Glíma: Icelandic Grappling (with

[@connorperrett9559]

Jackson Crawford, Ian McCollum, and Hurstwic is not a triple crossover event I'd ever have expected.

[@anneonymous4884]

The crossover we need, not the one we deserve.

[@jewishswordsman9199]

Saw this on Bill Shorts page. Good stuff. On another note: I have dislocated 4 ribs doing Scottish Backhold which is similar in setup. I can imagine the fun this would be. Now excuse me while I note to do this if I ever go to Iceland.

[@iLLeag7e]

Dr. Crawford shows up in my feed often. As a Colorado native I appreciate what he does. It makes sense that Ian would make this connection; I'm sure that his travels in Finland have given him a reason to study the language. this is cool

[@OtherlingQueen]

Seeing Jackson and Ian hold each other like that is the climax of KZbin content.

[@problematic7993]

I climaxed anyway

[@andrebighach]

you know that moment in nature where two organic structures that for millions of years remain separate until for the first time they conjugate into a new form changing the stratum of existence until the end of life itself like how red and blue become purple and 999 becomes 1000.......

[@o.3464]

Not only the climax of KZbin content. A climax in every sense of that word.

[@andrebighach]

@@o.3464 ooo,ooO it's happening OOOOOOOOO(!*@$@*!) rorschachgasm.

[@Aalienik]

You're probably legitimately both in the top 100 foreign Glima practicioners, so there's that.

[@bragigeirdalgufinnsson2432]

As an Icelander I would like to thank you for not making fun of our national sport 😅

[@AveryBlueRemix]

Ayo this what my girl does to me when we slow dancing and I say her breath stink 😁

[@brandtmunk2492]

As an American looking to relearn my Scandinavian heritage, I'm just happy you guys keep it alive.

[@jimmywells33]

This is to be respected, not ridiculed...brother. Glad to see it being carried forward.

[@johanmetreus1268]

What is there to make fun of?!

[@scatman8963]

@@brandtmunk2492 😂

[@nivlacyevips]

Ian’s greatest attribute other than his patience, observation and articulation…humility…and grace.

[@Sercer25]

Are you gonna get on your knees for him too?

[@wulfgreyhame6857]

It bears more than a passing resemblance to Cumberland wrestling in England. The Lake District is often considered to be the most Scandinavianised part of Britain, in terms of place-names and dialect.

[@111flitz1111]

Cumberland and Backhold wrestling (Scotland) are nearly identical. The Glíma association has held Backhold competitions before as well as sending groups annually to the UK to compete in Cumberland and Backhold wrestling.

[@ilyashapovalenko6789]

Glima is very reminiscent of german medieval wrestling called Ringen. It is also about balance, grapling, using parts of wardrobe for leverage. Of course they are different in how they look, but still. I imagine Judo was like this too when it just appeared.

[@Rbajter]

Yeah, this sport is still practiced in its original form on Gotland (Sweden) and is known as “ryggkast”, back-throw. Used to be common all over the nordics.

[@stayhungry1503]

i have the feeling it was made to be like this to avoid it turning into actual fighting in the old days when people always had edged weapons on them or nearby and killed each other to the left and right over minor squabbles. if you just have a free for all wrestling, not to mention boxing, it can very easily turn into a real fight especially if the guys dont particularly like each other and there is no real law around. but when its like this its much more controlled and perhaps less likely to escalate. just a thought from a long time martial arts practitioner and amateur historian.

[@ilyashapovalenko6789]

@@stayhungry1503 for sure, and really it's too easy to injure someone in a fistfight or some kind of super aggressive wrestling and that's no good if you have fields to work) plus if we look at it from the point of some practical applicability, like in a military or self-defence setting 1) opponent will be wearing some form of belt fore sure so why not to use it 2) if you put opponent on the ground he is out fore good (especially in military context he's gonna get speared or something)

[@stayhungry1503]

@@ilyashapovalenko6789 yeah good point about injuries

[@FellsApprentice]

Glima is just a more successful (not as lost to history) regional varient of Ringen. Ringen is more of a catch all term for European stand up wrestling that isn't based in Greco-Roman roots.

