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.