| Bakom | |
| Aka: | Vacón, bakon, lucha total, Peruvian street fighting |
| Focus: | Striking, kicking, grappling, wrestling |
| Country: | Peru |
| Parenthood: | Various techniques from street fighting in Lima |
Bakom, also known as Vacón, is a Peruvian martial art created during the early 1980s by former commando and street fighter Roberto León Puch Bezada.[1]
The art was created by Roberto Puch (in Martinete),[2] [3] a resident of the third block of Caylloma street, in the historic centre of Lima, a once-dangerous part of the city.[1] The oldest of eight children,[2] Puch was born in Barrios Altos, growing up in the neighbourhood's then crime-ridden areas, such as Cinco esquinas,[2] where he saw kicking duels as a child, eventually learning self-defence techniques from a Chinese mentor at the city's Chinatown.[4] A troubled relationship with his father due to his behaviour led him to be sent to a boarding school.[2] He eventually graduated from the COEDE School of the Peruvian Army, serving as a commando and later working as a member of the intelligence service.[4]
Both the fighting style and its creator's fame reached its peak during the 1980s and 1990s.[2] In the early 1990s, he was interviewed by Jaime Bayly in his programme ¿Qué hay de nuevo?, also being featured in the biographical miniseries .[2] [3] After his appearances on Peruvian television, he became a bodyguard for a number of celebrities and politicians,[3] eventually becoming a curandero,[2] [5] opening a workshop on Moquegua street.[4]
According to Puch, the ruleset is as follows:[6]