[@gudea5207]

Glíma most resembles Judo and Sumo to me. Much of it seems to like up with the ashi-waza (the foot techniques) of Judo along with that kind of pop up trip that resembles the opening of an ura nage (akin to the suplex). The belt, although not treated the same by the rules, is comprable to the muwashi loin cloth of sumo wrestlers.

[@limp_dickens]

It looks a lot like judo to me too. The "combat waltz" thing that Ian mentioned I think is a good description of those foot techniques that they share. I think if you told some glima guys to hold each other by the wrist and collar instead of the belt then you would end up with something virtually identical to judo.

[@SmokeyJembe]

This is just one of the sport versions of glima, other styles are mostly different to each other. Traditional glima doesn't use a belt and resembles more of a judo-jujistu/Greco-freestyle wrestling approach.

[@IncredibleMD]

The formality, ritual, and mentality behind it also seems very similar to sumo, in essence if not form.

[@Kinotaurus]

You just need to imagine two armed opponents, with a sword on a belt. You clinch each other preventing from drawing the sword, until one ends up on the ground and gets stabbed.

[@kentallard8852]

no they would start with swords drawn and eventually they would have their swords binded together and they'd be close enough to grapple - at which point they'd grab their opponent by the jacket or hips

[@torg2126]

@@kentallard8852 The dramatic sword binding thing would be pure Hollywood, but it was a thing on stage in Shakespeare's time. Any dramatic sword bind would end with the other guy getting cut down, right from the bind. Skalagrim has a video on it.

[@kentallard8852]

@@torg2126 its not binding is in the manuals, hollywood doesn't depict anything like what they did

[@torg2126]

@@kentallard8852 You don't have two people lock swords, and dramatically push on each others blades, in reality. In reality, one of the people locking blades would immediately pivot on the other blade, and through a cut from that posation. The level of grappling depicted in this martal art only makes sense if neither person is armed at the moment, probably because they lost their spears, and are too close to draw langsaxes without putting themselves into a disadvantaged posation. Therefore, the point of the excercise is to put the other man down, and then draw your backup to end them.

[@MuriKakari]

that's what I was thinking!

[@rosstapson]

I am loving this collaboration, there cannot be enough Ian and Jackson bromance.

[@paulaunger3061]

Definitely!

[@the_real_Kurt_Yarish]

Commenting just to say that thumbnail of horizontal blurry Ian getting tossed is so funny to me, love it

[@pfdrtom]

I love both these guys! I had no idea until recently that they even knew each other. Like an early Christmas!

[@VermisTerrae]

This looks so fun. Also, magnificent cardigans! Despite knitting 15 years or more, I've never actually attempted a sweater or something similar. But these certainly inspire me to try when I can next get my hands on some nice wool.

[@sir313jonsson]

Yo go for it, just find a recipe you like and start

[@VermisTerrae]

@@sir313jonsson I have a few patterns saved, but your right that a recipe is the way to go. Next time I can drop $100 or so on yarn! 😸

[@fourshore502]

in iceland and norway those are very common

[@chuckoaks6756]

Having Norwegian friends and being Norwegian myself I could swear they were dancing until one of them hit the ground.

[@onkelpappkov2666]

With alcohol involved, where is the difference?

[@theanonymousmrgrape5911]

As somebody who wrestled for years in school, it’s interesting just how different Glima is from ordinary, Olympic style wrestling. The wrestlers don’t get down into a stance, and there’s not really any shooting, or maneuvering to control of the opponent’s head or arms. Very interesting and unique sport.

[@DruEllz]

I'd say using the term "wrestling" is more accurate. "Grappling" generally refers to techniques used on the floor. Glima looks very similar to Schwingen, or Swiss wrestling. There are also numerous different folk wrestling styles here in the UK which are close but use the "back hold" rather than "belt hold".

[@adrianmcmahon5731]

Elements of it reminded me of what I've seen of Mongolian wrestling but it's unique enough to look like entirely its own thing. I like how the sparring changed a lot depending on whether it was two men, male/female or two women. The skill and interplay of power & speed was very intriguing to watch as most mixed sex martial arts get unbalanced very fast. The rule restraints obviously seem to mitigate size & weight advantages pretty well.

