pankration.pdf

Pankration

Two athletes competing in the pankration. Panathenaic amphora, made in Athens in 332-331 BC, during the archonship of Niketes.

From Capua

Focus

Hybrid

Country of origin

Ancient Greece

Olympic sport

Ancient Olympic Games

Pankration ( /p æn. ˈ kre ɪ ti. ɒ n / o r /p æŋ ˈ kre ɪʃə n /) was a martial art i ntroduced into the Greek Olympic Games i n

648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing a nd wrestling b ut without any rules. The term comes from the Greek

παγκράτιον Greek pronunciation: [paŋkrátion] , literally meaning "all powers" from πᾶν ( pan- ) "all" + κράτος ( kratos )

"strength, power". Spartan soldiers were taught to use this ancient boxing technique with the sole purpose of fighting

and killing on the battlefield. For that reason, Spartans were not allowed to participate in any boxing competition

including other Greeks. [1]

Modern mixed martial arts competitions have come to feature many of the same methods that were used in

pankration competitions in the ancient Greek world. [2]

History

In Greek mythology, it was said that the heroes Heracles a nd Theseus invented pankration as a result of using both

wrestling and boxing in their confrontations with opponents. Theseus was said to have utilized his extraordinary

pankration skills to defeat the dreaded Minotaur in the Labyrinth . Heracles was said to have subdued the Nemean

lion u sing pankration, and was often depicted in ancient artwork doing that. In this context, it should be noted that

pankration was also referred to as pammachon or pammachion (πάμμαχον or παμμάχιον), meaning "total combat",

from πᾶν-, pān- , "all-" or "total", and μάχη, machē , "combat". The term pammachon was older, [3] and would later

become used less than the term pankration.

The mainstream academic view has been that pankration was the product of the development of archaic Greek

society of the seventh century BC, whereby, as the need for expression in violent sport increased, pankration filled a

niche of "total contest" that neither boxing or wrestling could. [4] However, some evidence suggests that pankration,

in both its sporting form and its combative form, may have been practiced in Greece already from the second

millennium BC. [5]

Pankration, as practiced in historical antiquity, was an athletic event that combined techniques of both boxing

(pygmē/pygmachia - πυγμή/πυγμαχία) and wrestling (palē - πάλη), as well as additional elements, such as the use

of strikes with the lower extremities, to create a broad fighting sport very similar to today's mixed martial arts

competitions. There is evidence that, although knockouts were common, most pankration competitions were

Pankration

probably decided on the ground where both striking and submission techniques would freely come into play.

Pankratiasts were highly skilled grapplers and were extremely effective in applying a variety of takedowns , chokes

and punishing joint locks .

However, pankration was more than just an event in the athletic competitions of the ancient Greek world; it was also

part of the arsenal of Greek soldiers – including the famous Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great' s Macedonian

phalanx.

The feats of the ancient pankratiasts became legendary in the annals of Greek athletics. Stories abound of past

champions who were considered invincible beings. Arrhichion, Dioxippus, Polydamas of Skotoussa and Theagenes

are among the most highly-recognized names. Their accomplishments defying the odds were some of the most

inspiring of ancient Greek athletics and they served as inspiration to the Hellenic world for centuries, as Pausanias, [6]

the ancient traveller and writer indicates when he re-tells these stories in his narrative of his travels around Greece.

Dioxippus was an Athenian who had won the Olympic Games in 336 BC, and was serving in Alexander the Great's

army in its expedition into Asia. As an admired champion, he naturally became part of the circle of Alexander the

Great. In that context, he accepted a challenge from one of Alexander's most skilled soldiers named Coragus to fight

in front of Alexander and the troops in armed combat. While Coragus fought with weapons and full armour,

Dioxippus showed up armed only with a club and defeated Coragus without killing him, making use of his

pankration skills. Later, however, Dioxippus was framed for theft, which led him to commit suicide.

In an odd turn of events, a pankration fighter named Arrhichion ( Ἀρριχίων) of Phigalia won the pankration

competition at the Olympic Games despite being dead. His opponent had locked him in a chokehold and Arrhichion,

desperate to loosen it, broke his opponent's toe (some records say his ankle). The opponent nearly passed out from

pain and submitted. As the referee raised Arrhichion's hand, it was discovered that he had died from the chokehold.

His body was crowned with the olive wreath and taken back to Phigaleia as a hero.

By the Imperial Period, the Romans had adopted the Greek combat sport (spelled in Latin as pancratium ) into their

Games. In 393 A.D., the pankration, along with gladiatorial combat and all pagan festivals, was abolished by edict of

the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I. Pankration itself was an event in the Olympic Games for some 1,000

years. It is a matter of controversy whether and to what extent pankration persisted in Greek and the broader

Byzantine society after the ancient Games were discontinued.

