Theagenes of Thasos won the Olympic crown in 476 BC and was worshipped as a god in his homeland.

These are deadly moves. The Spartans, for example, were famous for their heavy foot sweeps used to knock down their rivals.

Arrhichion of Phigalia, considered the greatest of all time, won the 572, 568 and 564 BC Olympics, the last one posthumously. It was the core of the military instruction of the hoplites (the famous Greek infantry). Pankration is deeply rooted in the ancient Olympic Games. Hercules is said to have won in Pankration contest in Olympia, as well as in another event organized by the Argonauts (the heroes that went on a quest for the Golden Fleece in Colchis). Later, they wore thong wrappings around their hands and forearms. Sitemap. Home. Pankration was one of the Heavy Athletics in the classical world of ancient Greece and later throughout the Mediterranean through the spread of Roman culture. While many think of MMA as a totally modern invention, “there’s nothing new under the sun” in combat sports.

Pankration contests were particularly popular and for that reason the Olympic tournament wasn’t the only official competition in which pankratiasts could seek victory and glory. Featured at all four of the Panhellenic Games (Olympic, Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian), Pankration produced legendary fighters whose names live on more than two thousand years later. Has a deep and profound fascination with Humanities, Culture, and art and military strength culture.

After over a thousand years of Olympic glory, Pankration faded into obscurity. Jim Arvanitis is internationally renowned as the father of modern pankration. Pankration is a combat sport descended from the Pammachon or hoplite martial arts. Initially, the pankratiasts fought nude, with oiled bodies and bare hands.

Aris Makris, owner and Master Instructor of Armak Spartan Pankration Academy in Laval, Quebec, Canada with the rank of PEDOTRIVIS "Delta" taxis. Tom is the Editor of Revgear Sports. The Macedonian ruler appointed a match between them in one of his banquets organized in Persia. Study Groups.

The sport had two main phases. At the same moment, though, when his competitor raised a finger for submission, Arrichion fell dead. The Spartans were particularly well-trained and excelled in that art. With legends crediting mythical heroes Heracles and Theseus with its creation, Pankration was the original MMA. His opponent was “hugging him with his legs” at the same time as strangling him. Politics and writing are a passion in their own right. Coragus presented himself in full armour. Now a modernized version combining striking, grappling and submission techniques . To bite and to gouge an opponent’s eyes, nose, or mouth with fingers were the only off-limits once in the ring. Videos. It was the core of the military instruction of the hoplites (the famous Greek infantry). Pankration as a training system of the Spartans and the army of Alexander the Great Pankration’s fame as a tough activity was maintained by the fact that it has been developed out of an existing ancient combat system. With 41 years of training in martial arts Aris has been teaching Pankration in Montreal, Canada and seminars abroad for over 20 years. Run by Dermot Mc Grath and Catherine Costigan, PKA has classes to suit everyone from Little Ninjas (4-7 years), Kids MMA/Kickboxing, Adults … As the main goal was to knock down the opponent, punches, kicks and all kind of lethal blows were usually performed. It was part of the army training of many cities, especially of the well known Greek infantry-the hoplites. Pankration is deeply rooted in the ancient Olympic Games. PANKRATION WAS A COMBINATION OF BOXING, WRESTLING, AND OTHER FIGHTING ARTS WITH THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT THERE WERE VIRTUALLY NO RULES. One Athenian Pankration champion from the Olympic Games in 336 BCE was quite popular among the Macedonian army where he was on a service. Ultimately, Pankration was practiced as an Olympic event for over a thousand years, and remained the focus of a hoplite’s training program for just as long a period. Anything else – such as kicking in the belly and the genitals – was permitted and even expected. The sport can be traced as far back as the second millennium BCE in the territory of ancient Greece. Once the 300 lost their armaments, they fought with bare hands, feet, and teeth, relying on their abilities to use unarmed fighting techniques. The modern sport of Neo-Pankration pays homage to the original Greek combat style. Pankration is a sport derived from the ancient Greek Olympic

According to one story, the fighter Arrhichion of Phigalia won a Pankration competition at the Olympic Games literally dying in the ring. According to Eastern tradition, the Chinese fighting systems evolved from Indian Buddhist doctrines that taught early Indian combative arts. In their last stand at Thermopylae, they allegedly used Pankration skills as their final weapon. Pankration MMA Kickboxing Academy has been providing top quality professional tuition in martial arts and fitness in Limerick since 1992. Your email address will not be published. It means “all powers”.Now a modernized version combining striking, grappling and – Because all striking is allowed except for punches to the head, training in … His adversary was one of Alexander’s best soldiers, known as Coragus. The choke has two variations:[1] in one version, the attacker's arm encircles the opponent's neck and then grabs his own biceps on the other arm (see below for details); in the second version, the attacker clasps his hands together instead after encircling the opponent's neck. Alexander the Great also highly appreciated such military proficiency.

