What are the REAL Viking Martial Arts?

How did the Viking REALLY fight? There is a lot of myth and lore surrounding these historical warriors, but how do we know what is true? Today we have special guests, Dr. William Short and Reynir Óskarson with the organization "Hurstwic". They are sharing decades long studies of Viking weapons, application, material construction, and decoding exactly how the Viking engaged in Martial Arts. This video will challenge everything you know about real Viking combat!
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[@WireHedd]

Had to chuckle at the "grappling on ice" segment since here in Canada that's just called Hockey. LOL

[@Lumos89]

never expected that you would talk about my favorite medieval manuscript.

[@thehermit761]

chewing on their shields LOL XD

[@MarineA109]

Awesome episode!

[@samowens3]

As always great show Mr.Dan love what you do . Also glad you represent the Kenpo community so well . Ty for being a leader in Kenpo community.

[@ThePatience404]

Been looking forward to this episode since I heard about it. I love the metallurgy as well. The concepts covered on hand to hand combat were fascinating. Never thought of fighting on ice, break falls would have to be on point. What was your favorite part of doing this episode?

[@ArtofOneDojo]

My favorite part honestly was in the discussion when I asked them questions thinking I'd get an explanation (like the hand to hand combat) and getting a fully different answer than I expected, and learning that they DIDN'T do a lot of what I thought they did. I also really enjoyed the aspect of elevating the sparring to more realistic levels. Breaking weapons, environmental fighting, simulating raids, etc. It gives me ideas on how to elevate my own sparring.

[@christophervelez1561]

Welcome back! I was worried I had been unsubscribed! This looks like a fascinating topic.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

Thanks! It's been a combination of analyzing our metrics and planning out new videos, a hectic work scheduled that limited my time to work on episodes, and a week an a half long bout of bronchitis. We didn't stop, just got snagged up schedule-wise. More stuff is coming!

[@christophervelez1561]

@@ArtofOneDojo no worries health comes first! Plus the quality of your work is always worth the wait. I'm excited for the content coming down the pipeline!

[@strikingmachine2975]

great video. thank you for your research and your presentation..

[@desertdan100]

I am a Scandinavian American. My family came from Gotland. They passed down our culture from generation to generation and we had a Viking martial art that was passed down from generation to generation from male member to male member usually from Uncle to nephew so that it had a different impact and respect engrained in it. As soon as it was mentioned that they were interested in if Vikings threw punches , I perked up. I can answer that question from my own teaching. No They Did Not ! I can explain why. They believed that your hands were precious and were tools not weapons. There is a fist strike but it uses the heel or bottom side of a tightly closed fist as if swinging a hammer. Imagine pounding on a table top with a closed fist and striking the surface with the meaty part of the bottom of your fist. The reason behind this thought process is that you do not want to break the bones in your hand and have your hand become useless. It could cost you your life or your usefulness to those around you. So, no they did not punch with their fist if they knew how to fight well.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

That's awesome! Thank you so much for posting this and shedding more light. I am going to pass this on to the Hurstwic guys :)

[@curseoffenrir]

It makes sense that the Vikings would not use fists to throw strikes, there are even modern militaries that teach not to use hand strikes because your opponent has armor and gear, hard contact points on your opponent are even worse for your hands. In a regulated fight, the fighters are stripped down so that you are only striking flesh and even then specialized hand protection is often worn. Imagine striking metal armor or a scabbard and what it could do to your hand, where a modern soldier has magazines, canteens ect. All these items that have no give would be terrible to punch and even if you won that engagement, could take you out of the next fight.

[@fourscorpio]

This was a fascinating look into the Vikings and their combat arts, Dan. Thanks!

[@TheLegomez]

Extremely well produced video! Very interesting 🤔. I like how they did in real historic in situ of how Vikings actually lived and how it would effect their fighting style and way of thinking!

[@ArtofOneDojo]

Thank you!

