Pankration - the True and First Martial Arts Tournament

After watching many Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris movies, I decided on researching the true and first recorded martial arts tournament. I discovered that it was held in the Greek Olympics in 648 BC.

It was called the Pankration. The word meaning "all strength or power." Many historians believe that it wasn't one of the first Olympic sports but, it was one of the favorites. They also believe that it could have been one of the first fighting events ever held. Although many also feel that this is not the case.

Greek mythology has Hercules and Theseus inventing the tournament, which uses the two disciplines of both wrestling and boxing. The sport became so famous, that Greek Soldiers were taught how to use the skill in hand to hand combat battles. Much like the Far Eastern Martial Arts are taught among family members, so was the the different techniques of Pankration taught among various Greek families.

Breathing exercises, like oriental Chi, was taught and practiced. The use of internal energy and how to direct its' use was also taught as well as different strikes by hand, foot, arm, head, and leg.

Punching bags and wooden posts were used to harden parts of the body for blows to be given out and absorbed. Training techniques varied by family as did certain fighting styles. In todays world, it would be called mixed martial arts. With this form of fighting also came certain rules. Biting, eye gouging were not allowed. These were the only two major rules to be followed and they were strictly in-forced. A match was won by submission or an individual being incapacitated so much that he could not continue.

The Pankration bouts were so brutal that many contestants were injured severely. In 200 BC, Pankration would be used for a younger age group in the Olympics. This was because older and stronger men would hurt younger ones too easily. There were no weight divisions or time limits. A referee would carry a stout rod to enforce the rules. Can you imagine a referee in todays world using one of those in a UFC match? Many of the referee's back then were retired contestants from past matches.

Strangulation was the most feared in the combat. Many contestants would rather die than surrender. this happened quite a bit.

There were three contestants that are written about in Greek history of the Pankration. The three are Arrichion, Polydamas, and Dioxippus. Dioxippus was so good that no one would challenge him. He won several Olympic games. He became a close friend of Alexander the Great. Legend has it that one of Alexanders' men,"Coragus" fought Dioxippus. Coragus was loaded with full combat gear while Dioxippus only had a small club. Dioxippus came out on top. Later, Dioxippus was framed for theft. He committed suicide.

In a lead up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece, a version of the Pankration was being planned. However, it was dropped do to it's violent nature. There are some forms of Pankration being practiced in different parts of the world. In 1971, the first modern school was established to teach the sport of Pankration.

The Kumite is a tournament of mixed martial arts. It has strong Far Eastern roots. The movie "Bloodsport", which features the story of Frank Dux, is based on the Kumite tournament. However, there is a lot of misinformation about the true tournament itself. Many believe that the Frank Dux story is an unproven event.

The mixed hybrid and multiple discipline of Pankration did exist and still does. Because of the strong popularity of Ultimate Fighting, it is hoped by many that the Pankration will someday return.

sources; wikipedia.org
Greek Mythology