Hello all, havn't posted here in quite some time,

any way as many of you know I run a small Shooto circut here in upstate ny, we are trying to kick it up a notch this March hosting a 2-3 day North eastern Nationals Shooto tourney in Bennington VT, there will be 3 classes of tournament fighting,

Any not familiar with Shooto, the best explenation I cvan give is that it is the Golden gloves of MMA, point scoring is availible to ensure fair judging and a very competitive match. You tube Amatuer shooto

rules are basicly mma rules with no elbows, I have secured the facillity and am meeting with hotels this weekend, all competitiors would get the possibillity of 3 bouts being in an 8 man bracket in the following classes

Novice - 2 or less bouts (combat sports) ( headgear)
129
145
159
175
189
205
hvwt

Open ($$ expense awarded to gym for every winning fighter)
129
145
159
175
189
205
Hvwt

Masters/White Collar age 34 +
145
160
179
195
215
hvwt

entry fee is only 1 pre -sold ringside ticket, The event will be held to raise funds for the EBC therapy center so any expenses you incur will be tax deduct. & we have forms to gain sponsers if you want to come

the center helps severly physicaly & mentaly handicapped children learn to live.

all fighters get a sweatshirt, this is great for guys who want to either break into mma & to get thier feet wet (novice) or those who are thinking of going pro & want to test them selves before stepping out into the deep water.

We currently have gyms coming from 4 states, I am filling brackets up to 8 fighters each. I still have openings @ every weight,

This is a great oppertunity for smaller gyms to gain exposure, please help us help these kids!

I'll let my team know about this. What is the date?

And sorry to be a pain in the ass, but could you elaborate on the rules. You said it's just like amateur MMA without elbows, but that could mean something different for me since you're probably from another state. Up here, amateur MMA is fought with 7 oz gloves and without shinpads or headgear. You're allowed to ground and pound to the head and you can knee to the body on the ground, and there are no elbows whatsoever.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you could explain the rules to me in detail or link me to the rules or something. Our gym definitely has some beginners who could benefit from there, and some more experienced guys who might be interested in giving it a shot -- depending on the rules.