Development
About the sport
Pammachon as a sporting contest was first conceived by Kostas Dervenis in 2002 and 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 sport has been enacted institutionally in various forms since its inception in 2002. In essence pammachon combines mixed martial arts with fencing; a baton or rubber knife is used to simulate the presence of a concealed weapon during grappling, as is strategic scoring with what is termed the “weapon hand” before the athletes’ transition into grappling.
The rules of the sport, originally conceived and published by Kostas Dervenis in 2011, have been reviewed by IPF Secretary 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. Athletes and sport organizations interested in Pammachon should contact us at info@pammachon.org
The Pammachon Baton
It has been suggested that the sport of Pammachon resembles a “combination of mixed martial arts (MMA) and fencing”. While light-hearted, this analogy is not inaccurate. Like MMA, Pammachon is a complete system that covers all aspects of an altercation. Like fencing, the sport uses training implements to score points, simulating the use of lethal weapons to first blood in dueling in bygone millennia. The Pammachon “baton” is retained in a traditional Hellenic belt during the contest and have been made from many materials: thermoplastic elastomer daggers have been used, as well as batons made from EVA foam (ethylene and vinyl acetate used in cosplay). A baton may even be made from a candle wrapped in electrical tape as in the photos below.
A Pammachon baton made from a candle wrapped in electrical tape.
The Pammachon baton placed in an athlete’s red sash.
The Pammachon baton with an instructor’s white sash.