[@beepboop204]

similar too to Inuit wrestling more than Greco-Roman wrestling

[@vidard9863]

i think the most unique thing about it, is it is really more of a game than anything else i have seen.

[@ziloj-perezivat]

сумо

[@phaserrifle3]

It's putting me in mind of some of the local British forms of wrestling. Most notably Cornish (again, all standing, goal is to throw your opponent to the ground)

[@khajiitkitten5679]

DR JACKSON C--I WANT YOUR SWEATER! Bring a bunch back and sell them here in the states. Icelandics are the best! And yes, this is a wonderful technique! Very interesting.

[@Stephen_Curtin]

it's interesting that you questioned whether glima should be considered "wrestling" or if a something like "grappling" would be a better description. If you look at 18th and 19th century dictionaries, wrestling is usually defined by throws and takedowns, and grappling better describes the groundwork we think of today as wrestling. In the late 1800s / early 1900s Greco Roman and Catch as Catch Can became the dominant wrestling styles overtaking many old styles which, like glima, had no groundwork. This is why today most people associate the word wrestling with grappling on the ground, rather than something like glima.

[@casthedemon]

Well actually wrestling is specifically grappling applied in combat. So this is wrestling. Whereas grappling doesn't have a combative association specifically. It just means "to hook."

[@Stephen_Curtin]

@@casthedemon I'll have to disagree with you there; the word "wrestling" doesn't necessarily have to involve combat. It comes from an Old English word which meant twisting or turning. Eventually it became pretty much synonymous with words like striving / struggling, and could be applied to anything from full on combat to friendly sport to wrestling with thoughts or ideas. The point I was trying to make above however was more to do with the fact that glima is very much in line with the concept of wrestling from before the 20th.

[@Stephen_Curtin]

Also I mentioned old dictionaries in my OP to illustrate my point, but I didn't gives any examples which I should have. Here's one from Samuel Johnson's To wrestle: 1) to contend who shall throw the other down 2) to struggle; to contend This is just one I thought of off the top of my head and could find quickly, but I've come across many other examples. Notice that, as I said, wrestling is defined by throwing rather than groundwork.

[@casthedemon]

@@Stephen_Curtin wrestling comes from wrestle. Which is an old word and old concept. Wrestle comes from wrest. But they're seperate things and wrestling IS specifically about combat/sport. Also, the thinking that wrestling only means ground work is a ubiquitous definition, is flawed. For example, high school wrestling, Judo, and plenty of other arts aren't all about ground game. Much of those arts are geared towards taking your opponent to the ground, throws, etc. Plenty of people would see Glima as wrestling. Including classical wrestlers.

[@Stephen_Curtin]

@@casthedemon ok this discussion seems to be going in circles so I'll just say this. Perhaps I've communicated my point to you poorly, if so my bad, but I don't disagree with the idea that styles which concentrate on standing grappling rather than groundwork were considered "wrestling" by most people prior to fairy recent times; in fact I've argued the opposite. I was merely responding to Dr Crawford's comment about glima which questioned whether it is wrestling or not. I believe that this questioning is the result of a modern viewpoint, and that before about 1900, glima is very much inline with most people's concept of what wrestling is. Hope this clears things up.

[@Stormhawk777]

Love that my 2 favorite internet fact daddies are besties

[@cameronnorton5898]

Those ladies are strong as hell the way they can lift their opponents so high and so swiftly.

[@ysakoko]

There's tons of comparison to Sumo and Judo here in the comments, but everyone should look up Ssireum(씨름) from Korea. Its extremely similar, with the same belted grips, one around the thigh and one at the hips. There's a pretty large professional circuit in South Korea with tons of matches here on youtube to check out. I would love to see some of these guys visit South Korea for some friendly matches or vice versa.

[@benitoharrycollmann132]

It thrills and astounds me to see that the tradition of wrestling/grappling is one carried forward by almost every culture in nearly all corners of the globe. Thank you guys for sharing this specific style of such a widespread sport. It truly unites us all through our most primal human nature. The gripping of the belts almost reminds me of sumo wrestling, insofar as they grip the mawashi, or loincloth, to use for leverage.

