Budo Challenge

From OTMWiki

What Is The Budo Challenge?

Budo is the martial way that defines the physical, mental and spiritual powers of the warrior. The Budo Challenge brings together the top submission fighters in the world, including BJJ world champions, Olympic judo players, and UFC, Pride, and Shooto fighters to display the abilities, skills, and character that make a true champion.

The purpose of the Budo Challenge is not only to show top combat athletes in action, but to provide an insight into the minds and souls of the fighters. Just as life consists of preparation, execution, and adaptation to unexpected results, the Budo Challenge shows a microcosm of life through fighter interviews, personal stories, and philosophical outlooks. The audience gains a profound understanding of the struggle and sacrifice each fighter makes.

The Budo Challenge is the first professional submission fighting league with the vision to dignify and value the world’s elite grapplers and allow them to serve as role models and be positive influences for current and future generations in our communities.

The striking visual impact of the event is based on instilling traditional values and concepts into the minds of the viewers. The revolutionary rules of the Budo Challenge bring non-stop action and excitement unparalleled in modern judo, wrestling, or jiu-jitsu events. The commentators, special effects, officiating and scoring systems provide an easy-to-follow format that allows spectators to understand and follow the helicopter sweeps, rear naked chokes, omoplata joint locks, and guillotine submissions that happen with machine-gun speed.

The rules have been formulated so that strategy, action, and submission attempts are rewarded while stalling and controlling your opponent with no purpose or intent is penalized. A single point is scored for achieving common grappling positions, while multiple points are awarded for submission attempts which cause the opponent to execute a technique to escape.

In cumulative standings tracked throughout the season, different from regular jiu-jitsu or judo competitions, where victory by decision, submission, or advantage is the same, Budo Challenge will award submission victories with higher championship points for the overall world title. The goal of the Budo Challenge is to reward strategy, originality and action so the best warriors truly win!

Event Philosophy

The modern warrior is always prepared for battle. His preparation does not start before an event but it is part of an on going process that involves discipline, commitment and dedication to the art and to the whole. It is not a phase but rather a state.

The modern warrior wants to be the best and lives every day of his life giving everything to be the best. The quest for perfection is his life and he gives everything he has to achieve that goal. Every action, every thought and every ounce of his energy goes towards the preparation, so he is always ready to do his best!

The Budo Challenge exults and rewards the modern warrior’s efforts with a new and unique set of rules have been formulated so that strategy, action, and submission attempts are rewarded while stalling and controlling your opponent with no purpose or intent is penalized.

History Of Budo

Budo (The Spirit of the Warrior) was defined in the Gorin-no-Sho (Book of Five Rings) by Japanese samurai Musashi. Modern fighting events have lost the essence of Budo − the use of strategy and honor to achieve spiritual victory − and simply become tests of raw strength, brute power, and uncontrolled violence. To restore the “art” in martial arts, Rickson Gracie has conceived the “Budo Challenge”, a revolutionary concept to restore strategy and honor to martial arts competition.

“The spirit of the warrior is not only a fighting philosophy,” says Rickson, “it is also the basis of a code that says ‘prepare, engage and conquer’. Living by this code will aid the individual in any situation. By incorporating warrior concepts into the Budo Challenge, my goal is to reintroduce the ancient concepts of discipline, preparation, commitment and technical knowledge with the objective of a clear victory not only to contemporary fighters but to fans everywhere also. Once people see the non-stop action, excitement, and strategy that true Budo combat brings, they will be drawn to martial arts like never before.”