Structure of ancient competition

There were neither weight divisions nor time limits in pankration competitions. However, there were two or three

age groups in the competitions of antiquity. In the Olympic Games specifically there were only two such age groups:

men (andres - ἄνδρες) and boys (paides - παῖδες). The pankration event for boys was established at the Olympic

Games in 200 B.C.. In pankration competitions, referees were armed with stout rods or switches to enforce the rules.

In fact, there were only two rules regarding combat: contestants were allowed all except to gouge eyes or to bite. [7]

The contest itself usually continued uninterrupted until one of the combatants submitted, which was often signalled

by the submitting contestant raising his index finger. The judges appear, however, to have had the right to stop a

contest under certain conditions and award the victory to one of the two athletes; they could also declare the contest

a tie. [5]

Pankration competitions were held in tournaments, most being outside of the Olympics. Each tournament began with

a ritual which would decide how the tournament would take place. Grecophone s atirist Lucian describes the

process [8] in a detailed manner:

Pankration

“ A sacred silver urn is brought, in which they have put bean-size lots. On two lots an alpha is inscribed, on two a beta, and on another two a

gamma, and so on. If there are more athletes, two lots always have the same letter. Each athlete comes forth, prays to Zeus, puts his hand into

the urn and draws out a lot. Following him, the other athletes do the same. Whip bearers are standing next to the athletes, holding their hands

and not allowing them to read the letter they have drawn. When everyone has drawn a lot, the alytarch, [9] or one of the Hellanodikai walks

around and looks at the lots of the athletes as they stand in a circle. He then joins the athlete holding the alpha to the other who has drawn the

alpha for wrestling or pankration, the one who has the beta to the other with the beta, and the other matching inscribed lots in the same

manner.

”

This process was apparently repeated every round until the finals.

If there was an odd number of competitors, there would be a bye (ἔφεδρος — ephedros "reserve") in every round

until the last one. The same athlete could be an ephedros more than once, and this could of course be of great

advantage to him as the ephedros would be spared the wear and tear of the rounds imposed on his opponent(s). To

win a tournament without being an ephedros in any of the rounds (ἀνέφεδρος — anephedros "non-reserve") was

thus an honorable distinction.

There is evidence that the major Games in Greek antiquity easily had four tournament rounds, that is, a field of

sixteen athletes. Xanthos mentions the largest number — nine tournament rounds. If these tournament rounds were

held in one competition, up to 512 contestants would participate in the tournament, which is difficult to believe for a

single contest. Therefore one can hypothesize that the nine rounds included those in which the athlete participated

during regional qualification competitions that were held before the major games. Such preliminary contests were

held prior to the major games to determine who would participate in the main event. This makes sense, as the 15-20

athletes competing in the major games could not have been the only available contestants. There is clear evidence of

this in Plato, who refers to competitors in the Panhellenic Games, with opponents numbering in the thousands.

Moreover, in the first century A.D., the Greco-Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria — who was himself probably

a practitioner of pankration — makes a statement that could be an allusion to preliminary contests in which an athlete

would participate and then collect his strength before coming forward fresh in the major competition. [5]

Techniques

The athletes engaged in a pankration

competition-i.e., the pankratiasts

(παγκρατιαστές) employed a variety of

techniques in order to strike their opponent

as well as take him to the ground in order to

use a submission technique. When the

pankratiasts fought standing, the combat

was called anō pankration (ἄνω

παγκράτιον); [10] and when they took the

fight to the ground, that stage of pankration

competition was called katō pankration

(κάτω παγκράτιον). Some of the

techniques that would be applied in anō

pankration and katō pankration,

respectively, are known to us through

depictions on ancient pottery and sculptures,

as well as in descriptions in ancient

literature. There were also strategies

Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the

umpire is about to strike him for this foul. Detail from an Ancient Greek Attic

red-figure kylix , 490-480 BC, from Vulci . British Museum , London.

documented in ancient literature that were meant to be used to obtain an advantage over the competitor. For

illustration purposes, below are examples of striking and grappling techniques (including examples of counters), as

Pankration

well as strategies and tactics, that have been identified from the ancient sources (visual arts or literature).

Fighting stance

The pankratiast faces his opponent with a nearly frontal stance — only slightly turned sideways. This is an

intermediate directional positioning, between the wrestler's more frontal positioning and the boxer's more sideways

stance and is consistent with the need to preserve both the option of using striking and protecting the center line of

the body and the option of applying grappling techniques. Thus, the left side of the body is slightly forward of the

right side of the body and the left hand is more forward than the right one. Both hands are held high so that the tips

of the fingers are at the level of the hairline or just below the top of the head. The hands are partially open, the

fingers are relaxed, and the palms are facing naturally forward, down, and slightly towards each other. The front arm

is nearly fully extended but not entirely so; the rear arm is more cambered than the front arm, but more extended

than a modern-day boxer's rear arm. The back of the athlete is somewhat rounded, but not as much as a wrestler's

would be. The body is only slightly leaning forward.

