| UWW Grappling | |
| Aka: | FILA Grappling |
| Focus: | Grappling |
| Hardness: | Full contact |
| Creator: | United World Wrestling (formerly International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles) |
| Parenthood: | Catch Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling, Sambo |
| Olympic: | No |
UWW Grappling, formerly known as FILA Grappling, is a non-striking hybrid combat sport sanctioned by United World Wrestling (UWW), formerly the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA). A form of submission wrestling influenced by catch wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, and sambo, UWW Grappling allows various submission holds which replace the pin/fall from wrestling. These submission moves can be applied to force opponents to concede by "tapping out" or verbally submitting to the referee.[1] In 2013 FILA ceased sanctioning the sport amid the turmoil regarding the potential removal of wrestling from the Olympic program.[2] [3]
In September 2014, FILA changed its name to United World Wrestling (UWW) and reintroduced Grappling while creating a new World Grappling Committee under UWW authority.[4]
In 2004, Jason Townsend and members of the Titan Wrestling Club at Cal State Fullerton, including Chris Carlino and Art Barker, started developing a set of rules and an official international rulebook for grappling. This wrestling club served as a platform for testing these rules, and a series of test events were organized across the country under the International Submission Wrestling Association (ISWA), led by Townsend.
The ISWA applied for admission with the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF),[5] which in turn contacted FILA regarding the application. This led to a meeting in Abu Dhabi between FILA President Raphaël Martinetti and Jason Townsend. Martinetti proposed that ISWA allow FILA to adopt its rulebook and integrate into FILA's new World Grappling Committee, led by Jean-Francois Court and Anne Pellaud. The ISWA agreed, seeing FILA as the best path forward for the sport.
FILA and ISWA representatives also met with Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, Guy Neivens, and Renzo Gracie. However, FILA couldn't reach an agreement with the ADCC, which ultimately did not participate in FILA's amateur grappling development. Townsend was appointed as the Head of Grappling Panamerica in FILA's "Associated Styles" department.[6]
In 2007, FILA started its inaugural grappling season, culminating in the first unofficial World Championships in Antalya, Turkey, during the 2007 World Wrestling Games. Team USA dominated, winning all 9 gold medals with prominent athletes like Jeff Monson, Ricky Lundell, Darren Uyenoyama, and Felicia Oh.[7]
The UWW-approved grappling mat measures 9m (30feet) in diameter, including a 1.5m (04.9feet) border known as the protection area. An orange band 1m (03feet) in width is drawn along the inside of the circumference to indicate the passivity zone. The area inside the passivity zone is called the central wrestling area, which measures 7m (23feet) in diameter.
For Championship competitions, the mat may be installed on a platform between 1.1m (03.6feet) or 0.8m (02.6feet) in height.
Since various forms of submission fighting are traditionally practiced both with and without gi, FILA implemented both trends in order to cover the full spectrum of techniques associated to each particular style. Therefore, FILA tournaments generally had gi and no-gi divisions to enable all submission fighters to compete to their highest ability no matter what their fighting background might be. The FILA grappling gi practitioner's uniform was similar to a judogi, but often with tighter cuffs on the pants and jacket. No-gi grapplers wore FILA-approved shorts and a tight-fitting sleeveless, short sleeve or long sleeve rashguard. Grapplers were not required to wear shoes during the match, but those who chose to wear shoes needed to wear ones approved by FILA.[8]
The FILA grappling regulations were based on a progressive point system that encourages submissions over technical points. Points were awarded for takedowns and dominant control positions according to the following progression: side mount < full mount < back mount. Once having reached a position and secured it for 3 seconds, additional points could only be scored if a higher position is achieved. The progression was reset if the opponent managed to bring the fight back to neutral (be it standing or on the ground) or to score a dominant control position in his or her turn.
FILA grappling rules contrasted with wrestling's greater emphasis on takedowns, due to its radically different point-scoring system. This has led to greater time dedicated to training on the ground, resulting in enhancement and evolution of groundwork techniques by grapplers.
| World Grappling Championship | |
| Status: | Active |
| Genre: | Sports event |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Location: | Various |
| Organised: | United World Wrestling |
The World Grappling Championship was the most important of FILA's annual Grappling tournaments. The first of these competitions took place on in 2007, with the last taking place in 2013.
Since FILA's renaming to UWW, the World Grappling Championships have continued to be hosted under the UWW banner, with the 2023 World Championships taking place in Warsaw, Poland.
| Year | City and host country | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 UWW World Grappling Championships |  Minsk, Belarus | |
| 2017 UWW World Grappling Championships |  Baku, Azerbaijan | |
| 2018 UWW World Grappling Championships |  Astana, Kazakhstan | |
| 2019 UWW World Grappling Championships | Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan | |
| 2021 UWW World Grappling Championships |  Belgrade, Serbia | |
| 2022 UWW World Grappling Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| 2023 UWW World Grappling Championships |  Warsaw, Poland |