The MMA History Resources Thread

Much more to come shortly...





Ancient

Pankration: Interpreting the Art
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltframe.htm

Pankration Project (Reconstruction)
http://www.historical-pankration.com/

Pankration: What It Was
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankration
http://www.discoverychannelasia.com/martial_arts/europe/pankration/index.shtml
http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=164
http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/pankration_an_ancient_martial_art/

Dioxippus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxippus

Arricheon
http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_hollenback_0903.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3534988.stm

Greek Combat Sports
http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2004-07/natureofgame.html

Submission Fighting and the Rules of Ancient Greek Wrestling
http://www.judoinfo.com/research8.pdf

Sons of Apollo: Ancient Greek Boxing
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=4686&more=1
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=4805&more=1

Ancient Greek Boxing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_Boxing

Greek Wrestling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Wrestling

Famous Greek Athletes
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Athletes.htm

Pankration Illustrations
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/cc304c3/pankration/pankration.html

Historical Union of Pankration
http://www.pankration.freesurf.fr/iupad/

More Ancient Greek Wrestlers, Boxers, Pankratists
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/pankration.html



1100-1718

Petter's Worstel-Konst
http://ejmas.com/jwma/jwmaframe.htm

Cornish Wrestling
http://ejmas.com/jwma/jwmaframe.htm
http://ejmas.com/jwma/jwmaframe.htm

Glima
http://ejmas.com/jwma/jwmaframe.htm

Purring
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyframe.htm

Talhoffer's Fechtbuch
http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/talhoffer.htm

Fiore Dei Liberi's Fechtbuch
http://www.the-exiles.org.uk/fioreproject/default.asp
http://www.aemma.org/onlineResources/liberi/contents.htm
http://www.thearma.org/essays/FDL_studyguide.v3.htm


1718-1822

American "Rough and Tumble"
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_gorn_0401.htm

Captain John Godfrey's Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence, 1747
http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Godfrey/
http://ahfaa.org/1747.htm
Fewtrell's Science of Manual Defence, 1790http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Fewtrell/

Extracts From Mendoza's Treatise on Boxing, 1791
http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Mendoza/

Ken Pfrenger's Google Video Lecture on Mendozan Pugilism
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5618795638343715291&q=mendoza+seminar&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plinde x=0

Sir Thomas Parkyns' Close-Hugg Wrestler, 1713http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...tsparkyns.html

IBHOF "Pioneer" Section
http://www.ibhof.com/ibhfrost.htm

Cyber Boxing Zone--Bareknuckle Champions of England
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/barenuk.htm

Cyber Boxing Zone--Bareknuckle Champions of America
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/bare-am.htm

Traditional Boxing Thread @ Martial Arts Planet
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/for...ad.php?t=20504

Martial Arts to 1699
http://www.ejmas.com/kronos/NewHist1350-1699.htm

1822-1860

Layton's Norfolk Wrestling, 1830's
http://www.the-exiles.org/manual/norfwres/norfwres.htm

Savate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savate
http://www.bridgemansavate.com/H1historical.html
http://www.savateontario.ca/about-history.html

Donald Walker's Wrestling, 1840
http://www.geocities.com/cinaet/walker.html

 

Yep...a brief vacation sidetracked me. :good

 

1860-1914

More Savate
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_smith_0601.htm

Price's Science of Self Defence, 1867
http://www.geocities.com/cinaet/price.html

Sorakichi Matsuda
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltframe.htm

Kentsu Yabu
http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsframe.htm

Leonard vs. Higashi
http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsframe.htm

Bartitsu
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_noble_0301.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyframe.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2002/jmanlyart_Barton-Wrighta_1202.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2002/jmanlyart_Barton-Wrightb_1202.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_japantimes_1001.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_sandows_0301.htm

John McMahon
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2002/jmanlyart_hewitt_0602.htm

Comparison of Combatives
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_beare_1201.htm

A Plea for Style in Boxing
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyframe.htm

A Bout With Gloves
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyframe.htm

Rules for Scientific Boxing
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyframe.htm

Frank Gotch
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_hewitt_0901.htm

Punching Bags of Pugilism
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_myers_0801.htm

Canadian Wrestling
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_leyshon1_0701.htm
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_leyshon2_0701.htm

Savate
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_smith_0601.htm

The Terrible Turk
http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2001/jmanlyart_noble_0501.htm

Yukio Tani
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_Noble_1000.htm

Gama
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_noble_0502.htm
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_noble_0602.htm
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_noble_0702.htm
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_noble_0802.htm

John L. Sullivan
http://www.ibhof.com/sullivan.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Sullivan

1918-1945

Tamura vs. Pojello (wrestler vs. boxer), 1943
http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltframe.htm

Carlos Gracie
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=3781
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=462

 

Gama? Doubtful. While he had magnificent takedowns, he had no ground game and no striking game. Now, in a street fight on concrete, it might be a different story--those throws would be vastly more damaging under such circumstances.

