Martial Arts Fighting Techniques
The Ancient History of Modern Mixed Martial Arts
It’s easy to believe that mixed martial arts was started back in 1993. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, started then and popularized the idea of finding the ultimate fighting form based on extant styles. In those beginning stages of the UFC, there weren’t many safety regulations, and many fighters of different fighting traditions would enter the same ring for the first time ever.
However, the concept of a mixed martial arts fighting tournament is nothing new. Some people might remember the movie Bloodsport where the protagonist, Frank Dux (played by Jean Claude Van Damme), enters and wins a mixed martial arts tournament called “The Kumite.” Much controversy has surrounded Frank Dux’s claim, but the fact of international mixed fighting style tournaments is documented. These types of tournaments date far back into history, perhaps into prehistory.
The earliest recorded events of what could be called mixed martial arts tournaments were in 648 BC. These were called the Pankration, which was a no-holds-barred fighting contest that was included in the Olympic Games for the first time that year. These fighters held a high level of esteem among the Olympic athletes, and inspired the later Etruscan and Roman Pancratium fighting tournaments.
These latter versions of the tournament became much more brutal and lethal than their Greek predecessor. These fighters, as well, held a high level of esteem in the Roman culture, with statues in many cities of the Empire that honored particular Pancratium contestants.
After the fall of Rome, mixed martial arts fighting tournaments went mostly underground in the West, but continued somewhat publicly in the East. The Eastern search for the ultimate fighting style culminated in Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. Dissatisfied with the formality of Wing Chun and the other traditional styles in China, Bruce Lee began to incorporate other fighting techniques into what became his signature fighting style.
Master Bruce’s idea was simple. He would take the elements of any given fighting style and use what worked. If it didn’t work, it was ruthlessly cut out of the curriculum. He encouraged this Do-It-Yourself mentality in his students. This mentality also found its home in the UFC and MMA.
Fear no man,
Captain Chris Pizzo
World Leader in Self Defense
www.closecombattraining.com
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