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U-Kei (martial arts)

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U-Kei (U系 or ユーけい; eng. U-Series, U-Group or Class U) is a Japanese combat sports related term that refers to shoot style professional wrestling, martial arts, or mixed martial arts organizations that are derived from the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) or have other shoot wrestling roots. Through various splits, the U-Kei system also came to encompass deathmatch, lucharesu, and sports entertainment promotions.

"U" refers to the UWF, a Japanese professional wrestling promotion that was active from 1984 to 1986. The UWF was founded by Hisashi Shinma and Akira Maeda after their departures from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The UWF is credited with pioneering the shoot style of wrestling, which provided the foundation of modern mixed martial arts in both Japan and overseas.[1][2][3]

Following the collapse of the original UWF in 1986, the professional wrestling and mixed martial arts organizations that derived from the promotion became collectively known as "UWF-Kei", later shortened to "U-Kei".[4][5][6]

Background

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The Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) was founded in 1984 by Hisashi Shinma and Akira Maeda following their departures from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The original UWF roster included Maeda, Rusher Kimura, Ryuma Go, Mach Hayato, and Gran Hamada. Soon, however, they were joined by Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada, Kazuo Yamazaki, and Satoru Sayama. The arrival of these wrestlers changed the orientation of the UWF's wrestling from a traditional puroresu style to a more martial arts-oriented style. Maeda, Fujiwara, Takada, Yamazaki, and Sayama had been martial artists before joining NJPW, and they began incorporating amateur wrestling and other legitimate martial arts techniques, including catch wrestling holds and kickboxing strikes, which created a new form of wrestling called shoot style. Kimura, Go, and Hamada, unable to cope with the new shoot style of wrestling, decided to leave and join All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) instead. Shinma would also depart for AJPW after disputes with Sayama.

By 1985, Sayama had become alienated from the rest of the UWF. While the shoot style of wrestling introduced by Sayama was successful in increasing fan interest, many UWF wrestlers believed he held too much creative control and booking power.[7] This came to a head in September 1985 when Maeda did not pull a kick during a match with Sayama, kicking him hard in the groin and causing a legitimate disqualification. As a result, Maeda was suspended and later fired by the UWF. Sayama, embittered with wrestling after this match, left the UWF and formed Shooto, one of the first mixed martial arts (MMA) promotions. Without its two top stars, the promotion dissolved and much of the roster returned to NJPW.

In 1988, Maeda was suspended from NJPW for intentionally injuring Riki Choshu with a kick and was eventually dismissed from the promotion for refusing to go on an overseas tour in Mexico. After his dismissal from NJPW, Maeda and the former UWF wrestlers founded a new promotion, Newborn UWF. Newborn UWF set the standard for shoot style wrestling, with a focus on "clean finishes" – matches that ended in submissions or knockouts. This marked the first time Japanese wrestling fans could routinely see clear-cut winners and losers as NJPW and AJPW were still using the American-originated standard of countout and disqualification finishes at the time. After internal issues, Newborn UWF closed its doors following a farewell card on December 1, 1990 in Matsumoto, Nagano. Also in 1990, Shinma and Hamada founded a new "Universal" promotion, Universal Lucha Libre. This was preceded by Shinma and Hamada's Martial Arts Union pulling its support from Atsushi Onita's Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.[8]

In 1991, three Newborn UWF successor promotions were formed: Takada's Union of Wrestling Forces International, Maeda's Fighting Network Rings, and Fujiwara's Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. The promotions founded after the collapses of the UWF and Newborn UWF began being referred to as part of the U-Kei (U-Group). U-Kei promotions, Pancrase (founded in 1993) and the Pride Fighting Championships (founded in 1997), emerged as two of the most notable MMA promotions in Japan. Pride Fighting Championships was later acquired by its rival Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2007.[9][10]

List of promotions or events referred to as U-Kei

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Uの青春　～カッキーの闘いはまだ終わらない ISBN 978-4331519592
  2. ^ ザ・UWF最強伝説—格闘プロレスは永遠に不滅! (1995) ISBN 978-4876892006
  3. ^ 証言UWF 最終章 3派分裂後の真実 ISBN 978-4800283504
  4. ^ Uの青春　～カッキーの闘いはまだ終わらない ISBN 978-4331519592
  5. ^ ザ・UWF最強伝説—格闘プロレスは永遠に不滅! (1995) ISBN 978-4876892006
  6. ^ 証言UWF 最終章 3派分裂後の真実 ISBN 978-4800283504
  7. ^ Weekly Pro Wrestling Special - Japan Pro Wrestling Case History Vol.3, Baseball Magazine, 2014
  8. ^ "BAHU's History of FMW Part 1". Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "What role did boxer Muhammad Ali play in early MMA? Let 'Ali vs. Inoki' author Josh Gross explain". MMAjunkie. June 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "MMA Origins: Fighting For Pride". BloodyElbow. May 2, 2013.