[@DrFrankenskippy]

Thx great production really enjoyed it and fun to see the visual blue prints alongsdie discussion conveyinig the steps taken thus far on this historical cultural journey of discovery. ... there's one request I have for the practiotioners and that is a minor pt but nonetheless important when it comes to axe and spear fighting i.e. the vikings would never swinig an axe or thrust a spear with a 'FIXED' grip, they would always 'SLIDE' the leading hand down the haft which produces far more momentum, smooth motion and allows you to retain correct balanced body alignment which was all important in a fast milieu. Also, you rightly express the importance of 'MINDSET' although another important pt is the mindset over the opponent regards to psyche (out psyching the opppnent) and how that relates to the 'lines' that govern the dominance i.e. the winner is often the person with the better 'line' rather than just speed and force and endurance. Also 'power' is overweighed regards to importance here. Power means nothing sans mindset and dominance of the 'lines' ... the lines of the 'orlog' and the 'runes' that govern the qualitative shape and form of techniques applied. ... and to truly fight at the highest level, both IQ and EQ come into play i.e. emotional intelligence was very much a factor ... the Japanese Samurai used the word 'Mushin' (flow state) which cannot be entered into via logic and straight laced strategy. The flow state of the most elite warrios would vary especially the altered states of bärsärkare and Úlfhéðnar.

[@TenchiBushi]

Any culture that has a standing army, warrior tradition has a martial art.

[@wildwaymartialarts]

If they haven't already, these guys need to talk to Antony Cummins. He's doing something similar with Natori Ryu

[@peterhughes8319]

Thank you I'm a descendant of Rollo gradon his younger brother was Rurik the Rus or Roda because of his red hair also of the vaeringjar or varjager or varangian clan the de vere.sir Winston Churchill was part de vere read about him indeed a fierce Norman warrior.rurik was born in frisia dachia around 800 Rollo or ganger hrolf born also around 800 vikingar king of normans being largely Danske their father was halfdan his father was ragnar.thank you for your study of our fighting ways but as you know Rurik and his Normans founded roslagen then the scythians of the east invited the Normans to rule and founded novgorod then Ivar ruriks son moved the Normans to Kiev his son was sviatoscalva then came the Rus bogatyr and the ways of their fighting their systems.the from Saka another name of sarmatians scythians or kimmerians you get kasak or Cossack also part Kievan normans

[@tommartin1223]

There is a glima wrestling I've heard of

[@dereksmith6097]

I would think that researching Viking combat is like researching Ninja combat. Lots of Ninja schools out here but are the techniques really what were used?

[@AlexPanther]

You might want to take a look at the research done by Anthony Cummins. He has a KZbin channel and quite a extensive list of publications. He's researching the history of the Ninja for more than 20 years by now and is one of the leading researchers on that topic. Just as the vikings, the ninja have been heavily distorted by myth making and modern misconceptions. It's quite a interesting field of history.

[@williamsontrent2381]

This was great. Could we get a video on Catch as Catch Can!?

[@Dante-fk3ku]

Is Ameri Do Te based on the Vikings arts??? Maybe that’s where Master Ken gets his inspiration from. Lol Great video Sir. Thank you.

[@Wanwan-mq3jw]

Maybe He found a hidden script in the forest

[@Shadowman9348]

I'm proud of my ancestry, this was great! ✊🥋🇳🇴

[@Zack1440]

👍🏽

[@TheMrBastress]

All weapons based systems have open hand techniques, meaning what you can do with a weapon you would be able to do open hand with slight changes. Also with all do respect I find it really hard to believe that Norsemen would only use weapons in a fight or rather only train in weapons for fighting. What happens if they get disarmed and can still fight, do they just give up; I highly doubt it.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

"What happens if they get disarmed and can still fight, do they just give up" It was never said in this discussion that there was no unarmed or empty hand combat training. They relied heavily on grappling, but there isn't much evidence to suggest they trained in punching or striking with empty hands. Most of the Viking weapons, battle axe, throwing a shield, swords, spears...don't really have open hand versions of those attacks. Weapons were primary and if they didn't have a weapon, then they grappled and threw their opponent to the ground as quickly as possible and then finished them off. What they are saying here is that there so far is no evidence, mention, or suggestion that the Vikings trained in punches, kicks, strikes, like we would in more contemporary arts today. Empty hand strikes would of course most likely have been used in desperate situations, but it wasn't a goal.

