Shooto (Japanese: 修斗, Hepburn: shūto) is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a mixed martial arts promotion. It is considered one of the first true mixed martial arts competitions, with its Vale Tudo Japan events being essential to the rise of Pride Fighting Championships and the development of modern MMA. Many Japanese MMA fighters had their start at Shooto and the organization still holds both professional and amateur tournaments.

As a fighting system, Shooto is considered a hybrid martial art derived from shoot wrestling. It is focused on all aspects of fighting: striking, stand-up grappling and ground fighting. Practitioners are referred to as shooters or shootists. Shooto rules have evolved with time and differ depending on the class; Class C and D are amateur and have more restricted rules more similar to their first events, while professional classes are now true mixed martial arts competitions. Shooto weight classes are different from those of the United States Association of Boxing Commissions, which are used by most MMA promotions.

Although modern Shooto is indistinguishable from MMA, in Japan promoters, fighters and fans still see it as its own standalone combat sport, while outside of Japan it is mostly seen as a system of MMA promotions, organizing events from amateur grassroots to professional levels.

The Japanese word "shooto" is derived from the English word "shoot". Although the word is of foreign origin, it is not written in katakana, but rather as an ateji: 修斗. Its first kanji means "to practice or train in", and the second kanji is an alternative form of 戦 in the word tatakai (戦い; meaning "battle" or "war").

Shooto was established as "New Martial Arts" (新格闘技, Shin-kakutōgi) in 1985 by Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask), a Japanese professional wrestler trained in shoot wrestling, who wished to create a sport that revolved around a realistic and effective fighting system. Sayama was influenced by his former teacher, legendary pro wrestler Antonio Inoki, who was known for his more realistic style of pro wrestling known as "Strong Style", which mixed various styles of striking martial arts (such as karate) with catch wrestling submission grappling, taught by Karl Gotch. This style eventually evolved into the more developed "shoot-style wrestling", which was also further influenced by more martial arts such as kickboxing, muay thai, judo and sambo. It became very popular in the Japanese professional wrestling circuit, and Sayama would use it as a basis for his new martial art. He also founded his own school named the "Super Tiger Gym" for training and development of this new martial art. After its establishment, New Martial Arts was renamed "Shooting" which came from "shoot", a term of professional wrestling meaning a legitimate contest as opposed to a worked match, but this changed to "Shooto" to avoid confusion with shooting sports. Compared with the other professional wrestling organizations of the time, such as the New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the Universal Wrestling Federation, Shooto was aimed at having no predetermined results. The first amateur event was held in 1986 and the first professional event in 1989. Due the origins in the shoot-style circuit, Shooto is considered part of the "U-Kei" system.

The Shooto organization hosted the Vale Tudo Japan tournament in the summer of 1994. The objective was to create a more rules-free event similar to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the United States and Vale Tudo in Brazil. The star of the first events was Rickson Gracie, older brother of three-time UFC champion Royce Gracie. Vale Tudo Japan was a smashing success, leading to the popularization of MMA around Japan, and its format and rules were used as a basis for Pride Fighting Championships, which would become the world's largest MMA promotion, which many Shootist would join it. Vale Tudo Japan events were held annually from 1994 to 1999. In May 2009, it was announced that Vale Tudo Japan would return for the first time in ten years on 30 October 2009.

In 1996 Satoru Sayama left Shooto due to disagreements with the board of directors, and was succeeded by Taro Wakayabayshi. In April 1996, World Shooto, the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission were formed. This marked the end of Shooto as a single organization, and turned it into a combat sport with governing bodies. Since establishment of ISC, the champions of Shooto are called "World Champion".

Shooto was brought to America in the late 1980s by top student of Satoru Sayama, Yorinaga Nakamura. He began teaching Shooto at the Inosanto Academy in 1991, and is the instructor of Erik Paulson, Ron Balicki, Dan Inosanto, Larry Hartsell, and many others.^{[citation needed]}