Pankration: Time-Travel To MMA Origins
The Ultimate Fighter ushered in, an age of unparalleled growth and popularity for MMA. As, the sport evolved, exploded and attracted millions of fans worldwide, we clearly lost sight of our recent trajectory, less the far-fetched roots from Greece. In our new series, High on Sports recounts and relives the very endearing history of Mixed Martial Arts as a sport, from its very front-runners in Pankration or the Pancratium to the cross promotional fight between the Legendary Japanese Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Greatest One, Muhammad Ali, and to its modern incarnation in UFC in the late 90’s.
As the modern sport of MMA shifts its focus on star fighters, allied styles, fights, rivalries and pay-per-view events, we set-off to time travel to Ancient Greece. The Pre-Modern Olympics to give the sport a context, one of an old wine in a new bottle.
Pankration: old wine served in a new bottle
The sport of Pankration which translates to English as ‘All powers’ was introduced in the coveted Olympic Games in BCE 648. The history foretells us that owing to ravines, valleys and mountains, battles in Greece were fought with heavy infantry and therefore military service was obligatory for the citizens. The art of pankration focused on real combat experiences, one which combined striking with grappling and submission holds which included modern weapons of choke-holds, joint-locks and neck-holds.
The Greeks were famous for hosting sporting contests, mostly to prepare men for wars, in stances of emergency. The sport naturally flourished and had its entry into the Olympics. Matches were fought naked and like the Pehelwans of South-East Asia, athletes smeared dust to create friction for grips and holds. Each athlete possessed a unique personal style—strikes, technical submissions, powerhouse moves, brawls and the victory was decisive via a raised index finger to signify tap out and defeat. As the rules often varied across the geographical mass, most competitors would bite, scratch and tear apart their opponents to death. This was a fairly common sight in the play.
Later, as the Greek Empire collapsed with the death of Macedonian Grace—Alexander ‘The Great’, and Romans acquired the prowess to rule, the sport became Pankriation from Pankration, was regarded as a highly popular game in the coliseums. Existing in small pockets ever since in remote parts after the power struggles and dwindling of Empires, it was banned altogether by Thedosius.
Surviving the tides of time
Though MMA we know it as today is very different from Pankration, but it clearly was the precursor to the most violent cage fighting ever legalized as a sport. Through the resurgence in restoration of artefacts and culture of Greece. Numerous paintings and statues bore witness to Pankration as the first kind of fusion of styles. This gives us a clear understanding of the first practice of martial arts. Grecophone satirist Lucian iterates:
“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, 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.”
Certain evidences also bear resemblance to martial arts’ existence in China and native Asian countries as far back as 200 B.C. In Thailand, Muay was used for warfare and became a spectator sport. Philippines too exhibited a culture of combat sports with Panantukam, Dumog, Sikaran, Kali and Escrima, the pre-modern arts of boxing, grappling, foot-fighting, weapon based fights respectively. These arts survived the onslaughts of time, dwindling sometimes, but still surviving on razor’s edge to turn into the games we rejoice cheerfully on our televisions and in live attendance.
Come back next week, when we proceed to the modern era with one of the most important fights of all time, that shaped what we see today as modern day Mixed Martial Arts.
Image Courtesy: Ancient Origins