American Combat Association
Encyclopedia
The American Combat Association is a small mixed martial arts
company founded by Olympic
wrestler, world Abu Dhabi
champion and UFC fighter Kamal Shalorus
and competitive submission grappler, professional mixed martial arts fighter, American professional wrestler and trainer Matthew "The Granimal" Granahan . http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=stats.fighterDetail&pid=2E18702E19D659F6
matches. Catch wrestling matches were popular from the period after the civil war until the 1920s and through the early 1960s in America's carnivals with wrestler's like Billy Wicks and Frankie Cain who are interviewed on the American Combat Association website. The organization also certifies individuals and mma academies in the SICS a submission wrestling based fighting discipline.
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/blogs/sports/mma_times/article_647225b8-e0a2-11df-b5e0-001cc4c03286.html
The ACA is dedicated to preserving traditional martial arts in America through sanctioning traditional catch rules wrestling matches, boxing matches and boxer versus wrestler matches and has received recognition for returning to the roots of American mixed martial arts from the Godfather of Grappling Gene Lebell
and New Revolution Grappling http://www.genelebell.com/links.html whose motto is "traditional values, modern tactics" The ACA hosted their first live event in April 2009 in Sanford, Florida
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=stats.fightCard&eid=5b7865a3-650e-49e8-8138-7ccf316a38f8#fight_110689 The ACA is also sponsoring World's Collide, the first ever mixed martial arts event in South Carolina. South Carolina recently legalized mma and the World's Collide event will be a combination of boxing and mixed martial arts Erik Paulson also appears on the American Combat Association website and Erik recently finished a book with ACA President Granimal on the History of American Submission Wrestling called Rough and Tumble. http://www.americancombatassn.com/non-members-rough-and-tumble
RULES
What makes the ACA very different than other mma organizations is their rules which are rooted in traditional submission wrestling where an opponent can win by either pinfall or submission. Shalorus credits his desire to return to the traditional Iranian wrestling style Varzesh-e Pahlavani
which was one of the primary influencers of the American catch wrestling style. Shalorus feels that Gholamreza Takhti
, a practitioner of Varzesh-e Pahlavani was the greatest Persian wrestler of all time. ACA grappling tournaments are held under traditional no holds barred rules where matches have a 15 minute time limit, all submissions are legal and competitors can win by either a 5 count pinfall or submission. There are no judges and if a match goes the full 15 minutes a 5 minute overtime commences. If there is still no winner the match is declared a draw.
ACA's boxing matches use a shortened round time of 3 minutes and each bout consists of 5 rounds.
The organization is headquartered in South Carolina
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
company founded by Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
wrestler, world Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
champion and UFC fighter Kamal Shalorus
Kamal Shalorus
Kamal Shalorus is an Iranian-British professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in UFC's lightweight division.-Early life:Born in the city of Khalkhal in northern Iran, Shalorus began wrestling as a teenager in Iran before beginning training in Turkey and Russia at the age of 17...
and competitive submission grappler, professional mixed martial arts fighter, American professional wrestler and trainer Matthew "The Granimal" Granahan . http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=stats.fighterDetail&pid=2E18702E19D659F6
Organization
The organization is significant because it is the only mma organization in America to sanction catch wrestlingCatch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
matches. Catch wrestling matches were popular from the period after the civil war until the 1920s and through the early 1960s in America's carnivals with wrestler's like Billy Wicks and Frankie Cain who are interviewed on the American Combat Association website. The organization also certifies individuals and mma academies in the SICS a submission wrestling based fighting discipline.
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/blogs/sports/mma_times/article_647225b8-e0a2-11df-b5e0-001cc4c03286.html
The ACA is dedicated to preserving traditional martial arts in America through sanctioning traditional catch rules wrestling matches, boxing matches and boxer versus wrestler matches and has received recognition for returning to the roots of American mixed martial arts from the Godfather of Grappling Gene Lebell
Gene LeBell
Ivan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...
and New Revolution Grappling http://www.genelebell.com/links.html whose motto is "traditional values, modern tactics" The ACA hosted their first live event in April 2009 in Sanford, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=stats.fightCard&eid=5b7865a3-650e-49e8-8138-7ccf316a38f8#fight_110689 The ACA is also sponsoring World's Collide, the first ever mixed martial arts event in South Carolina. South Carolina recently legalized mma and the World's Collide event will be a combination of boxing and mixed martial arts Erik Paulson also appears on the American Combat Association website and Erik recently finished a book with ACA President Granimal on the History of American Submission Wrestling called Rough and Tumble. http://www.americancombatassn.com/non-members-rough-and-tumble
RULES
What makes the ACA very different than other mma organizations is their rules which are rooted in traditional submission wrestling where an opponent can win by either pinfall or submission. Shalorus credits his desire to return to the traditional Iranian wrestling style Varzesh-e Pahlavani
Varzesh-e Pahlavani
Varzesh-e Bastani is a traditional style of folk wrestling practiced in Iran....
which was one of the primary influencers of the American catch wrestling style. Shalorus feels that Gholamreza Takhti
Gholamreza Takhti
Gholamreza Takhti is the most famous wrestler in Iranian history. He was most famous for his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship, and he continues to symbolize the essence of sport to the Iranian people.- Early life :...
, a practitioner of Varzesh-e Pahlavani was the greatest Persian wrestler of all time. ACA grappling tournaments are held under traditional no holds barred rules where matches have a 15 minute time limit, all submissions are legal and competitors can win by either a 5 count pinfall or submission. There are no judges and if a match goes the full 15 minutes a 5 minute overtime commences. If there is still no winner the match is declared a draw.
ACA's boxing matches use a shortened round time of 3 minutes and each bout consists of 5 rounds.
The organization is headquartered in South Carolina