[@remen_emperor]

Something I love about grappling and possibly wrestling is how much information you can get from your opponent's body without ever needing to see anything. I don't know about the belts, but once you have a clue of what you're doing, you can genuinely predict what your opponent is going to do purely based on feeling the tension or relaxation of muscle groups I haven't had formal grappling or wrestling training, mind you. My experience is based on job usage that I had to learn and figure out basically without training

[@elizabethford7263]

And THIS is the new thing I learned today! My world is bigger now 🌍

[@froer9877]

the closeness would only be wierd to us modern people and only those who have not grappled at all or even played sport maybe. its a common reaction to bjj and wrestling etc which fades fast as you get in to it. i have limited grappling experience but i get the game part of it. if you have something to hold on to in grappling it changes everything and you have to trick your opponent or rather catch him of guard. i found this realy interesting. We still use the word bragd in swedish. I think Feat is a good translation.

[@Cbr0749]

I have only heard "Bragd" being used as feat or deed in Faroese. had to check the dictionary, and sure enough. Bragd= feat,deed,exploit,trick,gimmick,ploy or Gambit when used in the context of chess.

[@jthompson8177]

I find this interesting in that it seems so rigid and sport based but there is a practicality to it that some modern martial arts don't have, you really won't shoot a leg or want to be on the ground or lean over in a stance in the majority of practical situations as it leaves you vulnerable. I know in military close combat they generally teach a more upright stance as the goal is to go back to the weapon or gun. I may be reading too much into it though

[@matthewlawrenson2734]

Fascinating. Judo and Aikido have parallel for me but this is very individual. Centre based! With the ability to take their mind and then centre. Internal grappling arts that are unique to Iceland. Very cool. Awesome to see this culture. Many thanks.

[@scottmacgregor3444]

Oh AWESOME. I haven't done it in a while, but I used to do Glima as part of my HEMA journey. Hopefully I can do it again before long. Good on you guys.

[@AmarothEng]

Just starting with some one handed swordfighting lessons, although I have a fair bit if experience in unarmed combat prior to that. The notion of not really seeing what the opponent does, but having to just "feel" it is a very familiar concept. The issue with combat at such close distance is that you don't get time to see what the opponent does and then react to it. That's luxury you have when you are at a distance when you need to make a step to be able to reach the opponent. At this close distance, you have to keep contact with the opponent to feel their weight, limbs or weapons shift, which, together with experience, gives you information about what they are likely to be doing next. If you can't process this information in a proactiev way, you are about to be too slow to react, as the opponents advantage (initiative) will get the better of you. It's easy to understand why a sport like this would develop out of the combat style so heavily based on large shields and very tight formations, which were very important right until the armor became good enough to be at least a semi-reliable defense against ranged weapons (and then until that ceased being the case again). The idea of "back and forth fighting" over very direct and agressive techniques sounds to me like perception skewed by flashy Hollywood scenes. Real fighting, especially armed, is very direct, to the point (no pun intended), and this clearly comes from the same spirit. The "rhytmic" movement is just a natural tempo any combat takes, if there are no arbitrary tempo-affecting rules in play, that is. Together with distance and the ability to put actual strength into the techniques, it makes the basics of any combat sytem. Jiu jitsu is a fun comparison, because that art is a very fine demonostration of "nothing seems to be happening, while everything is happening", and that is the very definition of the mastery of the biomechanics - the ability to put actual strength (of the entire body) into technicqus (while minimal effort is used and shown) I mentioned earlier.

[@semperliberi]

Props to the Icelandic people for working hard to preserve their culture.

[@onkelpappkov2666]

The most poetically waxed way to say "people do sports and so the sports are done".

[@bjarnitryggvason7866]

Now that's a farewell greeting! I've always immensely enjoyed glíma whenever I've tried it.

