this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2007 learn how and when to remove this template message art of war fighting championship type private industry mixed martial arts promotion founded 2005 headquarters beijing china parent adoria entertainment group website http www.artofwarfc.com the art of war fighting championship art of war aow is a chinese professional mixed martial arts promotion based in beijing china . 1 2 3 the chinese title 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 . 4 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 . citation needed 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 . contents 1 origins 2 rules 2.1 rounds 2.2 weight divisions 2.3 match outcome 2.4 illegal actions 3 art of war fighting championship events 4 notable art of war fc fighters 5 references 6 external links origins edit 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 . 5 6 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 . 6 on november 6 2005 the art of war fighting championship conducted its first event . rules edit 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 a grounded opponent . rounds edit 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 with a two minute break between the first and second round and a one minute break between the second and third round . weight divisions edit see also mixed martial arts weight classes the art of war fighting championship currently uses eight weight classes under 60 kg lightweight under 66 kg super lightweight under 72 kg welterweight under 78 kg super welterweight under 84 kg middleweight under 90 kg super middleweight under 96 kg heavyweight no upper limit super heavyweight match outcome edit the winner of the bout shall be determined by one of the following methods ko knockout fighter is knocked out . tko technical knockout 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 3 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 . no contest the match shall be ruled a no contest when 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 . technical draw the match shall be ruled a technical draw when 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 . note based on the previous articles there are no decision victories made by judges fights that go the distance are ruled as technical draws . illegal actions edit 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 small joint manipulations . 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 hands arms legs or feet 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 edit this is a list of events held and scheduled by art of war fighting championship . 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 notable art of war fc fighters edit bao li gao jadamba narantungalag antonio braga neto rodney glunder rolles gracie peter graham ole laursen daijiro matsui simeon thoresen ryuki ueyama zhang tie quan ryuki ueyama references edit a b china s mma origins . fightland . retrieved 17 january 2015 . art of war the rise of mma in china . bleacher report . retrieved 2014 02 24 . art of war brings mma to china . yahoo . retrieved 2010 08 06 . art of war fighting championship 17 the premier mixed martial arts organization in china is back stronger than ever offers better model for the sport says ceo . prweb . 19 april 2016 . retrieved 3 may 2016 . the art of war . fight magazine . retrieved 17 january 2015 . a b mixed martial arts in china sports entertainment entrepreneurs andy & konrad pi part 2 . coolglobalbiz.com . retrieved 2014 02 24 . external links edit list of events on sherdog v t e professional mixed martial arts organizations asia oceania ex . japan current art of war afc brace one road fc sfl urcc defunct legend fc ruff brazil current jungle fight shooto brasil defunct ivc canada current hard knocks kotc canada mfc wsof canada defunct tfc europe current bamma bushido fc cage warriors ffc ksw m 1 mma raju r 1 respect.fc ucmma defunct 10th legion cage contender cage rage finnfight slamm japan current deep jewels igf pancrase rings rizin ff shooto vtj zst defunct cage force dream hero s pride fc risingon smackgirl src valkyrie united states current bellator cffc invicta fc kotc legacy fc