Flashback! Black Belt: You were featured on the cover of our magazine in November 1973. Is it safe to say that was pankration’s introduction to the modern martial arts community? Jim Arvanitis: "There was no such animal as pankration known to the martial arts community prior to that Black Belt story. It might have been mentioned in books on the ancient Olympics, but few knew anything about it. The closest [thing] to it was the vale tudo contests and challenge matches in Brazil, which commenced in the late 1920s. "It remained that way until the 1990s, when events such as Pancrase in Japan and the UFC [in the United States] became popular. Then it seemed that all kinds of mixed-martial arts competitions were being promoted, and pankration became somewhat of a catch-all phrase for them. Many self-proclaimed experts surfaced and began making ludicrous statements about where they learned the art." jimarvanitis/
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:56:06 +0000
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