feet were permitted. All types of hand strikes were permitted, not just those
with the closed fist, and a pankrationist was allowed to hold his opponent
and hit him with the other hand. Strikes to the groin and elbow and knee
strikes were also permitted. When one competitor fell to the ground, the
match ended. Ano pankration was usually restricted to training or to pre-
liminary bouts before a kato pankration match.
Kato pankration was the all-out form of fighting that has come to be
associated with pankration. Practitioners began the match standing, but as
the fight progressed, falling to the ground and grappling techniques were
used. The fight was not over until surrender, knockout, or death. It has
been suggested that the great majority of kato pankration matches ended
up being decided on the ground through grappling techniques. All the tech-
niques from ano pankration were legal in kato pankration.
Pankration techniques were numerous and varied. Techniques were
divided into four basic categories: arm techniques, leg techniques, throws
and takedowns, and grappling. Arm techniques included all types of
punches with the hands and elbows. Boxing techniques, the jab, cross, up-
percut, and hook, were most likely the primary weapons. Elbow strikes
were also used, which meant that hook punches were probably a secondary
weapon when the elbow could not be employed. Open-hand strikes were
also permitted; there is artwork on surviving Greek vases dating from 500
B.C. that clearly demonstrates chopping blows.
Leg techniques were kicks and knee strikes. At close range, a pankra-
tionist grabbed his opponent and attempted to apply knee strikes in rapid
succession in much the same way as a modern Thai boxer. It is unlikely that
high kicks were used; most of the artwork demonstrates pankrationists em-
ploying rising kicks to the stomach, striking with the ball of the foot.
Pankrationists also likely employed powerful kicks against the legs of op-
ponents in attempts to either sweep the feet or strike the upper portion of
the leg with enough force to cause the limb to collapse. Once again, a mod-
ern application of this technique is found in Thai boxing. When an oppo-
nent was doubled over or on the floor, pankrationists would then likely at-
tempt kicks to the head. Because of pankration’s extensive use of kicks,
pankration is one of the first documented complete fighting systems used
by humans.
Throws and takedowns were numerous and varied. Pankrationists
were free to employ the takedowns that are commonly seen in modern
wrestling systems, in which practitioners attempt to seize one or both of the
opponent’s legs and unbalance the opponent. However, pankrationists also
employed throws that are seen in modern jûdô or jûjutsu, in which the prac-
titioner attempts to either throw the opponent over the shoulder or hip to
the ground or sweep the leg out from under the opponent by use of the feet.412 Pankration