Art of War Fighting Championship
The Art of War Fighting Championship is a Chinese professional mixed martial arts promotion based in Beijing, China. The Chinese title "英雄榜" literally translated means "Gathering of Heroes." Art of War FC has no relation to the defunct US MMA promotion Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship. Art of War I was held at the Beijing Sports University on November 6, 2005. The inaugural event made it the first professional mixed martial arts contest in the People's Republic of China. To date, AOW has held 15 events in mainland China. Its largest event was Art of War 12 - Invincible, held at the National Olympic Sports Center Auditorium in Beijing on May 23, 2009 to an audience of around 6,000 fans. The event attracted many international guests, including former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer, and experienced referee "Big" John McCarthy.
The Art of War Fighting Championship has featured some of China's top mixed martial arts athletes, including IKF World Champion and 2002 King of Sanda champion, Bao Li Gao; 1996 Chinese Olympian and China national judo champion, Ao Te Gen Ba Tar; and 2004 Chinese Olympian and China national Greco-Roman wrestling champion, Sai Yin Ji Ya. In addition, Art of War FC has featured some of the world's top fighters including WKN European Muay Thai champion Filippo Cinti of Italy, DEEP veteran Jeong Ho Lee of Korea, and Japanese Karate and ju-jutsu expert, Setsuma Takeda.
Art of War is the first mixed martial arts organization to be broadcast by CCTV-5, China's largest sports broadcasting platform with over 1 billion audience coverage in China and internationally. Art of War IV, broadcast on December 29, 2006 set a record as the single largest mixed martial arts tournament broadcast in the world.
In March 2008, Art of War Fighting Championship signed a China nationwide broadcasting agreement which will bring the tournament into the homes of over 200 million viewers around the country on a weekly basis, including regions of Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, and New Zealand.
Origins
The Art of War Fighting Championship was founded by Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor Andrew Pi and his younger brother Konrad Pi, both Chinese Americans living in California at the time they conceived of the idea of creating an MMA promotion in China. After Andrew Pi won a tough match with an armbar submission, he wanted to find a way to promote jiu-jitsu in China. Konrad Pi, an investment manager and private helicopter pilot living in San Diego thought it was a good idea, but the idea would be hard to execute due to the restrictions formed by the Chinese government as well as the difficulty of raising money for a big promotion.Fortunately, their father Frank Pi is a business executive with ties to China. They successfully made contact with the Chinese government and obtained the proper permits for hosting a sporting event. The Pi family eventually found a few potential sponsors, including football star Rashaan Salaam. On November 6, 2005, The Art of War Fighting Championship conducted its first event.
Rules
The Art of War Fighting Championship tournaments are conducted according to the Art of War Unified Rules System, which allows for a variety of striking and submission techniques including soccer kicks, stomps, elbows, and knees to the head of a grounded opponent.Rounds
All non-title fights shall consist of one ten-minute round and one five-minute round, with two minutes of rest in between. Title fights will have three rounds; one ten-minute round and two five-minute rounds.Weight divisions
The Art of War Fighting Championship currently uses eight weight classes:- Lightweight: Below
- Super Lightweight: to
- Welterweight: to
- Super Welterweight: to
- Middleweight: to
- Super Middleweight: to
- Heavyweight: to
- Super Heavyweight: Over
Match outcome
- KO – Fighter is knocked out.
- TKO – When a fighter has gained a remarkably superior advantage over his opponent and the referee determines that the inferior fighter is in danger if the fight continues.
- Submission – When the contestant surrenders, submission and/or forfeiture is expressed either verbally or by tapping more than three consecutive times on the mat or the opponent's body using the hand or the foot.
- Doctor Stoppage – When a fighter is injured by an opponent's legal attack and if a ringside doctor determines that the injured fighter is incapable of continuing the fight, the injured fighter loses the match.
- Renunciation – The fighter's corner men may surrender the fight by "throwing in the towel." In case the referee fails to see it, the Art of War organizing committee can stop the fight.
- Disqualification – If a fighter is disqualified because of an illegal action as per Article 4, his opponent will be deemed the winner of the bout.
- An illegal action disqualifies both fighters.
- The judges, doctors, or the Art of War organizing committee end the fight because of an accident during Round 1.
- An accident causes either or both fighters to be unable to continue.
- If at the end of the bout, a winner has not been determined according to the criteria defined in Articles 3.1 – 3.6.
- The judges, doctors, or the Art of War organizing committee end the fight because of an accident during Round 2.
Illegal actions
The AOW Fighting Championship has deemed these actions to be illegal:- Butting with the head.
- Eye attacks of any kind.
- Biting.
- Hair-pulling.
- Fish-hooking.
- Attacking the groin.
- Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on your opponent.
- Striking using the point of the elbow.
- Throat strikes of any kind, including without limitation, grabbing, pushing or squeezing the trachea with the hands and/or fingers.
- Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh and ears.
- Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
- Attacking the back of the head, the spine and the medulla.
- Grabbing, twisting or squeezing the fingers and toes.
- Holding onto the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
- Timidity, including without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or repeatedly dropping the mouthpiece, escaping to the outside of the contest area, or faking an injury.
- Grabbing onto and refusing to release the ring ropes and/or intentionally hanging the limbs of the body over the ring ropes.
- Grabbing, holding or otherwise impeding an opponent's movements with the sole intention of obtaining a referee restart.
- Throwing the opponent outside of the ring or contest area.
- Spitting at an opponent.
- Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct.
- Using abusive language in the contest area.
- Attacking an opponent during the break.
- Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee or doctor.
- Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the round.
- Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
- Interference by a fighter's corner men
Art of War Fighting Championship Events
| No. | Event | Date | Venue | Location |
| 1 | Art of War I | November 6, 2005 | Beijing Sports University |  Beijing, China |
| 2 | Art of War II | December 10, 2005 | Araneta Coliseum |  Manila, Philippines |
| 3 | Art of War III | March 25, 2006 | Communications University Auditorium | Xi'an, China |
| 4 | Art of War IV | December 22, 2006 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 5 | Art of War V | March 31, 2007 | Xing Guang Studio | Beijing, China |
| 6 | Art of War 6 | May 26, 2007 | Xing Guang Studio | Beijing, China |
| 7 | Art of War 7 | July 28, 2007 | Xing Guang Studio | Beijing, China |
| 8 | Art of War 8: Worlds Collide | September 22, 2007 | Xing Guang Studio | Beijing, China |
| 9 | Art of War 9: Fists of Fury | November 24, 2007 | Xing Guang Studio | Beijing, China |
| 10 | Art of War 10: Final Conflict | December 23, 2007 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 11 | Art of War 11: The Real Deal | March 28, 2009 | Chaoyang Gymnasium | Beijing, China |
| 12 | Art of War 12: Invincible | April 12, 2009 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 13 | Art of War 13: Rising Force | July 18, 2009 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 14 | Art of War 14: Ground Zero | September 26, 2009 | The Venetian Macao |  Macao, China |
| 15 | Art of War 15: Showdown | November 28, 2009 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 16 | Art of War 16: Return of the King | January 16, 2016 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 17 | Art of War 17 | April 30, 2016 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |
| 18 | Art of War 18 | July 30, 2016 | The National Olympic Sports Center | Beijing, China |