The Pankration is one of the oldest and greatest sports. It most likely found its beginnings in prehistoric times as a means for survival and territorial rites. Competition puts man against man or even man against beast, with only their cunning, strength, skill, and endurance to get them through the struggle. Pankration styled fighting has been developed in many cultures and civilizations from ancient times to the present. Each culture throughout the centuries has developed its own styles and techniques. These fighting styles of the various societies were greatly influenced by religious and cultural tradition.

Cultures that have been known for their development of Pankration styled fighting include those of Eastern Asia, Mesopotamia, and many societies that surrounded the Mediterranean. Ancient Greeks along with the Egyptians and inhabitants surrounding the Nile River are among the forerunners of all wrestling/grappling techniques.

The sport of wrestling/grappling has been highly developed for over five thousand years, and is believed to have begun as part of the soldier's training. Evidence of this lies on the walls of tombs in Beni Hasan in the form of hieroglyphics that date back to about 2500 B.C. On these walls there are about 220 depictions of wrestling pairs mixed in with men shooting bows and arrows, which not only proves the age of the sport, but also shows that wrestling found its beginnings as a part of the soldier's regimen. The Hasan hieroglyphics show virtually every wrestling/grappling hold practiced today. These pictures show holds from both the standing and ground positions. These ancient pictures suggest the bout is over when both of one of the wrestlers' shoulders are pinned to the ground. Sometime during this period the emphasis turned from a military skill to a sport skill, and this change of objective called for adaptation of technique. During this same era wrestling/grappling was also being developed by ancient Greece into the Pankration.

 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING IN GREECE

The forms of wrestling/grappling we know today as Greco-Roman and Freestyle found their origins in the lands on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. These lands are where the Ancient Greeks resided, and developed the art of wrestling/grappling.

Wrestling to the Greeks was not only part of a soldier's training regimen, but also a part of everyday life. Youth did not only learn grammar, rhetoric, philosophy and mathematics, but young men also went through physical training which consisted of dancing and the art of wrestling. Boys were paired up and learned the art of wrestling in their master's palaestra, or private exercise court built onto the house of a schoolmaster, under the supervision of their instructor. The Greek recognized wrestling as a means of development of grace and symmetry in a vigorous activity that demands a high degree of skill and physical fitness.

Greek literature points out that the skill of wrestling/grappling was utilized by gods and kings, as well as by soldiers and private citizens, in their efforts to triumph over ignorance, evil, and brute force. Most of the heroes of Greek mythology were depicted as skillful wrestlers. Their appreciation of skill most likely led to its introduction as a major sport in the Olympic Games in the year 704 B.C. Before 704 B.C. wrestling was an event of the pentathlon.

Wrestling in Ancient Greece is depicted in art such as sculptures and vase paintings, and wrestlers even showed up on their coins and in murals. Wrestling matches are even mentioned in writings such as Homer's Odyssey which dates back to 800 B.C. According to legend, Theseus is supposed to have drawn up the first rules of wrestling in 900 B.C. Wrestling was a major sport in most ancient Greek festivals, including the Olympic Games, from the beginning. In these festivals sports other than wrestling, such as foot-races, chariot-races, throwing of the discus and javelin, and boxing, were also included. These events with variations and additions made up the program of the athletic festivals of Greece throughout their whole history. The events of the Olympic Games survived even through the rise and fall of the Roman empire.

The form of wrestling that was an event in the ancient Olympics was the beginning of what we know today as Freestyle wrestling or Tuite Grappling. Milo of Croton is the most famous of all ancient Greek grapplers, winning 6 Olympic championships.

Much of the decline of the sport of wrestling and other sports in national competitions was brought about by monetary prizes at competitions and the professional athlete, who devoted his life to training and taking part in competitions for the prize money. This brought about disinterest from the common man, who couldn't devote all his time to training. This also brought about corruption. Wealthy competitors could buy their way to victory or wealthy gamblers could pay someone off in order to fix a contest. Some athletes gladly took bribes in order to make money.

Along with the corruption of the sport of wrestling, the rise of the Roman Empire also contributed to the decline of the sport of wrestling. With the conquering of Greece by the Romans, the Greek form of wrestling began to lose popularity, since the Romans didn't have the same appreciation for grace and skill. The Romans were more interested in brute strength and violence. This is why the Pankration survived along with another form of wrestling that is a combination of the Greek and Roman styles, which we now know today as Greco-Roman. This style is strictly upper body. A competitor must use only his upper body and attack only his opponent's upper body (the waist and above). Since then, rule modifications have been made, but it is still the basic form of Greco-Roman.

