Ancient Mixed Martial Arts pt. 1
The ancient Greeks were one of the first known civilizations that cherished a love for unarmed combat. In 648 B.C., they introduced the sport of pankration to the Olympic games, the first sanctioned form of MMA, which would rapidly rise in popularity within and beyond Greece. It involved two warriors in a 14 foot square ring, with a referee using a whip to enforce the rules. Biting and eye-gouging were not allowed, striking was common, and takedowns were the norm. In fact, the pankratiasts were renown for their grappling and strangling abilities. The most fearsome pankratiasts were from Sparta, and many bouts were fought to the death there. These men were not simply athletes; in times of war they would be called on to fight fiercely for their nation-state.
The sport would lose out in popularity to boxing and wrestling, which dominated the Roman world. As with many artforms, fighting became more and more regulated, although still fiercely competitive.
In China, a peculiar type of fighting developed, which attempted to emulate the strikes of animals such as monkeys, tigers, and eagles. Although it would become known as Kung Fu, these styles probably originated on the pre-historical battlefield. What is known is that it flourished around 50 AD, near the time that Buddhism was introduced to China from India. The most famous school of Kung Fu was Shaolin.
