History Channel's "Human Weapon" Highlights Greek Martial Art of Pankration
History Channel's "Human Weapon" Highlights Greek Martial Art of Pankration |
Mixed-martial artist and professional fighter Jason Chambers teams up with former professional football player and wrestler Bill Duff to explore the world’s time-honored combat arts in Human Weapon. The first episode aired July 20, 2007, and on Friday, August 24, 2007, the series will explore pankration. Chambers and Duff delve into Athens, Greece—widely regarded as the cradle of civilization—to explore what some think is the world's original mixed martial art. Literally translated as "all powers," pankration is the ancient Greek art of hand-to-hand combat. Made famous by Spartans and ancient Olympians, pankration was revitalized in the 1960s and 1970s as a modern sport by personalities such as Jim Arvanitis, author of Game of the Gods: The Historical Odyssey of Greek Martial Arts. Arvanitis and writer Massad F. Ayoob first exposed the system to mainstream martial arts when Arvanitis appeared on the November 1973 cover of Black Belt magazine. Buy the vintage November 1973 cover reprint here! From back-alley gyms to the oldest standing fortress in all of Greece, the hosts of Human Weapon immerse themselves in the origins of wrestling, boxing, grappling and kickboxing and come to understand why pankration has inspired art, literature and martial arts for centuries. At the end of their journey, one of them will face the ultimate test: a legal pankration match with a World, European, and six-time national champion pankration fighter—a true human weapon. About the Series During the course of the Human Weapon series, Chambers and Duff will walk in the shoes of the people who defended their cultures with the following martial techniques: muay Thai, karate, judo, eskrima, savate, pankration, Krav Maga, Marine Corps martial arts, MMA, kung fu, sambo, bokator and silat. At the end of each episode, one of the two traveling warriors must survive a real fight with a true human weapon in that particular art.
About the Hosts A Total Fighting Challenge welterweight champion, co-host Jason Chambers has a record of 16 wins and 4 losses as an MMA fighter. He’s been training in various martial arts since the age of six and has fought in DEEP in Japan, Rento Maximo in Mexico and all over the United States. He’s trained under Renzo Gracie and currently trains jujutsu under Eddie Bravo. Chambers also holds the rank of “Phase 1 Instructor” in jeet kune do under Joe Goytia. Some of his current training partners are former and current Ultimate Fighting Championship hard men Karo Parisyan, Bas Rutten and Randy Couture. Six-foot-four-inch, 280-pound Bill Duff has been a pro-football player, bodyguard, wrestler and stunt double, Duff holds a brown belt in toa so dou (Korean street fighting) under master Davis of the Hwa Rang Studios in Riverside, New Jersey. He’s a two-time heavyweight state champion wrestler, member of the New Jersey Hall of fame, and is undefeated in bar fights. Consult your local listings for running times!  JIM ARVANITIS' GAME OF THE GODS: THE HISTORICAL ODYSSEY OF GREEK MARTIAL ARTS IS AVAILABLE NOW! 
History Channel's "Human Weapon" Highlights Greek Martial Art of Pankration |
