjin-Shinyo-Ryu- from September to January and have restarted a month ago. Since April I have also started Judo and Wrestling and love it.

The problem is I miss kickboxing too much! Considering I can't compete in it AND it's my weakness-is there any MMA-esque light contact comps that combine strikes,throws and grappling? I don't mind not competing-sparring is enough for me!

Afaik, these competitions allow 2 out of 3 things but NOT all 3:

Karate: Strikes and throws
Hapkido: Strikes and throws
San Shou: Strikes and throws
Judo: Throws and grappling
BJJ: Grappling and throws
Catch Wrestling

Only Sport JJ allows all 3.

I want to know if there is anything pre-MMA that I can do so I can get used to getting hit/throwing opponent as a counter instead of hiding behind my guard!

Also, preferably something allowing headgear to prevent the dreaded cauliflower ear!

I live in Andover, South of England-if you could point me in the right direction it would be great. I am willing to travel as far as Salisbury,Basingstoke or Winchester

 

Like you said, Sport JJ is an option but it depends entirely on the format. I'm not a fan of light contact fighting/point sparring which is what you'll mostly see in Sport JJ.

There is also Pankration which is basically MMA rules minus strikes to the head.

 

In UK, amatuer MMA is no strikes to the head. No ground striking, depending on the promotion, there might be shin guards, but thats about it. No head guard as theres obviously no stkes allowed there.

Plus the usual rules apply as well.

 

Sounds like it would benefit a more submission based fighter with the no head shots? Does a clinch count as a head shot?

 

Any rules format that allows submissions and doesn't allow full contact strikes to the head definitely favours submission guys.

I would say you have three real options.

1) sport JJ as you mentioned.

2) AM MMA with no headshots, I fought for these guys and have watched a few of their events,generally a good choice: http://www.mmaleague.tv/

3) Attend an interclub and do light contact MMA sparring. I've known a few of these and it could be the best option for what you're after if you can find a club that holds/attends them.

 

he said he isnt bothered about competing sparring is enough, well even if you want to compete in amateur MMA (which he doesn't) in my experience most mma teams would have him sparring under at least semi pro rules, the hole train hard fight easy thing.

 

lol is that the one that's supposed to be a mix of full contact karate and judo where they where the space helmets ?

 

because of the space helmet ?

 

Combat sambo. It's full contact but they do wear head gear, shin guards and mma like gloves

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUypWE-0wWc&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪Fedor Emelianenko Combat Sambo Fight - World 2006‬‏[/ame]

 

You know, I took up martial arts to fight bullies in school (I was, an still am to a lesser extent, a fat;weak;asian kid), BUT I know it's unlikely I will fight these people in real life or anyone in that matter (i'm 21 now)!

I have fought in sport karate and light continuos. I have less than 6 months collective Jiu Jitsu experience (did Aug-January and have restarted 3 weeks ago) and only a month of wrestling and judo experience.

^ I want to fight in wrestling and judo competitions at the end of this year/early next year (I started both when I was at University in April-stopped May because it's summer vacation;am going back in October).

I am not that good at kickboxing but i'd like to use what I know of kickboxing! I won't be going to classes again because I always get overtaken by newbs and nobody is helping me with regards to getting hit in the face-plus most competitions have the clubs who I have had arguements with (i'd look like even more of an idiot losing to them again)

I LOVE to fight but I know that striking is my weakness-I want to 'test the waters' and see how good I am at the takedown arts and if I can go far in that.

As stated before though, I WANT to fight with strikes too; if I do MMA, it will be:

A) More realistic
B) Better for me if I can fall back onto judo/wrestling to take opponent down and restrain him via JJ

The only thing preventing me fighting in MMA competitively is lack of headgear! I DON'T WANT CAULIFLOWER EAR! At least in sparring and wrestling I can wear headgear and judo is really not that bad for cauliflower ear!

If I don't get cauliflower ear and my judo,wrestling and ju jitsu is good, would MMA be hard to fight in, even at base level? Getting hit is my problem but is it hard to get him down without getting kneed in the face/elbowed in the back?

 

haha DYNAMO SAMBO NUMBA 1!!!! Vadim Kolgonov represent

 

If you havent being Groundwork that long i dunno how you'll fair. lots of sand baggers even at entry level.

 

As I said, I want to fight MMA because I like striking too much to just quit.

The earliest i'll fight MMA in 2013-more likely 2014.

However, in 2011/2012 I will be competing in Judo competitions and Wrestling too-under the British Judo and British Wrestling Associations as well as interclubs.

2012-2014 i'll be earning my belts in Ju Jitsu and sparring in MMA.

I am tempted by MMA but I don't want cauliflower ears-considering bodybuilding is my first love, I am thinking of fighting only 2x a year and training 3 months per fight-the other 6 months (2 lots of 3 months) will be bodybuilding.

I don't want to be a fighter in that I don't want it to be my career/source of income but I still want to fight. As I said before, considering bodybuilding is my first love, i'm thinking of becoming a male model or guest-poser-hence the reason I don't want cauliflower ear

 

My friend is a bodybuilder to and he said one of the hardest choices he made as between bodybuilding and MA. cos you cant truly excel at one if you do the other.
He stuck with bodybuilding because it was his first love too.

 

If you want to avoid cauliflower ear, buy wrestling headgear and use the corner of your forehead to push things instead of your ear. It's definitely avoidable and contrary to popular belief it does go down over time. Generally the only time you're stuck with it is when you don't get it drained and just keep grinding it when you roll.

 

True, but getting it once makes you more prone to it in the future. I have not gotten it through my 14 mma fights, but then again I dont get hit in the head or go to the ground very often. I hate ground fighting.

 

That's true. I got a pebble of it in one earlobe. It wasn't visible so I just left it and fiddled with it from time to time. It's completely gone now. I think people get it primarily from shooting.