[@KickyFut]

Seeing Ian in a video, talking about hand-to-hand combat and melee weapons, and not even *mentioning* guns for 22 minutes is a unique and interesting thing! Great video, very informative! I find the concept of glíma a strange and uncomfortable art, but that's just because I'm more familiar with kicking and striking from much more distance.

[@thoraro]

Holy crap! Gun-Jesus in Iceland. Sadly, there was little shooting I presume. The woollies look good on both of you. Content cossover made in heaven

[@jordanjoestar9096]

I love glima tbh it's one of my favorite combat sports I wish more places taught it.

[@Wingy102]

Loving the diversification of topics and giving it a red hot go. I think the closest looking in philosophy and style to glima is Irish collar and elbow. If you are keen you can find information from "hero of a thousand holds" and "headhunterhiggins" youtube channels.

[@connorperrett9559]

Don't forget The Rambling Kern.

[@melissahdawn]

I wondered when I first started studying Glima about wresting when the ground is snowy, I like the extension of riddles and balance to maintaining a well-rounded being (meaning play chess to exercise your brain but don't neglect your body). Also, Ian mentioned the relationship to sword and axe combat, this would be a less fatal way to practice.

[@samuelemeryjiujitsu]

12:35 is such a beautiful sequence

[@bootshockley2072]

My first time seeing Glima, it would make sense this is a Scandinavian way of fighting. Many sources claim that Vikings/Scandinavian warriors liked to get buckle to buckle when fighting. They were known for their aggression like many champion boxers who like to get inside and go to work. Take someone who has become disarmed in battle, they can get in close and grab their opponent by the belt and codpiece and try for distance it would be a formative move. Not that I'm advocating Anglo-Saxon tossing as a sport.

[@TuskKult]

What an incredible and beautiful tradition! I really hope Icelanders add the fuel of their time, energy and dedication to the searing bed of embers of this combat sport we got to see here displaying their prowess. Her recovery at 11:26 from that throw was genuinely impressive, I had to re-watch that multiple times to fully take in what was happening to understand and appreciate it! The overall bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and footwork displayed here is absolutely phenomenal.

[@tanya_thivier9]

It’s not really practiced anymore. It used to be a game played by men only.

[@111flitz1111]

Fun fact, adults compete (and usually practice) on wood floors. It is a more slippery surface than the mats seen here, which really changes the dynamic of the style. The footwork therefore has to be fairly precise or else you might slip when you come back to the ground after an airborne defensive position.

[@withoutfurtheradoforever]

@Eva Dögg Jóhannsdóttir It's really beautiful to watch.

[@AllahuSnackbar270]

Looking at 11:26 and reading your comment I had an epiphany. It's fairly easy to stay up in theory, you can always anchor yourself to your opponent, who doesn't want to fall. Tiny mistakes make a huge difference.

[@cahallo5964]

@@AllahuSnackbar270 no no you'll break your fingers, don't do that.

[@DrFrankenskippy]

Good to see the Glima presentation thx. There's 'combat glima' worth a nosey too by a guy called Lars Magnar Enoksen who has some amazing vid's on youTube showing Glima in a more realistic (less sport geared) fighting grappling POV and I like the logic of how the winner is the one who gets back on his/her feet as given a battlefield situation or even modern day multiple opponent milieu ground fighting would leave you open to being stabbed or cut down.

[@Eulemunin]

Very cool. The weird look seems to me to be a training tool about timing. All the movement reminds of HEMA grappling at the sword. Especially the balance and feel from the opponent through the belt. Not unlike the feel through feders in a bind.

[@sbejoh]

this is a type of content i didn`t think i needed. i`ve been following Ian for many years.. but now i`m hooked on Jacksons channel. seen 3-4 vid so far. his content is really good. Thank u Jackson (and Ian) Greetings from Alta Norway

[@CHMichael]

They look like brothers.

[@DevonSmart]

That is a lot of fun to watch! The harness is flattering and its very elegant, a true martial art!

[@SaturnineAberrance]

Lots of comments mentioning similarities to Mongolian wrestling - also some similarities to sumo wrestling where belt grips are very important. There's no requirement that a belt grip always be maintained in sumo, though.

[@einarbolstad8150]

Best sign-off so far.

