Pankration Course

PANKRATION COURSE
Sittingbourne March 12th 2010
http://picasaweb.google.com/Grapplinguk/PankrationCourseMarch2010#


When Martin Clarke was at the World Sambo Championships in Greece last years members of the International Pankration Federation ask him if he would start a section Great Britain. Although participation in Martial Arts in the UK is at an all time low, he reckoned there would be a change of Government in 2010 and the whole country would pick up .

Brief Summary of PANKRATION

The word Pankration is a Greek word which translated means "all powers" or "all powerful", both are acceptable translations by Greek scholars. Pankration was a sporting event in the ancient Greek Olympic games that was first introduced in the games of 648 BC. The rules of the sport were simple, no biting or eye gouging and victory was secured through knockout, submission or death. The historical records of the early Pankration are shrouded and mixed with Greek mythology and it is not known whether these accounts of championship bouts and feats of strength of the champions were myth or actual accounts

Modern Pankration is divided into 4 sections a)Striking and Grappling Full Contact b) Striking and Grappling Semi Contact c) Grappling d) Demonstration. The UK will be concentrating on B and C.

B)Striking and Grappling Semi contact for this you wear trouser similar to Judo Trousers and a tight T shirt, you score points by throwing your opponent, kicking. Punching your opponent to the body and making a controlled Kick (touch only) to the head. You can finish the match by gaining a submission on the ground with Arm lock, Leg lock, Ankle Lock, Strangle or Choke. A match between two fighters is referred to as an Agon

c) Grappling the rules are the same accept there is no kicking and punching and for Juniors there are no submissions. The competitors wear a White or Blue Endyma (uniform) and the Hellanodikis (Referee) wears Red Endyma.

The course was given by the European President Evangelos Koutras, he started the course by stating why they had asked Martin Clarke to represent them in the UK , he said the answer was simple Martin was known throughout the World for his expertise in Grappling especially Judo and Sombo’
Most of the course was given over to the History of the Sport, followed by the rules which all have to be given in Greek at the end everyone had a go at sparring which was a great success. The Course was a great Success and we have made a date for our first PankrationUK British Championships to be held at Sittingbourne on July 4th

Martin Clarke has introduced many different styles of Combat to the UK and all have started in his home town of Sittingbourne, he introduced Judo, Free Style Wrestling, Sombo, CombatSombo, Kurash, Belt Wrestling, Sport CombatSombo, Jacket Wrestling, Submission Wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, Atemi Jitsu, Shiai Jutsu and now Pankration. Sittingbourne means Martial Arts, Grappling and the Clarke Family.

Anyone interested in what we do in Sittingbourne go to www. Sittingbourne.org or ibfbcsa@googlemail.com