The techniques used in the Pankration included punching, kicking, throwing, and holding; but since the Pankration the art of unarmed combat in the West has been divided into two main streams. One of them, boxing, lays the chief emphasis on punching, the other, wrestling, on throwing and holding; the rules of each sport are formulated with these chief characteristics firmly in mind. Pachivas Pankration reunites these two forms into their original state.

It is more than likely that the influence of these European Pankration techniques of fighting spread into Asia, following the invasion of Alexander the Great into India (336-323 B.C.). The Indian fist-arts also show some Persian influence. The influence of some of these techniques, after they had been adopted in India, spread further throughout Asia in the wake of the Buddhist missionaries. Thus, for example, in Thailand, Thai-style boxing evolved, and in Java the fist-art called penchac.

The Indian martial art was introduced into China as one of the Buddhist practices, necessary in order to preserve health. T'ai Chi Chuan ('the fist-art of China') was developed by blending the Indian style with the ancient Chinese fist-art. The founder of Zen Buddhism, Bodhi Dharma, being of royal blood, was instructed in the martial arts of India from his childhood.

Invited to China by the Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (about A.D. 520), he traveled there, where he undertook the form of mediation known as 'nine years facing the wall' at shaolin-szu. Having founded the Zen sect (A.D. 557) at the age of seventy-six, he taught his disciples the arts of the preservation of health, the eighteen ways of Lo-han, the I-hu ching, and the Hsi-sui ching, all of which had a marked influence on Chinese theories of fighting methods. Chinese-style wrestling is called Chiao Ti Shu, or in Japanese, Kakuteijitsu.

During the so-called 'Spring-Autumn period' (770-481 B.C.), and the period of civil wars (480-222 B.C.) the various arts of fighting, among which was the popular Kakuteijitsu, were highly valued among the noble classes in China. During the Tsin (221-207 B.C.) and the Han dynasties (208-206 B.C.) the Chinese emperors, particularly Shia Huang Ti (the first Tsin Emperor) and the Han Emperor Liang Wu Ti patronized Kakuteijitsu, which soon spread among the military and the people, as a sport, with the result that techniques were gradually improved.

Kakuteijitsu in the Han period became known as Kaiko. In 1558 a Chinese names Ch'en Yuan Yun went over to Japan and lived at Shokokuji in Edo (now Tokyo), where he initiated the Japanese into the mysteries of Kakuteijitsu.

Today Kaiko is chiefly popular in Po Ting, in Ho Buk province, and it is known as Hotei (Po Ting) Kaiko (K'uai Chiao). When the Mongols invaded China during the Yue period (1206-1368), they brought with them Mongolian wrestling, and this form of athletic art mingled with Kakuteijitsu and eventually became widespread.  During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), however, people came to value technique and speed, and to despise mere physical strength, which the Mongols, on the other hand, emphasized.

Although there are various Oriental martial arts, such as jujitsu, fighting with sword or spear, archery, or dueling with cudgels, the basis of them all is the same as that of Karate: Karate is the most basic of all the martial arts, for it teaches fighting with no more weapons than a man is born with, and follows the teaching of emptiness as in Zen Buddhism.

It is evident that Sumo was originally a form of combat with no holds barred, fought until one opponent knocked down the other, like the Chinese Kakuteijitsu and Greek Pankration. For example, it is recorded that in the Yamato period, Nomino Sukune and Taimano Kehaya wrestled in the presence of the Emperor Suinin, and Sukune broke one of Kehaya's ribs and his hip-bone by kicking, and then stamped him to death.  However, such techniques as punching, striking, and kicking were forbidden during the Naro period. Sumo has become a sport rather than a martial art in earnest. Today, Sumo is a Japanese national sport, and is very popular among both professionals and amateurs.

It is apparent that Karate was most influenced by the Chinese fist-art, although the origin of Karate can be traced back to PANKRATION in Europe. When Okinawa began to pay tribute to the Ming emperors, the Chinese fist-arts, developed by Ch'i Chi-Kuang and Ch'en Wang-Ting were introduced into Okinawa. As time went by, they were blended with the original native martial arts. But later, due to the ban on weapons of Satsuma, the unique Okinawa Karate, that is the art of developing the hands and feet as lethal weapons, was evolved, and spread throughout the island. This Karate was introduced into the mainland of Japan in 1921, took over a few good points from Japanese Jujitsu and this has developed in Japan as Nihon Karate-do today.

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