The weight is virtually all on the back (right) foot with the front (left) foot touching the ground with the ball of the

foot. It is a stance in which the athlete is ready at the same time to give a kick with the front leg as well as defend

against the opponent's low level kicks by lifting the front knee and blocking. The back leg is bent for stability and

power and is facing slightly to the side, to go with the slightly sideways body position. The head and torso are behind

the protecting two upper limbs and front leg. [5]

Striking techniques

Strikes with the Legs

Strikes delivered with the legs were an integral part of pankration and one of its most characteristic features. Kicking

well was a great advantage to the pankratiast. Epiktētos i s making a derogatory reference to a compliment one may

give another: "μεγάλα λακτίζεις" ("you kick great"). Moreover, in an accolade to the fighting prowess of the

pankratiast Glykon from Pergamo, the athlete is described as "wide foot". The characterization comes actually before

the reference to his "unbeatable hands", implying at least as crucial a role for strikes with the feet as with the hands

in pankration. That proficiency in kicking could carry the pankratiast to victory is indicated in a sarcastic passage of

Galen, where he awards the winning prize in pankration to a donkey because of its excellence in kicking.

Straight kick to the stomach

The straight kick with the bottom of the foot to the stomach (γαστρίζειν/λάκτισμα εἰς γαστέραν — gastrizein or

laktisma eis gasteran , "kicking in the stomach") was apparently a common technique, given the number of

depictions of such kicks on vases. This type of kick is mentioned by Lucian.

Counter : The athlete sidesteps to the outside of the oncoming kick but grasps the inside of the kicking leg from

behind the knee with his front hand (overhand grip) and pulls up, which tends to unbalance the opponent so that he

falls backward as the athlete advances. The back hand can be used for striking the opponent while he is preoccupied

maintaining his balance. This counter is shown on a Panathenaic amphora now in Leiden. In another counter, the

athlete sidesteps the oncoming kick, but now to the inside of the opponent's leg. He catches and lifts the heel/foot of

the planted leg with his rear hand and with the front arm goes under the knee of the kicking leg, hooks it with the

nook of his elbow, and lifts while advancing to throw the opponent backward. The athlete executing the counter has

to lean forward to avoid hand strikes by the opponent. [5]

Pankration

Locking techniques

Arm locks

Single shoulder lock (overextension)

The athlete is behind the opponent and has him

leaning down, with the right knee of the opponent on

the ground. The athlete has the opponent's right arm

straightened out and extended maximally backward at

the shoulder joint. With the opponent's right arm

across his own torso, the athlete uses his left hand to

keep the pressure on the opponent's right arm by

grabbing and pressing down on it just above the wrist.

The right hand of the athlete is pressing down at the

(side of) the head of the opponent, thus not permitting

him to rotate to his right to relieve the pressure on his

shoulder. As the opponent could escape by lowering

himself closer to the ground and rolling, the athlete

steps with his left leg over the left leg of the opponent

and wraps his foot around the ankle of the opponent

stepping on his instep, while pushing his body weight

on the back of the opponent.

Single arm bar (elbow lock)

Pankratiasts fighting. Greek bronze, 2nd century BC. Staatliche

Antikensammlungen i n Munich.

In this technique, the position of the bodies is very

similar to the one described just above. The athlete

executing the technique is standing over his

opponent's back, while the latter is down on his right knee. The left leg of the athlete is straddling the left thigh of the

opponent — the left knee of the opponent is not on the floor — and is trapping the left foot of the opponent by stepping

on it. The athlete uses his left hand to push down on the side/back of the head of the opponent while with his right

hand he pulls the opponent's right arm back, against his midsection. This creates an arm bar on the right arm with the

pressure now being mostly on the elbow. The fallen opponent cannot relieve it, because his head is being shoved the

opposite way by the left hand of the athlete executing the technique.

Arm bar - shoulder lock combination

In this technique, the athlete is again behind his opponent, has the left arm of his opponent trapped, and is pulling

back on his right arm. The trapped left arm is bent, with the fingers and palm trapped inside the armpit of the athlete.

To trap the left arm, the athlete has pushed (from outside) his own left arm underneath the left elbow of the

opponent. The athlete's left hand ends up pressing down on the scapula region of his opponent's back. This position

does not permit the opponent to pull out his hand from the athlete's armpit and puts pressure on the left shoulder. The

right arm of the athlete is pulling back at the opponent's right wrist (or forearm). In this way, the athlete keeps the

right arm of his opponent straightened and tightly pulled against his right hip/lower abdomen area, which results in

an arm bar putting pressure on the right elbow. The athlete is in full contact on top of the opponent, with his right leg

in front of the right leg of the opponent to block him from escaping by rolling forward. [5]

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