He could have killed him if it had not been for Alexander’s intercession. Competitions pitted boxers against Wrestlers, much like in 19th century Rough and Tumble bouts, with different athletes specialising in striking of grappling. Training consists of Mixed Martial Arts techniques: Pankration, Boxing, Grappling and more. The methods and techniques used to prepare pankratiasts are compatible with the ones applied in the modern MMA competitions. The biggest advantage in training in Pankration is it’s similarity to modern mixed martial arts. The first Warden and Primus inter Pares. Revgear Sports.com is the official information website of the Original California Fight Brand Revgear. The Eleans, on the other hand, were quick on strangleholds.

Training. He often sought to attract pankratiasts in his famous Macedonian Phalanxes as he regarded soldiers trained in Pankration as a valuable army asset.

The Pankration event was the ancient crowd’s favourite sport. His corpse  was still declared the victor. Some techniques that would never be permitted in modern MMA were also used, like the tracheal grip choke, where the thumb and four fingers were used to grab the windpipe and squeeze it. You have Successfully signed up for Revgear Sports! Fighting the Culture war as long as he remembers himself. Ancient Greek mythology appoints illustrious mythological figures as the first pankratiasts. It was believed that a military training based on this formerly unarmed combat system helped the Spartans to excel in hand-to-hand fighting. Tom is a Jiu Jitsu blue belt in the Kore gi and 10th Planet no gi systems. One pankratiast from the city of Sikyon was called “Fingertips” because of his habit to break his adversary’s fingers at the start of about. The modern sport of Neo-Pankration pays homage to the original Greek combat style. A collection of facts clearly outlined in the most excellent work The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece by Kostas Dervenis and Nektarios Lykiardopoulos. The sport disappeared when the Olympic Games were abolished by the Christian emperor Theodosius I in 393 AD. A technique known as klimakismos (ladder trick) was often used to climb on an opponent’s back, to lock legs tightly around his body and to strangle him from behind. The Spartans were particularly well-trained and excelled in that art. A sparring ended either by submission (the opponent would raise his index finger as a sign of being defeated) or by death. The Original Article was published in the www.ancient.eu. It was the core of the military instruction of the hoplites (the famous Greek infantry). Here grappling, joint locking and even strangulation were used as more effective methods of fighting on the floor. Dioxippus won the 336 BC Olympics by default because his reputation was so strong that nobody dared to fight him. The ancient Greek Pankratiasts were doing what MMA athletes do today, but over 2500 years ago. Developed out of an existing ancient combat system, Pankration was part of the army training of many Greek city-states. a training for the Spartans & army of Alexander Developed out of an existing ancient combat system, Pankration was part of the army training of many Greek city-states. Arrhichion dislocated his opponents toe, who gave in due to the pain, but just before his opponent conceded the fight, Arrhichion died from suffocation.

25 Years of All American REVGEAR Boxing Gloves. submission techniques, Pankration Black Belt under Eclectics Martial Arts/USAFPA, Pankration Black Belt under United States Fight League, United States Fight League Senior Instructor, Inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of fame. Specialist Pankratiasts, much like modern MMA athletes, combined the best of both boxing (pygmachia) and wrestling (pale) with kicks and holds, locks and chokes on the ground. Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, allegedly used techniques from that martial art to defeat the Minotaur (the half-human half-bull creature locked in the Labyrinth of Minos). sporting events. Soldiers trained in Pankration were highly appreciated in the famous Macedonian Phalanxes as Alexander the Great was said to have given them priority in the recruitment of his army. In 648 BC, a submission combat sport with very few rules was introduced to the Olympic Games. He has trained Lethwei in Myanmar, Kushti wrestling in India, boxing throughout Europe, and catch wrestling in the USA. Revivalists have worked hard to bring the sport back, including the “Father of Modern Pankration”, Jim Arvanitis, and Revgear Sports’ very own Dan Kanagie. Pankratiasts had the liberty to build their own fighting style.