Pankration Essay

No biting. No eye gouging. These were the only rules to the first form of MMA fighting. This form of fighting, called Pankration (all powers), originated as hand-to-hand combat in the Ancient Greek Olympics. Since then, Pankration has changed and developed into the MMA fighting the world knows and loves today.
It did not take too long for Pankration to spread and develop. Pankration was brought from Greece to India by Alexander the Great. From India, it was adopted by a Buddhist monk and taken to China. Pankration in China gave birth to Asian Martial Arts such as Karate and Kung Fu. As the Asian population branched out into the rest of the world, new forms were created and developed. Among those was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which was born after a Judo expert brought his craft to Brazil. In addition, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu would give birth to modern MMA fighting.
MMA first came to the attention of Americans when the Gracie family, a
Today, fighters train in multiple different styles of martial arts to improve their skill sets. The fighting is done in cages, and the only piece of equipment they're allowed to use is gloves. The fighters are separated into seven weight classes: bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. As for rules, anything goes. A participant can win by knocking out his opponent, holding his opponent into submission, or, if time runs out, it is up to the judges.
From Ancient Greece to now, MMA has undergone drastic changes, cultural diffusion, and multiple other developments to become what it is today. Think about it. MMA's come full circle. It has gone from being a spectacle in the Ancient Greek Olympics to being a tool of practical use in war in Asia to an underground pastime in the late eighties and early nineties, and now it is back in the spotlight and being highly-publicized in things like the UFC or the current