Ground and Pound Light Contact Rules

Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound is a sports discipline which applies fighting both at a distance  with blows, punches, knee and kicks, and in clinches and man-to-man fighting on the floor with grappling techniques, throws, locks, chokes,  immobilizations and punches.

Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound matches are held in a MMA cage or in a ring, or on a square surface of small mats measuring 6 x 6 meters plus a surrounding perimeter area, preferably of a different color and in any case delineated, measuring 1 meter, for a total of 8 x 8 meters.

Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound combatants must wear rashguard, shorts, groin guard, shin instep guards without hard parts, open-hand gloves which covered  thumbs, a head guard and mouthpiece. Gloves should reach the middle point of knuckles and have a pad at least 3 cm thick. For women a chest protector is mandatory. Adults are allowed to fight without head guard in ring or cage. Also on tatami but in this case tatami must have 2 meters safety area on the periphery. It is forbidden to wear bracelets, necklaces, ear-rings and rings and any other thing likely to cause injury during the fight. The fighting safety equipment must be of approved type and will be inspected by the competition jury.

Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound matches last, unless the event commissioner decides otherwise, two rounds of three minutes each, with an interval of one minute between rounds, for elimination and finals.

In Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound it is allowed to strike with control all parts of the body except the groin, throat, eyes, back of the neck and spine with punches, knee and kicks. All techniques passing beyond the target will be considered “without control”. It is okay to hit or grab when you have been seized.
The knee to the head is not allowed.

In “Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound “ it is allowed to seize and throw the opponent in any way, but not during a finalization. It is not allowed to throw one’s opponent straight down vertically on his/her head or neck (head first) or causing him/her to fall on  knees. Throws started from within the area of the square are valid even if they end outside of it. A “takedown” is considered any way one is able to carry or push the opponent to the ground.

In “Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound “ it is allowed to pin the opponent on the mat in any manner, but only the combatant who gains a position of advantage will obtain points. The immobilization must last 10 seconds.The rear mount is the only case when the  opponent in the lower position scores immobilization points. If during immobilization the fighter changes his position but he is still immobilized Points are awarded based on final position.

In “Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound “ the finalization can be achieved by way of suffocation, strangling, compression and arm lock. You cannot place your hands on your opponent’s face. Finalization puts end to the fight. The referee may stop a pending finalization if he considers it dangerous for the athlete that is undergoing it. This will result in the deduction of one point from the score of the combatant who was under finalization. In case of the loss of a mouthpiece during ground fighting the match is not stopped. The referee will replace it at the end of the phase on the ground. Ripping (violently applied) joint locks are not allowed. They should always be executed progressively. Locks to the small joints (fingers) are not permitted. 

IMPORTANT: after a knockdown Referee stop the time, consult the judges to decide possible penalities, and possible the doctor and start again standing.

At the end of each round the  judges ( 3 ) write down the score on special scoring papers: 10 points to the better fighter and 9 points to the other; 8 if there has been a remarkable gap. Then they subtract the points due to fouls and mark the total score in the special  square. At the end of the match, each judge sums up the given points; in case of equal  points in an elimination tournament the judge must give his preference.

He supervises the bout, he is the first to enter the “mat”. He should ask the side judges to inspect the protective equipment, order the salute and start  the fighting with the word “fight”. He stops the match with the word “stop” every  time he thinks it necessary; he can give warnings, award penalties and disqualify the combatants. He signals throws with his uplifted arm. He signals for the interruption of time to the jury table; he signals voluntary exits from the fighting area and he separates the fighters when they are seizing each other without attempting a throw at once. He awards the win at the end of the match.

He evaluates techniques,  control, combinations, the athletes’ endurance to award the score. He decides if immobilizations and projections signalled by the central referee are valid or not; he can give penalty points and he can ask for consultation with the central referee. He inspects the fighting safety equipment on call of the central referee and fills out every part of the score sheet.

At the and of each round each judge assigns a score which can be:

10 – 10 if the round is considered even;
10 – 9 if one athlete has prevailed over the other;
10 – 8 if the difference was great

In “Shoot Boxe Ground and Pound “ it is not allowed :
to deliver blows without control, to speak during the match, to waste time by avoiding combat, to strike with the head, shoulders, and elbows, to strike without looking at the target, to turn one’s back on the opponent unless it is clearly justified by technique and to behave in an unsportsmanlike manner towards the opponent, the referee or the judges. A coach or other seconds must not shout and must not address the opponent or the commissioner. It is forbidden to grab the shorts and the tatami edge.

The ring-side doctor must be present throughout the entire event in the vicinity of the fighting square. In case of injury he is the only one who can decide if the injured fighter can continue to fight. Any fighter who abandons his match because of a doctor’s decision cannot in any case continue to take part in the tournament.

A throw taking both legs off the ground 3 points
A throw technique 2 points
A ”takedown” 1 point
An immobilization 1 point
A side immobilization 2 points
An immobilization over the body (“mounting and back mounting“) 3 points

A punch 1 point
A kick to the leg 1 point
A kick to the body 1 point
A kick to the head 2 points
Knee to the body 1 point
A “Ground & Pound” ( three consecutive punch to the head ) 5 points
A third voluntary exit 1 point  subtracted from final score
A fourth voluntary exit disqualification

IMPORTANT: after a Ground & Pound referee stop the time and start again standing.

At the second Ground & Pound finish the fight.

Men: kg 56, 60, 65 , 71, 78, 86, 95, 105, over 105
Women: kg 50, 55, 61, 68, 76, over 76

Junior 16-18 age
Boys : kg 56 – 60 – 65 – 71 – 78 – 86 – + 86
Girls :  kg 50 – 55 – 61 – 68 – + 68

The “clinch” is a stalemate, both fighters standing or in  ground position during approximately 10 seconds without any actions on the part of one of the  fighters (or both of them) in an attempt  to turn the fight to his/her advantage.

Please note that a submission attempt that does not yield is also considered “Clinch”