Pankration and Sambo

The ancient Greek art of Pankration is one of the original martial arts. It is certainly effective, Demetrius Johnson and Khabib train in it. I found out there is an MMA gym in Panama City that teaches Pankration and Combat Sambo. I am interested. I will look into it. Anyone here familiar with Pankration?

 

Pankration isn't around anymore, it died years ago, Demetrius Johnson gym is called Pankration AMC, after his catch wrestling teachers, it's a big name in Japan due to Pancrase, and the fact he's competed in a recreation of Pankration in Europe, as has kahbib, as a style its dead, people have just taken up the name for a newly devised ruleset.

Ps yes sambo is great, as is combat sambo, which are two similar but different things.

 

I know Pankration uses wrestling, kicking and striking techniques. www.youtube.com/watch?v=syJMxZOX9jI I don't know close modern form is to the ancient Greek art.

Combat Sambo is taught to Russian soldiers for hand to hand combat. It is certainly different from the sporting form as there are no rules in combat although I imagine they implement rules in a training situation.

Sambo was influenced by catch wrestling was it not? That and Judo.

 

So combat sambo, is sambo with striking in, there very much are rules:

MMA Fan's Guide to Grappling: Sambo

 

Summary of Rules: There are three major rule sets for Sambo: Sport Sambo, Combat Sambo, and American Freestyle Sambo. The common ground between the three is that the rules create a very open forum for competition, especially for takedowns and throwing techniques. Both Sport Sambo and Freestyle Sambo are grappling-only events, in which matches are scored with points and won with points or submission. Points are awarded for throws and once a match, a fighter can be awarded points for a pin. In Sport Sambo, a match can also be won by a throw where the thrower remains standing. (Link) Also in Sport Sambo, only armlocks and straight leg locks are legal; no chokes, twisting leg locks, like the heel hook, or neck cranks are allowed. Also closing the guard is illegal in Sport Sambo as it is considered stalling. Freestyle Sambo is much more open when it comes to submissions, allowing chokes, and more leg locks and neck attacks. Neither allows standing submissions.

Combat Sambo allows striking, both standing on the ground, and the scoring is very similar to Sport Sambo. Striking is not awarded any points, but a knockdown due to strikes is counted as a throw. In all three, ground time is limited, but fighters are given more than a few scant seconds to work on the mat."

Catch isn't a major influence on sambo, judo and the ex USSR wrestling traditions are though.

 

Re pankration, this covers both new and old.

Pankration - Wikipedia

 

If a Russian soldier finds himself in a life and death hand to hand combat situation do you really think he will follow tournament rules? That's what I meant.

 

But that goes for any style.

Combat sambo the style has competition rules, and it's those rules that create such great MMA fighters!

 

One of the founders of Sambo, Vasili Oshchepkov, was one of the first gaijun to learn Judo in Japan. In 1937 he was executed for alledged spying for the Japanese. A victim of Stalin's purges. he had previously taught Judo to the Red Army.

Combat Sambo uses various striking and grappling techniques, It is a form of MMA developed over time.

 

I am interested in the ancient arts like Pankration and Kalaripayattu.

 

The gym also teaches Japanese Jiu Jitsu, I have trained in BJJ, what differences should I expect between the two?

 

MMA Panama Top Team

Looks good, there's a BJJ Blackbelt teaching too, the jujitsu depends on what it's aimed at, a lot of Jiu-Jitsu is aimed at the self defence soccer mum crowd.

 

Sambo in bjj



Sambo in sambo

 

There's no ancient pankration still around.

 

Well some of it is, some modern pankration techniques are historical, but much of the art has been lost to history.

I want to continue my BJJ training , im not really interested in JJJ.

 

All modern pankration is a recreation, there is no extant pankration lineage.

 

Unfortunatly the reeks didn't leave any Pankration manuels behind so much has been lost to history. We do know from Greek artwork that the shoulder lock, neck crank, waist throws, straight kick, kick defense takedown, and other techniques were used and they still are today in modern Pankration. So some of it does go back to ancient Greece and Rome.

I understand what you're saying though. You're saying How long can you call it wine when you keep adding water.

 

We also have Egyptian paintings of wrestling,boxing,etc which pre-date the classical Greece of the Dorians. So we could give all MMA some Egyptian name rather than some Johnny-come-lately Greek moniker. Pankration is just a marketing name now. Jim Arvantis was attempting a recreation of Pankration in the 70s. Still isn't the original,just a name.

As you note,there are no manuals around,unlike the ones the HEMA gang uses.So one can't really revive Pankration,but one can reconstruct medieval Bavarian swordsmanship.

 

How can I call my drink French red wine, when all I have is drawings of French wine, I'm. In Iceland, and my grapes are white....

Aside from that the ruleset seems to produce solid fighters, Iirc Angela lee is also a pankration champion.

Angela Lee - Wikipedia