Pankration: The Traditional Greek Combat Sport and Modern Martial Art

Massad Ayoob of Black Belt magazine called pankration "the most practical street combat form of the martial arts that I have ever seen." Now you can learn pankration from Jim Arvanitis, the world's leading authority on the legendary Western combat art and its modern descendant. Throughout this fascinating and completely updated volume, Arvanitis provides extensive insight into the facts and myths of pankration's early history (including its inclusion in the earliest Olympic Games), its techniques and strategies, and its impact on today's martial arts. Numerous vase drawings and statues depict the combined striking and grappling skills of the trained combat athletes of classical Greece, and more than 450 photos demonstrate the modern application of what many believe is the world's first recognised fighting art. Also included are proven training methods, Spartan discipline secrets and strategic applications for personal defence, such as set-ups, combinations and countering moves.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Chapter 1: History of Hellenic Martial Arts 3 Chapter 2: The Evolution of Modern Pankration 19 Chapter 3: Basic Ano Combat Skills 21 Chapter 4: Striking Tool Development Using Equipment 45 Chapter 5: Upright Grappling Skills 53 Chapter 6: Submission and Ground-Fighting Skills 65 Chapter 7: Combat Strategy 81 Chapter 8: Spartan Discipline 113 Appendix A: Modern Pankration Terminology 131 Appendix B: Greek Numbers (1-10) 137 Appendix C: Modern Pankration Rankings 139 Appendix D: Arete 141 Appendix E: Some Pankration Factoids 145 Appendix F: Pankration Products 147 Appendix G: Parting Shots of Pankration Techniques 14

Author Biography

Jim Arvanitis is internationally renowned as the father of modern pankration. He has made it his life's work to rebuild the ancient Greek combat sport into a modern cross-training martial arts system. Grandmaster Arvanitis has been featured in all the top martial arts magazines, including Inside Kung-Fu, Official Karate and Black Belt.