KARATE-KICKIN’ FAMILY MAN. Josh Zimmerman, in between traveling the world scooping of pankration trophies and running his own martial arts studio, still finds time for family. Soon, he’ll compete in Budapest, Hungary, for a chance to go onto the World Combat Games in Russia.

I believe in impartial journalism. I really do. But when I got the assignment to interview a local man about to compete for a world pankration title, I had no idea that man was Josh Zimmerman.

Zimmerman and I both studied karate together some 20 years ago. I had not spoken to him in all that time. Over the course of 30 minutes, he told me what he had been up to. It turns out most of that time was spent training and mastering various martial arts.

First, of course, there was the karate. Then there was full-contact kick boxing, then jiu-jitsu, and finally pankration.

In other words, my old training partner had turned into a martial arts superstar. So in the interest of full disclosure, this article might be less than impartial.

So what is pankration? The sport was first performed as part of the original Greek olympic games in 648 BC. There, competitors would showcase their wrestling as well as boxing skills in hand-to-hand combat. The last Olympic games were held in 394 AD, and it wasn’t until 1896 that Pierre Coubertin formed the Olympic Committee and began the modern Olympics, including all events.

All but pankration, that is. Despite exclusion, pankration enthusiasts formed their own organization and have been competing on a world circuit since 1973. Interestingly enough, while not recognized by the Olympics, FILA, the organization which governs Olympic wrestling codes, does recognize pankration as “a mild form of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)....” (wikipedia.org). These days, pankration competitions are a regular part of the World Combat Games.

So when Zimmerman opened his own studio in 2001, Zimmerman’s Freestyle Martial Arts, pankration wasn’t even on the radar. It wasn’t until he started competing again, city-to-city across the Midwest, that he was introduced to the sport. And it wasn’t as a spectator.

“I just jumped right in,” said Zimmerman, who went on to win match after match over the next four years. “I won the whole thing.”

From there, he was invited to compete for the world title (185-pound weight class) when something derailed his career – his son was born. And while he admits Everett was one of the best things to ever happen to him, he also yearned for another crack at the world title.

Being in his late 30s and having  a family and a studio to run made his dream seem even farther away. But you can’t keep a fighter down, and so Zimmerman made one last shot at it.

The most recent pankration tournament was held recently in Madison. True to form, Zimmerman again “won the whole thing” and again landed a spot on the national team. But instead of competing for a world title in Canada, he’ll be heading to Budapest, Hungary. From there, he could go onto the World Combat Games in Russia. For those unfamiliar with this level of competition, a world title is on par with an Olympic medal. Zimmerman admits “this would be pretty huge.”