WESTERN MARTIAL ARTS: PANKRATION

Western martial arts were born long, long time ago, the first western martial art can be defined as such is certainly the Greek Pankration, which was nothing more than the training of Greek soldiers who were to make war, then training that took place with combat training and then when they started the first Greek Olympics of 648 BC were standardized as a sport, a very effective mix of wrestling and boxing, where (almost) everything was all allowed to put his fingers into the holes and tighten the testicles. The athlete after a workout was grueling fight and win, when the fight was going completely naked, covered only by strips of leather wrapped her hands and forearms, as well as olive oil, used to escape to the outlet to 'opponent, defeat or surrender took place, knockout, or death. The documentation that historians have succeeded in recovering the greek Pankation there is a very particular technique that is no longer present in the techniques of unarmed combat martial arts today,that is, give it a shot by ' top to bottom in front of the head, it seems that he could immediately put into ko: there was a famous champion, much higher than average, which used it and with this addition to killing more than one opponent - yes those who participated at the time could also be killed - I killed a bull on a bet ... 
The techniques and training of Pankration  as well as being taken over by the Roman Pancrazio,  influenced much of what is now the Turkish traditional wrestling, where athletes use olive oil in the fighting and where, to train arms and shoulders using wooden tools similar to of flasks. It seems to be a direct derivation of the ancient art of Pankration also use the stick of Genoa, which then would not have much older origins Renaissance, but who knows ... 
The tradition and Western martial art, the pancratium, was lost when the Church of Rome, since the body was the temple of the soul, decided to abolish the ars gladiator, gladiator games. 
The Pankration Pancras or is trying to flourish in recent years, there are thousands of athletes and enthusiasts around the world who are trying to revive this almost forgotten martial art. PS: a curiosity: When the ancient Greek Olympics, the Spartans could not attend, perhaps, for 'manifest superiority' - soldiers who had seen all my life - a little as it was prior to 1950 for England for the World Cup of soccer. .. 
Italian version here