What martial arts does Hercules use?

Hercules is perhaps the most famous Greek God and was known for his heroics and immense strength. Known for his twelve labors such as defeating Medusa, Hydra, and many more – he is arguably one of the greatest known fighters to have ever existed. Even thousands of years later, he is still as relevant today as he ever was. However, what was the fighting style of Hercules? He wasn’t just born with his skill and knowledge and would have had to train for many years to improve as a fighter. Read on for more information.

Hercules invented Pankration and MMA

Heracles and Theseus are said to have invented Pankration in Ancient Greek myths. This was basically a more brutal version of modern MMA without many rules. Unsurprisingly, it was also trained by Spartan soldiers, so you know it wasn’t for the faint hearted. As you can imagine, those who trained Pankration were incredibly tough and well rounded fighters. This would include wrestling, box, and submission holds which have all been documented from the era.

So, the very fact that Hercules – the son of Zeus was meant to have invented Pankration says it all. As we shall uncover, there’s actually a few different examples of Hercules using Pankration skills successfully when fighting. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that he was associated with it so strongly.

Hercules knew Wrestling

Back in Ancient Greece, leaders were known for having mental and physical smarts. As a result, many opted to train wrestling as it was seen as the ideal sport and martial art to develop mental and physical resilience. Once more, Hercules was supposedly a great wrestler. The myth goes that he wrestled the giant Antaeus and defeated him. Again, this story played into the idea of Hercules being both strong and intelligent.

During a visit to modern-day Libya, Hercules was forced into wrestling Antaeus who was known as one of the greatest wrestlers in the land and was the son of Poseidon. This was one of Hercules’s labors and he found a way to lift Antaeus off the ground and eventually crush and kill him. There are many statues depicting this feat from ancient times. You can clearly see Hercules using a body lock on Antaeus and lifting him in the process. If ever you’ve wrestled, you’ll appreciate just how strong and effective the body lock is.

Hercules knew Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Perhaps one of Hercules’s most famous feats was killing the Nemean lion. This was supposedly one of his hardest tasks and Hercules eventually got the better of this giant lion. For this, he once again relied on his wrestling skills and can be seen ripping off the mouth of the lion in some pictures.

However, most famously – Hercules can be seen using BJJ to kill the lion. Famously, he is seen applying a guillotine choke to the lion. Obviously, this is not an easy feat but it also shows Hercules’s knowledge of Pankration. As mentioned earlier, Pankration included submission holds and is one of the earliest known forms of submission grappling. To apply a guillotine on a resisting man is opponent, but doing one on a huge lion says it all.

Hercules knew Kenjutsu

Over the years, Hercules has been sighted brandishing a sword. One example of this is his labor against Hydra. For those that don’t know, Hydra was a sea snake that had nine heads and was huge. During his fight with Hydra, he eventually killed the serpent by chopping off his sword. In fact, he was often seen with his sword which he sometimes used in combat.

It’s safe to say that Hercules was very skilled in Kenjutsu. Whilst Kenjutsu is a Japanese martial art, it’s basically an umbrella term of sword fighting that applies to many martial arts that use swords. Without being pedantic, it’s fair to label Hercules as being well qualified in Kenjutsu as evidenced with the Hydra and his other battles. He probably learned this during his combat training as a child.

Conclusion

In many ways, the depiction of Hercules shows a typical Greek fighter at the time. As seen, he was mostly reliant on grappling which makes sense seeing as ancient Greeks seemed to love to wrestle. As far as his other martial arts disciplines go, he could also submit his opponents and was handy with a sword. Other than this, Hercules didn’t really rely on other martial arts such as striking. Whilst this would have been used when using his Pankration skills, he wasn’t really known for martial arts such as boxing or kicking arts.

In conclusion, Hercules knew how to fight and was skilled in combat but wasn’t as rounded as others. In some ways though, it’s unfair to judge him by modern standards as his tales were mostly told in an age obsessed with wrestling. Further, due to his incredible strength, Hercules didn’t need to strike that much and if he was allowed to grapple, then it was game over for his opponents.

Want to learn more about the martial art that Hercules invented? Check out this book that outlines the history of Pankration.