[@nicknucks661]

Judo meets Mongolian wrestling. So awesome. Badass as hell these folks are keeping this art alive.

[@flowermeerkat6827]

Very interesting. I see that men and women can face off together. It seems like it's a sport that is more about quickness than about brute strength. I love the sweaters you guys are wearing btw!

[@Ca11mero]

You can see in one of the clips that even though the big guy got a lot more strength than the girl, every time he tries to throw her, she balances forward (towards him) so he can't make the throw. Looks very interesting

[@connorperrett9559]

This appeared to be just training. I'd imagine that actual competition would have sex based divisions and probably weight based divisions as well. At my Judo club men and women do randori together, but actual competition is divided by sex, weight, and age.

[@Skoopyghost]

One of the most fun things to do is to pick up your opponent above your head. I used to do it as a kid when we praticed glíma.

[@zwinmar21]

In some ways it reminds me of a balance game we played as kids: Put a food forward opponent puts same foot touching along the outer edge (his to yours) grab the opponents hand , the same side as foot, now try to pull each other off balance, your feet cannot move.

[@irishpsalteri]

A challenge is that so many people want the martial arts to be 'practical and tactical' and not about learning what the discipline can teach you. This is fascinating. Jujitsu is a good comp.

[@ofnair]

Very interesting regarding the word drengur being such an honorific. In modern Swedish the word "dräng" just means farmhand, and afaik in Danish it means simply "boy".

[@joelmattsson9353]

Semantic drift can take you by surprise, for sure. 'Bragd' meaning 'trick' caught me off guard, but it makes a weird kind of sense

[@themanhimself1229]

@@joelmattsson9353 I think Icelandic hasn't had much linguistic drift, so that would be from y'all.

[@shaundoesnotprovideidentif3461]

Re. the "ground game" vs. "getting to ground". If you are armed and armored -grappling is a very real thing. But people aren't choking each other out on a contemporaneous battle field. You can very easily see the initial throw and that advantage being prioritized. You can close in to make the weapon irrelevant, then you can throw, and make it relevant again with you in the advantage. Now that's descended into a dance-step formalism, and no argument there. A lot of traditional martial arts have descended into a similar dance-step formalism over time. But "throw them down, stay standing" thing? I get it, I think?

[@samueljohansson2025]

The thing about the dance step thing is that in order to effectively throw someone who doesn't want to be thrown you really want them to move and time it, you can't sweep the feet when someone is standing on them for instance, that's just kicking them in the shin.

[@cahallo5964]

The thing that surprised me the most is the male to female ratio, I've never seen so many women grappling, in striking arts maybe but this is a first time.

[@nivekje]

I did this today at our HEMA club day and it was fun to learn. Easy idea of what can happen but so tricky to master.

[@erin4841]

This reminds me so much of ssireum, an ancient form of Korean grappling. Fascinating to see the similarities created unknowingly so far away from each other.

[@darlebalfoort8705]

Well, the sweaters are beautiful.

[@faramund9865]

Exactly the kind of video I was looking for, nice stuff boys!

[@magicsharkwizard4577]

Modern Icelandic glíma was basically created in the early 20th century when they outlawed lausatök and started to use tight fitting spandex making the "belt" necessary. Before that people just used their day to day clothes, which were well made at home, and for a short period they even used Judo-like uniforms. But then came the spandex fashion which hasn't left since. But glíma is also the game. Fang is the original fighting art which includes both all the fangbrögð from glíma as well as lausatök

[@johanmetreus1268]

Lausatök ? Here Enokssen must have missed something in the Viking art of combat. Where can I learn more about this and about fangbrögð?

[@jimrodarmel8512]

Sounds very similar to the invention of Judo, also early 20th century, as a safer sport alternative to jujitsu competitions that were causing a lot of serious injuries in older boys and young men.

[@jimrodarmel8512]

@@johanmetreus1268 Probably if you get in contact with a Glima team and put out feelers, some of the participants may have started investigating the roots and may put you in contact with historical resources.

