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Jim Arvanitis is a Greek-American martial artist and trainer of Mixed Martial Arts/Hybrid Reality Combat based on the pankration model, and author of several books and videos relating to pankration. He is world recognized as the Founder of Modern Pankration, a blend of the remnants of the ancient fighting legacy along with elements found in modern sources such as Western boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, muay-Thai, and combat judo. His restoration of the defunct sport was first unveiled to mainstream martial arts in 1973 when he was featured on the cover of Black Belt magazine. A fixture in the media, Arvanitis has appeared on multiple covers over the past four decades. Jim is considered by his peers as both an innovator and a visionary since he was among the scant few who emphasized integrating techniques from various systems, ground skills, and combat functionality during a time when classical karate and kung-fu were dominant.[1]
Arvanitis opened his first Spartan Academy in 1971 in Boston, and used the ancient Greek combat sport as a blueprint for his core curriculum. Owing to his Greek heritage, his effort to reinstate pankration was only partially due to ethnic pride but more to his sincere desire to forge a new path in the martial arts by combining things that worked and dismissing things which did not. There were no prearranged forms, bowing, or belt ranks but an emphasis on conditioning and applying one's tools against a live opponent in hard contact sparring. Jim's system was similar to today's MMA with both standup and ground tactics, along with an amalgam of strikes, joint locks, takedowns and anything else that he felt was effective in a realistic situation.[2]
World Records and Special Feats
editA well-known physical fitness devotee, Arvanitis holds world records for doing pushups on but his thumbs. He set the first record in 1977 with 45 in 51 seconds. Three years later he topped that mark on the nationally-televised Guinness Game completing 61 in 47 seconds. He also demonstrated the amazing feat of one-arm thumb pushups on television talk shows throughout the 1980s.[3]
Authorship
editBooks
edit- The First Mixed Martial Art: Pankration from Myths to Modern Times
- Game of the Gods: The Historical Odyssey of Greek Martial Arts
- Pankration: The Traditional Greek Combat Sport and Modern Mixed Martial Art
- Mu Tau Pankration: Concepts and Skills of All-Powers Combat
- Mu Tau: The Modern Greek Karate
Videos
edit- Secrets of Pankration/Paladin Press
- Greek Pankration/TRSDirect
- Modern Pankration/Panther Videos
Awards
editJim Arvanitis has received numerous international Hall of Fame induction awards for his accomplishments including Historical Figure, Grandmaster of the Year, and Living Legend. He was named Black Belt magazine's Instructor of the Year in 2009 and International Man of the Year by the prestigious World Head of Family Sokeship Council in 2010. In 2000, his former home state of New Hampshire voted him Athlete of the Century.[4]