Is There A Place For Strong Style Wrestling? by Natsumi Kuroyama, October 14th, 1998 Rumour has it that a new Japanese federation may appear called Strong Style Wrestling and the gossip has industry insiders buzzing.  And as the name implies, it would not strictly be part of the puroresuring tradition but rather a mixture of no-holds-barred shoot fighting and puroresuring. Little is known whether or not SSW may ever see the light of day but the concept has certainly garnered a certain amount of interest. The organizers behind SSW are looking to capture the specialized flavor of shoot-style wrestling which blurs the line between no-holds-barred fighting (Mixed Martial Arts) and traditional puroresuring.  Shoot style (known in some circles as strong style) wrestling combines elements of puroresuring with elements from no-holds-barred fighting to create an exciting, realistic, and brutal hybrid wrestling style.  The SSW would seek to capture the competitiveness and excitement presented by strong style promotions such as RINGS and Battle Arts. The Motto of SSW is Success Through Dedication and simply put, this means that the more the wrestlers put into their competition, the more they'll get out of the promotion.  They must be willing to sacrifice time, energy and their physical selves as they put their health on the line every time they compete. Another principle of SSW's philosophy is a term called Warrior Spirits.  This is the notion that each wrestler is striving to get to the top of the heap with such effort that they will sacrifice their bodies and go to any lengths in the ring to achieve their goals. These two elements of a bushido-type code will definitely mean that the level of competition in SSW would be extremely high. Traditional puroresuring rules would not apply in SSW as matches would be contested under the following rules: Matches are contested under the SSW rounds system.  Rounds last 5 minutes.  Top Contender and Title matches are 5 rounds.  All other matches are 3 rounds. Matches end in submission, knockout, or pinfall (3 count).  If a match goes to the full time limit without a decisive finish, the winner will be determined via judges scoring. Points are scored as follows: 2 points for each near fall or forced rope break 1 points for each takedown or knockdown All moves are legal in SSW with the exception of low blows, hair pulling and attacking of the eyes.  All martial arts strikes, punches, kicks, takedowns, throws, etc. are allowed.  Climbing the ropes is not allowed in SSW.  Puroresuring-style top rope moves such as moonsaults are not allowed.  Using the ropes to increase momentum (i.e. running and bouncing off the rope) is allowed.  Almost all other puroresuring-style moves, such as suplexes and slams are allowed. The people behind SSW are well known in Japan as most were part of the Pro Japan Wrestling (PJW) organization. Recognizable faces include Hadi Moditian, the owner and promoter of Strong Style Wrestling who is a former wrestling announcer best known for being the President of PJW before it closed.  Other staff members would include Christopher Reece, the former "Voice of the PJW", martial arts legend Kunihiro Yamamoto doing colour commentary, Kyoko Kosugi as Press Director and Chief Interviewer, and Tajiri Hayashi, Head Official. The experience behind SSW is a strong indication that it will be successful although the highly competitive world of marketing combat arts in Japan poses significant challenges.  If you would like more information regarding SSW, please contact Hadi Moditian