[@jorenbosmans8065]

Why did this not become more popular worldwide? I did both Jujitsu and kung-fu and in both those martial arts there was love and respect for partner style dancing. I think most of the people I knew there would be over the moon to try Glima (don't have the special I) . Thanks for sharing this with the wider world. Also, I did not expect Ian here. Lovely when an unexpected crossover happens.

[@ysakoko]

You should look up Ssireum(씨름) from Korea. Its the same belt grips as you see here in Glima, and there's a fairly large professional circuit in south korea with tons of matches you can watch here on youtube. There's also mongolian bokh wrestling where instead of a belt, you grab a sleeveless jacket, but i see tons of similarities between this and glima. I love how humanity has developed these sorts of wrestling styles independently from each other.

[@Ca11mero]

I like these collaborations :) you both are fantastic! This for sure looks unique and interesting, would like to try it one day!

[@Leon-R2D2]

5:39 Wrestling is the transition from standing up to ground fighting. We do grappling at the ground fighting stage

[@geocyclist]

Glima reminds me of Shima or Tegumi: Okinawan Grappling in that you start with and must keep your hands on your opponents belt. Tegumi is missing the "dance" aspect though. Thanks for introducing me to another MA!

[@danthefrst]

What a great and well put together episode! Great thamks

[@gubjorggisladottir3525]

Thank you for introducing the "Icelandic glíma".

[@Brucesfuckinfoodreviews]

Their English is unbelievably good

[@alinapopescu872]

It looks genuinely interesting. I hope it thrives everywhere in Iceland.

[@internationalfishers2367]

Gilma: How to make someone really regret trying to dance with you. 😀

[@PoofyKittyPants]

This is the first time seeing it and I can completely see it's combat application and distillation to sport.

[@charlymicky1722]

Thank you for explaining a bit about this unique and fascinating martial art!

[@mcjon77]

I click on a wrestling video and I see Ian. My worlds have collided once again.

[@AlozarLorandul]

I find it interesting that nobody seems to have noticed the similarities between this and Sumo. That was the very first thing I thought of when I saw this. If you go watch some Sumo matches, aside from the ones that are over quickly because somebody gets thrown out of the ring, it's not uncommon for two rikishi to lock on and grapple each other with their hands on their belts and try to throw the opponent to the ground or trip them. Then if you consider that both are small, historic, cultural sports practiced predominantly only in their home country, both by "warrior" cultures... I don't know, seems pretty similar to me! You also see in Sumo a lot of rikishi of varying sizes, and no weight/height classes, just as mentioned here.

[@setc12]

Icelandic tango. The landscape behind you is stunning. Would love to paint it.

[@31_bit16]

What a crossover, I can't believe it!

[@kimbarator]

Absolutely awesome -- what a treat !! I heard of glima on my one trip to Iceland, but never imagined that 2 content-creator heroes of mine would join up to explore & demonstrate this incredible "combat waltz" tradition !! Two good sports you are !! 👍👍

[@crlkrlf4718]

Its a bout of strenght, or a duel amongst soldiers in down time. So you don't want to hurt the oponent. All of the old rules were to avoid serious injuries. This seems to be partly mordanised.

[@urdin2242]

This is the best crossover I’ve ever seen!

[@ksbrook1430]

Learn something new each day.

[@mustafaabdelwahab1478]

I did infact enjoy two historians attempting to throw each other to the ground using an ancient form of formal grappling

[@domdecoco5915]

By far the biggest crossover ever

[@philosopherboy]

Great video! Love to see the intersection of history and living practice. As an aside, I will say that "wrestling" is probably an equally valid word for this as "grappling" - based on the fact that we often use the word "wresting" to refer to a wide variety of other traditions globally. For a lot of folks in the martial arts, "wrestling" and "grappling" are relatively synonymous when detached from the specific modern traditions in the U.S. - and the way those expectations inform wrestlers internationally. Some people say "wrestling" and mean American freestyle or amateur wrestling, but even the tradition in the U.S. is so much richer than we often remember, with various folk wrestling styles that have more or less faded into obscurity (often deriving from older traditions from elsewhere or, like catch wrestling, from once popular modern styles that have lost traction in recent years). If we look at Sumo, Judo, Greco-Roman, Irish collar-and-elbow, Ssireum, Senegalese wrestling, etc. - we often see rules that are fairly idiosyncratic with some resonating similarities - like touching the ground with anything but your feet will cost you a match or limitations to what parts of the body (or clothes) you can grip. Virtually every culture has some form of wrestling and you see similar principles and techniques arise in different, wildly geographically separated regions. (Only so many ways to move the human body, after all). But as a lifelong practitioner of martial arts - I think maybe my biases make it easier for me to see the similarities and focus on them. To someone from the outside, Glima certainly feels very pretty different than the wrestling we see at the Olympics, for example.

