Pankration,2 Fighter's Are Using This Fighting Style To Win A Pankration Match.Two athletes competing in the pankration amphora,An Ancient Illistration made in Athens in 332-331 BC.
Pankration (pronounced /pæŋˈkrɑːti.ɒn/ or /pæŋˈkreɪʃən/; from Ancient Greek: Παγκράτιον /paŋkrátion/ "all-in wrestling"[1] Modern Greek: Παγκράτιο /pa(ŋ)ˈɡratio/) is a martial art introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling. The term comes from the Ancient Greek παγκράτιον, literally meaning "all powers" from πᾶν (pan) "all" + κράτος (kratos) "strength" or "power". It is also used to describe the sport's contemporary variations. Some consider it as the first all-encompassing fighting system in human history.[citation needed] It is also arguable that pankration competitions in antiquity were the closest an athletic event has come to outright, no-rules, empty hand combat.[citation needed] Modern mixed martial arts competitions have come to feature many of the same methods that were used in pankration competitions in the ancient Greek world.[2]