[@TheMrBastress]

I'm going to respectfully agree to disagree. I feel any comment I make will pretty much sound argumentative and I don't want that. I respect you, your channel and all that you put out. You have really good content and look forward to seeing more.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

I respect that, but I felt it was clear to make the distinction because it felt you getting the message that the Vikings never fought without weapons. They did fight unarmed, but it wasn't likely with boxing or hand strikes like you'd see today. At least that is what the research is suggesting. If you have other sources to look at or consider we'll happily take a look at them. I think the reasoning makes sense. A viking with a broken hand won't be able to use a shield, sword, spear, or axe, so it would make sense to avoid tactics that would likely break a hand.

[@SirTallstone]

​@@ArtofOneDojo I think the only problem with that reasoning is, from my understanding, no other culture whatsoever does the same. We know they relied more heavily on grappling, but it's a bit erroneous to assume that they didn't use unarmed strikes solely on the fact that they wore armor. That doesn't make much sense.

[@bobbyoakes2378]

I know you have videos on other internal styles, but do you have videos on Taichi? The movies and even styles i've studied love the internal stuff like Chi or Fa jin. I do believe this is a real thing because i can focus energy and i can generate heat in my hands. That said It is NOT what it is in the movies. It's not a mystical thing. In fact one translation of Chi in original text translates to oxygen. My instructor frequently stated Chi follows the blood. Well oxygen does follow the blood. I would also like to know your thoughts on say Taichi as opposed to yoga. I like it and i use both. There is a modern trend that the meditation and focus is NOT a key part of the arts anymore and I was curious as to why. Thanks.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

We are in the process of looking at some TaiChi topics. We're consulting with a good friend who's an authority on it and putting together some episode ideas. Not sure which topics we'll tackle first, but TaiChi is part of the plan :)

[@bobbyoakes2378]

@@ArtofOneDojo Awesome good to know thanks.

[@tonymontana3949]

Glima

[@ArtofOneDojo]

Glima is part of it yes. It's the hand to hand combat.

[@tonymontana3949]

​@@ArtofOneDojoI want see more video with American Kenpo sparring and if you can for Kajukenbo

[@CookieScoops]

This is what happens when a group of people who have no idea how to fight try to recreate an ancient methodology. There are many family styles of Nordic and Gaelic martial arts with a lineage to the Viking Age that continue to exist, and they look very different to the cosplay these guys are doing. A deceptive/jabbing type strike is something the Vikings wouldn't do?? Bullshit. The Norseman were highly skilled in Guerrilla-like warfare and deceptive tactics in order to successfully raid more advanced forces, they were not meatheads who only used power strikes. You guys are recreating an idea, not the actual thing. Even modern Icelandic Glima is a sport, not the survival wrestling that would've been necessary back then. There are so many sources of information and yet you choose to conduct stupid tests instead of learning from actual inheritors of Nordic arts. Nothing but a Viking recreation fan club. I'm sorry, but if someone looked outside and saw you guys fighting, they would not think "oh wow, this is how Vikings fought", they would think its people recreating their dungeons and dragons session or cosplaying as their favourite lord of the rings character. This is an insult to the dead.

[@ArtofOneDojo]

And yet scholars and museums are acknowledging and recognizing their work to the point of updating exhibits. This group has put in EXTENSIVE research in this project. You're judging based on how you choose to interpret their combat footage but have you actually read any of their publications or research findings?