[@bonniebailey9574]

Wow this is so cool! I love watching their feet 😮😲

[@kmarchery]

I am jealous Those are such awesome sweaters

[@andrebighach]

my man got recognized on the street in iceland, he's an iceland star, becomes a youtuber in america and gets popular in a small unfamiliar country. I really should have seen that coming though, the show is all about nordic life. I find that crazy. my assumption was that the interest in scandinavian behavior was a non-scandinavian behavior, and the people interested in it were the people to whom it was still new or novel to, as well as that in america for example, what kind of person you are, as in what older foreign group of people your body type is from has this huge effect on how you are treated, so I would expect heritage is bigger here than even for the original people themselves. it is ANCIENT scandinavia, so perhaps there is still novelty value in old norse life to modern scandinavians.

[@briansorensen5102]

Thanks Jackson for the introduction. So hard to find information, and this was so enlightening.

[@crisgroom3857]

Seems like a very honorable contest, I love it.

[@someonequiet3365]

I think one lesser known grappling style this reminded me of was tegumi, which is a folk wrestling style found in Okinawa. Also some of the leg reaps reminded me of the leg techniques seen in judo, such as osoto gari, kosoto gari, and maybe a front uchimata.

[@dr.ratatoskr6233]

I didn"t know they were brothers, i love both of their channels and never thought of it myself... That makes sense and is wonderful!

[@casualhitman]

Never done combat sports outside of SCA/EMP but wow this looks fun, almost a dance like cadence with the stepping

[@blueunicornhere]

14:16 it's not as weird if you consider a viking on a battlefield that has lost his weapon. Punching an armored opponent hurts your hands. If you are up close grabbing their armor while locking their weapon arm beneath yours he can't hit you. So it makes perfect sense in form and function.

[@OldToby53]

Interesting. Im reading Men of Terror by William Short right now and it talks of glima but in pictures. Seeing it done puts it so much more into perspective. It wasnt what I imagined.

[@inlikeflynn7238]

These are two of my favorite youtube content creators, and I had no idea that they even knew each other.

[@senordiaz1]

Pretty similar to Korean folk wrestling (ssireum) and lots of other folk wrestling. I like it

[@Correctrix]

With the focus on the belt, the grappling art it most resembles is sumo. After that, I’d say traditional Japanese jūjutsu, which incorporates standing strikes, blocks and throws, and only really works on floor-wrestling moves as a way of controlling a thrown opponent, unlike BJJ.

[@hattorihanzo2275]

My host on AirBnB took me to a KR game. He wore the same wool sweater Ian is wearing at the beginning.

[@OldieBugger]

And that nicely choreographed ending... Kudos! I had trouble stopping me laughing uncontrollably.

[@KaitenKenbu]

Mr. crawford shot finnish brutality as well? Impressive. Hope the glima injuries didn't slow you down. I want to see some footage of that.

[@PalleRasmussen]

It has been up for a month or so.

[@KaitenKenbu]

@@jameswoodard4304 I watched all of Mr. McCollum's footage, or at least I thought I had. I don't remember seeing Dr. Crawford in them guess I'll have to check again.

[@myrlstone8904]

@@KaitenKenbu Impressive, yes ! Jackson is skilled in shooting with both the rifle and pistol. He did very well for a first for him Brutality event. He and Ian collaborated on their respective channels giving in detail their experiences in Finland. Both excellent videos. As you can see here, they interact and compliment each other very well.

[@NexGenRogue]

Oh my, a surpising collab but a welcome one!