Recently, Australian representatives from the Fight Lab participated in the Les Scar Pankration (Greek MMA) Cup in Hawaii.
Pankration comes from two Greek words, ‘pan’ meaning ‘all’ and ‘kratos’ meaning ‘powers’. The combination of the two words is an accurate depiction of the sport, the mixture of Hellenic boxing and wrestling.
The Australian team won three gold and five silver, with 2 gold medals won by competitors from the Fight Lab, Dimitry Spiridopoulos at 110 kgs and Louis Burt at 66kgs.
Taking to social media to express his happiness, Louis said that he was lucky enough to represent Australia. “Training over the last few months has been hard and the weight cut down to 66kgs was less than fun, but win, loss or draw, I knew I gave it my all in the lead up to today. That being said, I came out with a gold medal for Pix Lax (Greek kickboxing), and a Silver medal in Pankration (Greek MMA) for my country (being tapped out by an arm triangle)!”
“A massive thanks to Kon Papaioannou for his coaching and endless kindness and generosity along the way, and allowing me to be part of the team, as well as a thanks to all the ‘Lab Rats' at The Fight Lab. Also thanks to my Pankration training partner Anthony Kidd for always being there to drill, give advice and be a true friend over all…My partner Sarah Renee deserves a massive shout out for living with me for the last few weeks especially! The meal plans,the stress, the weight cut and the motivation couldn't have been done without you!” he continued.
Former World Champion, ’Coach of the Year’ awarded by the International Sports Karate Association and owner of ‘The Fight Lab’, Kon Papaioannou, was very proud of the achievement, noting that state champions will be held at his facility, the Fight Lab on June 2nd. He is also currently picking the team to compete in Portugal for the World Championship in November, which will be very exciting.
Well done and congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, and supporters of the Les Scar Pankration Cup.
Next year the competition will be hosted in Sydney by coach Kon Papaioannou.
Champion Wrestler & Professional Boxer Kon Papaioannou teaching Hellenic Martial Arts
