PAMMACHON SPORT
AMATEUR PAMMACHON SPORT RULES
Pammachon in Hellenic antiquity was a distinct sport during the early Christian era, separate from the more famous Pankration as identified by ten historic references to date. Pammachon was wide-spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean in the Roman Empire from the 1st through the 6th centuries A.D. and may have eclipsed Pankration in the 4th century. Moreover, historic Hellenic Minoan combat sports dating to the 14th century BC used weapons-based rules, and a hitherto unknown Hellenic martial art propagated in the 19th century seems to have been weapons-based, according to photographic evidence.
The Pammachon Cultural Union – Πολιτιστική Ένωση Παμμάχου (PCU - ΠΕΠ), founded in March 2007, is the organization that supervises the rules and content of Pammachon competitions. “Pammachon Sport” was first conceived by Kostas Dervenis in 2002. The ΠΕΠ was the first organization globally to publicly propose the idea of "Simulated hand-to-hand combat incorporating concealed weapons and emphasizing retention/control of same as a Sport" in 2011. The intention is to reconstruct this unknown combat sport utilizing input from 4th century eastern Roman Pammachon, 14th century BC Minoan boxing, and 19th century Hellenic martial education.
The Pammachon Cultural Union – Πολιτιστική Ένωση Παμμάχου (PCU - ΠΕΠ), founded in March 2007, is the organization that supervises the rules and content of Pammachon competitions. “Pammachon Sport” was first conceived by Kostas Dervenis in 2002. The ΠΕΠ was the first organization globally to publicly propose the idea of "Simulated hand-to-hand combat incorporating concealed weapons and emphasizing retention/control of same as a Sport" in 2011. The intention is to reconstruct this unknown combat sport utilizing input from 4th century eastern Roman Pammachon, 14th century BC Minoan boxing, and 19th century Hellenic martial education.
Sport Pammachon is a contest that was designed, as much as possible, to closely emulate the tactical demands of hand to hand combat and better prepare the practitioner for the submission and control of hostile perpetrators who may be bearing a concealed weapon. This competitive activity was named Pammachon Sport and has been enacted institutionally in various forms since its inception in 2002, such as a Branch of Sport of a recognized Sport Federation in Greece in 2014 and amateur Pilot Projects/Competitions in Greece. Amateur Pammachon Sport pilot projects were also held in the United States and filmed by Eric Hill and Don Grady utilizing Don Grady's MMA students as athletes,under mutually-accepted written authorization by the ΠΕΠ and Kostas Dervenis. .
The rules of the sport, originally conceived and published by Kostas Dervenis in 2011, have been reviewed by Pammachon Regional Director Petros Tsirigotis in 2022 and are posted here for public review. They should be considered a "work in progress", and will be refined as more Pammachon competitions take place around the globe and the sport's popularity grows. All intellectual property rights for Pammachon competitions remain with the ΠΕΠ and Pammachon Headmaster Kostas Dervenis. Athletes and sport organizations interested in Pammachon Sport should contact us at [email protected].
The rules of the sport, originally conceived and published by Kostas Dervenis in 2011, have been reviewed by Pammachon Regional Director Petros Tsirigotis in 2022 and are posted here for public review. They should be considered a "work in progress", and will be refined as more Pammachon competitions take place around the globe and the sport's popularity grows. All intellectual property rights for Pammachon competitions remain with the ΠΕΠ and Pammachon Headmaster Kostas Dervenis. Athletes and sport organizations interested in Pammachon Sport should contact us at [email protected].