 

Wrestling back in the day was real, though fixes were still more frequent than (for instance) in boxing. Matches were generally won via pin (as in amateur wrestling today), but submissions were also practiced...many of which have survived today in "catch" wrestling. One of the best manuals from this period:

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Burns/lessons/lesson01.htm

Pugilism was the closest you got to MMA for almost two hundred years--especially since it legalized the only major combat systems of the time (fisticuffs and above the belt wrestling). Sullivan might do well against fighters today if (and this is a big one) he can keep it standing. It's more likely, though, that he would be taken down and submitted.

On the other hand, Sullivan would probably blitz through most of the guys in the early UFC's--I could see him having the same success as Royce or Shamrock, for instance.

 

They allowed you to throw your opponent. All holds above the waist were considered legal, and trips were also permitted. No shooting for the legs and no groundfighting.

In short, it was probably enough to secure takedown defense against most guys who don't specialize in takedowns, which is why I would suspect that Sullivan and company would be able to blast through most of the early UFCs.

 

There are some online, which are available on my "bareknuckle boxing resources" thread:
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235

There are also a few that have recently been republished. These are the publishers and books:

http://www.lulu.com/sciwrestling
http://stores.lulu.com/shillelagh
http://stores.lulu.com/prof_william_miller
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Boxin...8324810?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184696609&sr=1-9

 

1945-1967

Kimura
http://www.judoinfo.com/kimura.htm
http://www.ebji.org/akeem/kimura.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masahiko_Kimura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVE82gH-v-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDBflFtPIw

Kimura vs. Gracie
http://www.gracieacademy.com/fight.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2wO3dHUYwQ

Helio Gracie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helio_Gracie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMAu0A-vQm8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laeykfbOStw

Carlson Gracie
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=3877
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=3820
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=147&a=4068

Gene Lebell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_LeBell
http://www.usmaf.org/bio/lebell/index.html
http://www.genelebell.com/bio.html
http://www.genelebell.com/product-15.html

Jon Bluming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Bluminghttp://ejmas.com/blumingad.htm
http://www.jonbluming.com/
http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_bluming_0800.htm
http://www.realfighting.com/0102/jonblubk.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPUpauO2a9k
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1998764980345828602&q=jon+bluming&total=5&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Anton Geesink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Geesink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtyWMKs7dp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doRaneahGjw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnJN18fr0sA&NR=1

1967-1993

Bill Wallace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Wallace_(martial_arts)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niJInl0d5sw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqay0quj5_o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRrPE1fF7a0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM9n4rJeE5k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JubPpUnjIDw

Joe Lewis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lewis_(martial_arts)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX_A-Ynx3VA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqay0quj5_o

Kickboxing History
http://www.mikemiles.com/history1.html
http://www.mikemiles.com/history2.html
http://www.mikemiles.com/history3.html
http://www.mikemiles.com/history4.html
http://www.mikemiles.com/history5.html
http://www.mikemiles.com/history6.html

Benny Urquidez
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Urquidez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7beh4v5c5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsTPvsqpIgc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsV3bOMWg0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37rUZxAS5RA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-fV5m-tQCs

Joko Ninomiya (All-Japan Karate Champion) vs. Wing Chun Guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH13kYFzfFk

Rolls Gracie
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=2839

Rickson vs. Rei Zulu
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=2871
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8okuGYhpe8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV2kYJfB7zA

Rickson Gracie
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=2982
http://www.graciemag.com/?c=148&a=3500

Chris Dolman
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=470952
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=452260

Antonio Inoki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Inoki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qI1GyhDeg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8snHdY-VoLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lXAGZtMxU8
http://www.njpw.com/events/2003/1231/history.shtml
http://www.njpw.com/about/all_roads.shtml