Pankration

Pankration (/pæn.ˈkreɪti.ɒn/ or /pæŋˈkreɪʃən/)(Greek : παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and was an empty-hand submission sport with scarcely any rules. The athletes used techniques from boxing and wrestling but also other types, such as kicking and holds, locks and chokes on the ground. The only things not acceptable were biting and gouging out the opponent's eyes. The term comes from the Greek παγκράτιον [paŋkrátion], literally meaning "all of might" from πᾶν (pan-) "all" and κράτος (kratos) "strength, might, power".

History

In Greek mythology, it was said that the heroes Heracles and Theseus invented pankration as a result of using both wrestling and boxing in their confrontations with opponents. Theseus was said to have utilized his extraordinary pankration skills to defeat the dreaded Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Heracles was said to have subdued the Nemean lion using pankration, and was often depicted in ancient artwork doing that. In this context, it should be noted that pankration was also referred to as pammachon or pammachion (πάμμαχον or παμμάχιον), meaning "total combat", from πᾶν-, pān-, "all-" or "total", and μάχη, machē, "combat". The term pammachon was older, and would later become used less than the term pankration.

Human Weapon

Human Weapon was a television show on The History Channel that premiered on July 20, 2007. The hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, traveled across the world studying the unique martial arts, or styles of fighting, that have origins in the region.

Each episode usually consisted of a brief introduction regarding the featured martial art, including footage of established fighters sparring. The hosts would then travel to various locations, learning several strikes, blocks, or other techniques valuable to the particular art from various instructors and/or masters. Along the way, they learned about the origins and cultural history of each fighting style. To help the viewer understand the moves the hosts learn, each technique was visually broken down with a motion capture element. Creator Terry Bullman also acted as stuntman for motion capture. After practicing featured aspects of the art, the hosts typically assessed the various skills and their effectiveness. At the end of each episode, one of the hosts would fight a representative of the episode's fighting style.

SB Nation

SB Nation (Sports Blog Nation) is a sports news website owned and operated by Vox Media (formerly SportsBlogs, Inc.). Established in 2005, the site comprises 309 blogs covering individual professional and college sports teams, and other sports-oriented topics. The site operates from Vox’s offices just off Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, as well as Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.

SB Nation currently has content-sharing partnerships with Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, USA Today, Comcast and the National Hockey League (NHL)

History

The concept of SB Nation was rooted in Athletics Nation, a blog focused on the Oakland Athletics, which was founded in 2003 by Tyler Bleszinski. Bleszinski noted that at the time, blogs focused on sports were a new concept limited to "mostly baseball sites on Typepad and Blogger", and that he was displeased over how the Athletics were being covered by these sites. In the spirit of Athletics manager Billy Beane, he decided to build his own blog with an aggressive focus on the team. Athletics Nation soon became the second-largest site on the advertising network Blogads behind the political blog Daily Kos. Its author, Markos Moulitsas, was also a friend of Bleszinksi; in 2005, Bleszinksi partnered with him to form SB Nation, which would serve as a network of sports blogs with a common platform enabling community participation. Athletics Nation began hiring additional part-time writers, while the SB Nation network would absorb and acquire other sports blogs focusing on major league and college teams.