MMA the original Olympic sport
MEDICS everywhere must be bursting blood vessels, banging heads against walls and tearing their hair out at the suggestion MMA should be become an Olympic Sport.
As most of you may know the British Medical Association has recently had an apoplexy over MMA describing it as: “as human cockfighting� and saying “the days of gladiator fights are over and we should not be looking to resurrect them.�
In the same way that the BMA is trying to knock out Boxing it’s trying to take down MMA – by playing the brutality and injury card.
Yes, MMA and Boxing can be brutal but so can the Olympics sport of Judo – the Gentle Way – as anyone who has been in the clutches of a Judoka can testify!
Is it human cock fighting, a throw back to an earlier age of Gladiators and baying crowds in amphitheatres’?
Well, it has been sold as a modern version of the ancient form of fighting known as Pankration.
And what is Pankration? It’s a fighting method encompassing striking and kicking with wrestling.
Where does Pankration come from? It’s as Greek as the Acropolis and probably older. Ancient texts show it was the premier sport of the Ancient Olympics.
In fact some martial arts historians believe Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army took it to India when they invaded in 327BC.
After blending it with their indigenous combat systems the Indians took their new mixed martial arts to China and the rest is martial arts history.
Maybes Pankration – or its modern equivalent – has come back full circle and is looking to come home to where it truly belongs – in the Olympics.
What do you think – should MMA be included in the Olympics? Or is it “cockfighting� and should have no place in the modern sports arena?
STOP PRESS!
Since writing this blog I've since discovered that kick boxing was also an ancient Greek fighting system that was in the original Olympic line up.
According to the history book I read, Greek kick boxing rules allowed participants to punch, kick and slap opponents either with the palm or back of the hand.
There was a referee to make sure fighters did not gouge at eyes or flesh nor use wrestling moves.
The winner was the last man standing...
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I think we are only doing with MMA what everyone has been doing in martial arts since we first crawled from the primordial soup - its just pushing ourselves and adapting it to our time. People will call for bans, thats what some people live for. Doctors call to ban MMA, yet i dont notice them asking for a ban of drinking of a saturady night, which would doubtlessly save far more injury !
I think perhaps looking at it we could implement MMA within a updated version of Pankration. It would still be MMA, after all many MMA organisations fight under different rules, with different techniques allowed. It;s success would all depend on how it is marketed. I'm no marketing expert by any means, but getting the Greeks on board would be a good start - since they invented it, their seal of approval would convince many. Japan and China would add credence also with the respect their widespread traditional arts garners.
I think we will see MMA return to the Olympics, the question remains, will it be in my lifetime ?
Hello Wand3223
yes it is strange that the BMA aren't calling for Saturday night to be banned considering how many people are injured through alcohol.
Pankration itself as an art is still live and kicking (and wrestling and striking!).
For anyone wanting more information on this art I suggest checking out the World Pankration Federation website on Google.