Return to the Palaestra: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Ancient Greek Combat Sports

Fri. Sep. 22 04:00 PM - Fri. Sep. 22 05:00 PM

David Larmour (Texas Tech University) and Joshua Kulseth (Clemson University)

September 22 | 4:00pm, Room 3D01

Book launch

What has Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to do with the Ancient Greeks? This talk suggests that today's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms, training regimes, and competition circuits offer the closest modern analogy to Ancient Greek wrestlers and pankratiasts in the palaestra. By combining first person experience in modern combat sports with a rich analysis and exploration of ancient Greek literary and artistic sources, this talk draws connections from the ancient past to modern martial arts.

Learn more about the New Directions in Classics lecture series