Pankration Ancient Greek Olympic Game

Pankration is a term that comes from the Greek words pan that means all and kratos that means strength or power. Basically this is a term, which stands for an ancient sport and a martial art. This was basically an art that was first begun in the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC.

Pankration however is not one of the first Olympic sports; nonetheless for sure this was one of the most popular games and at the same time it was also the first all-encompassing fighting system in human history. As per the popular folk tale it was said that the heroes Herakles and Theseus invented this game that was an amalgamation of both wrestling and boxing. Thus basically they are the two founders of the fame and in short this is a game that signifies total combat; earlier however this game was known as the panmachia.

Pankration hence right from the early age was a hugely popular game and it is said that Theseus utilized his extraordinary pankration skills to defeat the dreaded Minotaur in the Labyrinth. In fact this game is more than an Olympic event. In the ancient Greece it was hugely popular and it formed the basis for all combat training for Greek soldiers. Basically there were a number of Greek soldiers associated with this game and what is significant is that these game included patrons as famous as the Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx.

Pankration is a game that had many techniques and in fact these techniques were basically as varied as in the oriental martial arts and significantly these were the systems were taught within families and many times by master teachers to students. A significant and distinctive feature of this game was forms or kata and interestingly these were known as Pyrrics.

Apart from these techniques the Pankration also had single blow challenges as Klimax and it also focussed on internal energy that was developed through breathing exercises. Basically this was a broad fighting sport similar to today's mixed martial arts and in it a match was won by submission of the opponent or if the opponent was incapacitated.

What sets the game Pankration apart is that in this game a match was being won by submission of the opponent. It was rather a serious sport and in that the opponent acquired grave as well as permanent injuries that are common as an accepted means of disabling the adversary. At any point in the game the contestant could signal submission by raising his hand, but in most cases the form of submission was unconsciousness or death. Pankration