History of Mixed Martial Arts
The Greeks first introduced a sport called 'pankration' into their Olympic games. Pankration is comprised of two words, pan, which means 'all' and 'kratos' meaning 'powers'. This early form of mixed martial arts is a combination of Hellenic boxing and wrestling. Pankration only had two rules: no biting and no eye gouging. However,it's said that the Spartans even allowed the tactics.
Alexander the Great was a great fan of these fighters and many served in his army. Pankration fell out of favor with the fall of the Greek empire and sports such as wrestling and boxing became increasingly popular with the rise of the Roman Empire.
During this same period traditional martial arts increased in popularity in Asia The combat sports of the east and west stayed separate until 1925. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the sport of mixed martial arts experienced a significant revival. Fueled by the famous Gracie family in Rio de Janeiro Modern Mixed Martial Arts combining techniques from the east as well as the west was born.
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It was during this type when a Japanese man named Mitsuyo Maede arrived in Sao Paulo to establish a colony for the Japanese in this area. This Judo Master taught George Gracie's grandson the art of Judo. Carlos trained from the age of fifteen to twenty-one and then Mitsuyo Maede returned to Japan. Carlos then taught judo to his brothers and together they opened an academy.
The spread of Mixed Martial Arts:
The Gracie brothers successfully melded eastern and western styles of fighting
The extended Gracie family spread out to the United States and gained popularity for their jiu-jitsu.
Rorion Gracie came to the United States and along with Art Davies set up the first Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The first UFC featured a boxer, a savateur (french kickboxer), two kick boxers, a kenpo specialist, a shoot fighter and two jiu-jitsu fighters namely, brothers Rorion and Royce Gracie.
In this way the Gracie brothers brought Mixed Martial Arts to the United States.
A large number of fighters competed in the first few tournaments. As expected, the boxers dominated the striking and the wrestlers initiated the takedowns; however, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu dominated the ground. Fighters began to focus on only these three combat sports. The Gracie brothers ultimately retired from the UFC, but other fighters filled their footsteps and the UFC remains the largest MMA organization today.