Slap fighter joins SASFA and brings valuable experience to the sport

Brakpan’s Pieter ‘Bulldog’ Vorster has officially joined the South African Slap Fighting Association (SASFA), aiming to compete under their name in the super-heavyweight category in this up-and-coming sport.

Bulldog is well-known for his slap fighting career over the last two years but brings experience to the sport from previous pursuits, including boxing and wrestling.

According to him, he is currently the second-best fighter in the country in his division, as well as the oldest slap fighter in South Africa.

Working with SASFA brings many benefits, as they pay all their registered fighters per fight, and are hard at work to regulate and legitimise the sport in South Africa.

SASFA is working on establishing a regulating body and registering the sport, including establishing frameworks for competing that will increase safety and fairness.

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They aim to develop and institute strict rules and guidelines, as well as skill levels, to ensure that inexperienced fighters don’t get pitted against experienced fighters, and to establish illegal moves based on safety regulations in other combat-related sports.

Currently, every fight is heavily monitored and paramedics do health checks on fighters before and after each round to ensure no lasting or severe damage is caused.

Fighters are not allowed to compete without mouthguards or earplugs, and they chalk their hands so that referees can track exactly where a hand made its impact.

Blows may only be made directly to the cheek; anywhere other than that is considered a foul because of the dangers associated with head injuries.

Bulldog is excited to join SASFA and will start training new fighters with his boxing and wrestling experience.

South Africa’s Danie van Heerden, a slap fighter competing on the international stage, started with SASFA two years ago. He is currently ranked third in the world.

“Slap fighting requires a lot of concentration and practice, because of how dangerous it is. When you go on stage, you cannot think of anything else,” Vorster explained.

“I am happy to have joined SASFA. It is where I belong,” he added.

“I have a lot of supporters, do well in my fights and bring a lot of experience to the sport. SASFA does things by the book and wants to legitimise the sport, not just treat it as a reckless cash grab,” Vorster continued.

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Because the sport is not a registered sport in South Africa with an established and recognised regulatory body yet, every slap fighter competing in the country can be classed as an amateur unless they compete internationally where the sport is registered and regulated.

SASFA was started by fighters Adam Haines and Eddie Jacobs and has been controversial yet highly popular among spectators. Many people are concerned about the safety of the sport, but for slap fighters these concerns are moot.

“Every sport has its dangers, especially combat sports, which is why we take a lot of safety precautions and do regular health screenings in our fights,” said Vorster’s manager, Mike van Wyk.

Vorster’s next match is on October 5 at The Local Bar and Kitchen in Kyalami. Interested parties can find out more on SASFA’s Facebook page: South African Slap Fighting Association.

They can also be found on Tiktok at @sasfa4, and Vorster at @pieterbulldogvorster. For more information about SASFA contact Van Wyk on 069 578 6410.