Openweight

Key takeaways

Openweight belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Openweight to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Openweight from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other. It is different from catch weight, where competitors agree to weigh in at a certain amount without an official weight class. While weight classes are usually mandatory now, openweight competition was the norm for combat sports since antiquity and continues into the modern day.

Boxing Ancient Greek boxing was an openweight competition. Boxing did not use weight classes until being standardized for modern competition, though there continue to be unlimited divisions. Daniel Mendoza was a boxer famous in the 1780s and 90s for regularly fighting and beating taller and heavier challengers before being decisively beaten by John Jackson, who was 4 inches taller and 42 lbs heavier than Mendoza. Bob Fitzsimmons is notable for being the lightest World Heavyweight Champion, weighing just 165 pounds when he won the title.

Competitive wrestling Although wrestling was contested at the first modern Olympic Games, there were no weight classes until wrestling returned in 1904. The wrestling at the ancient Olympic Games never used weight classes and competitors were simply divided into two categories: men and boys. Early professional wrestling, which was mostly based on the catch-as-catch-can and Greco-Roman styles, was usually an openweight competition. Heavyweight championships commonly functioned as openweight championships, such as Martin "Farmer" Burns frequently defending the American Heavyweight Championship against challengers outweighing him by 50-100 lbs, or the championship match between 180 lb Evan "Stranger" Lewis and 300 lb Yusuf İsmail. Though match-fixing led to predetermined results and theatrics that gradually replaced the competitive sport, the legitimate aspects continued into the 1970s as wrestler vs. fan challenges. Originating in 19th century carnivals, wrestlers would challenge locals from the crowd, with the promoter offering cash or a prize if the fan could win or last a certain amount of time. While plants were sometimes used, usually as a set-up to convince a local to compete, matches were mostly shoots that the professionals won, though fans have also been known to win. Most folk disciplines such as oil wrestling, lutte sénégalaise, Mongolian Bökh, Persian pahlevani, belt wrestling, etc. may rarely utilize weight classes, if ever, unless being standardized for international competition.

Lethwei In the International Lethwei Federation Japan, Dave Leduc is the Openweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts Like its ancient Greek ancestor pankration, the sport of mixed martial arts originally had no weight classes, with martial artists of different styles and sizes drawn together to prove which martial art is most effective in unarmed situations. The original King of Pancrase Championship, UFC Superfight Championship, and the first thirteen UFC tournaments were openweight. By the late 1990s, weight classes became common and mandatory in many countries. However, Japan became a bastion of openweight fights, nicknamed "freak show fights," with fighters such as Ikuhisa Minowa and Genki Sudo commonly facing much larger opponents. Not all open-weight fights were "freak shows" however, PRIDE Fighting Championships organized in 2000 a two-night 16-fighter "Grand Prix" (tournament) called the Pride FC: Grand Prix 2000 with the objective of finding "the world's best fighter" and consisted with the top fighters at the time, from 75.75kg (167 lb) Kazushi Sakuraba to 116 kg (255 lb) Mark Kerr. PRIDE did again an open-weight tournament in 2006 with the Pride FC: Grand Prix 2006 which was divided in three separate events instead. The openweight division in mixed martial arts (MMA) generally groups fighters above 265 lb (120.2 kg). Road FC currently has an openweight division. Pancrase originally had a super heavyweight division; it was abolished and incorporated into the unlimited division. Deep currently has an openweight division called "Megaton" although the first champion was Yusuke Kawaguchi, who weighed less than 100 kg. The Japan-based mixed martial arts promotion and sanctioning organization ZST has an openweight division. Dream, now defunct, had an openweight division with tournaments called "Super Hulk Tournament - World Superhuman Championship".

Professional Champions

Current Champions This table is not always up to date. Last updated on January 17, 2018.

Professional wrestling Some professional wrestling promotions have officially designated Openweight Championships (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship, GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship, NEVER Openweight Championship, KO-D Openweight Championship, MLW National Openweight Championship) while other promotions ignore weight classes to the point that most, if not all of their championships are effectively openweight. For example, the WWE Championship, traditionally promoted as a heavyweight title, has been held by wrestlers billed as weighing as light as 175 lbs., well below the traditional minimum weight for a wrestler to be classed as a heavyweight.

Judo The All-Japan Judo Championships have been held annually since 1930. Organized by the Kodokan and All Japan Judo Federation, this tournament has only one openweight division. It is part of the Japanese judo triple crown (ja:三冠) alongside the Olympics and World Championships. The Nanatei Jūdō (ja:七帝柔道, Seven Emperors Judo) tournament has been held annually since 1952. It has no weight classes and a unique ruleset that has drawn comparisons to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The IJF held the first World Judo Open Championships for openweight competition in 2008. The World Judo Championships were originally an openweight competition from the first edition in 1956 until the introduction of weight classes in 1965. The Olympics also featured an openweight category from the sport's introduction in 1964 until the 1984 edition.

Submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu Absolute divisions are a staple of submission grappling at all levels. All weight categories are welcome inside the absolute division and smaller competitors must rely on skill and technique against larger opponents. Organizations that hold some of the most popular openweight competitions are ADCC (since 1998), IBJJF (gi since 1996 and no-gi since 2007), NAGA, Grapplers Quest, and Quintet.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Openweight

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Openweight claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Openweight before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Openweight ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Openweight

In research: Openweight appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Openweight in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Openweight is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mixed martial arts weight classes, Professional wrestling weight classes, Weight classes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Openweight outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Openweight in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Openweight means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Openweight out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Openweight in simple terms?

Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other.

Why does Openweight matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Openweight?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Openweight.