This particular fighting discipline has been described as the original source of ‘all’ latter forms of martial arts in China, and a later development, Jiao li, was first referenced in the Classic of Rites during the Zhou Dynasty. The soldiers wore ‘horned headgear’ and attempted to ‘butt’ and throw their enemies out of a circle. Shuai JiaoĪncient Chinese imperial records made in 2697 BC detail the activities of soldiers practicing an ancient style of military Kung-Fu known as "jǐao dǐ" ( horn butting ) in the winter. Although Pankration was not reinstated as an event when the Olympic Games were revived in 1896, modern Pankration tournaments are still held, in which the fighting style has become a niche form of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). They only ended when one of the fighters submitted, was rendered unconscious, or died. Contests were savage, with battering, twisting of limbs, strangling, and struggling on the ground. (Sailko/ CC BY SA 3.0 )Īccording to Michael Poliakoff’s 1986 book Studies in the Terminology of Greek Combat Sport, the art of Pankration combined boxing and wrestling, permitted kicking and holds, locks and chokes. Roman copy of a lost Greek original, circa 3rd Century BC. A Roman statue portraying the pancratium, which was an event showcased at the Colosseum. The Greatest Runner You Have Never Heard Of: The Other Famous Greek Leonidas.Theagenes of Thasos: From Legendary Olympic Fighter to God-Healer.Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece.Pankration was introduced to the ancient Greek Olympics in 648 BC and some modern historians attribute the origins of Pankration as having developed as a ‘war technique’ by the Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great’s Macedonian phalanx. The word Pankration comes from πᾶν ( pan) “all” and κράτος ( kratos) meaning “strength, might, power”, thus, the term means "all power.” Originating around 2000 BC, Greek mythology claims the system was applied by the legendary Heracles (Hercules) when he fought the Nemean Lion, and also by Theseus, who used it to fight the Minotaur. Working backwards, from modern history into deep-prehistory, these are the world’s five oldest martial arts: 5: Pankration The term ‘martial arts’ comes from the Latin “arts of Mars, after the Roman god of war and conflict.” But to get to the origins of ‘all’ combat styles, we must go back to a time in human evolution when the Latin language was not even conceptualized. However, all of these sensationalized martial arts are relatively modern conceptions of the oldest deadly arts, ancient systems of hand to hand combat which were hatched at the earliest moments in the development of human civilization. Movies, television shows, and cartoons are populated with dazzling martial artists ranging from the Kung-Fu antics of Hong Kong Phooey the crime fighting dog, to the mesmerizing Jeet Kune Do of Bruce Lee not to mention the secret arts of ninjutsu, applied by those deadly black-clad ninjas.
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