Glima wrestling |
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| Focus | Grappling |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Full-contact |
| Country of origin | Scandinavia |
| Creator | Unknown |
Glíma is the Icelandic national style of folk wrestling.
There are four points that differentiate it from other forms of wrestling:
The core of the system are eight main brögð (techniques), which form the basic training for approximately 50 ways to execute a throw or takedown.
Surrounding glima is a code of honour called drengskapur that calls for fairness, respect for and caring about the security of one's training partners.
The word glíma is the Icelandic term for "wrestling" in general. The same word has also a wider meaning of "struggle".
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The first version is by far the most widespread and the one typically associated with the term glima. Indeed, most people would say the term should be restricted to this kind only, and it is this version which is Iceland's national sport. Historically it was also the one put in highest esteem for favoring technique over strength. Each of the two wrestlers wears a special belt around the waist and separate, additional belts on the lower thighs of each leg, which connect to the main belt with vertical straps. A fixed grip is then taken with one hand in the belt and the other in the trousers at thigh height. From this position the glima-wrestler attempts to trip and throw his opponent. In this style of glima, a thrown wrestler may attempt to land on his feet and hands and if he succeeds in doing so he has not lost the fall. The winning condition in this type of glima is to make the opponent touch the ground with an area of the body between the elbow and the knee.
Glíma is different from all other ethnic grips in three ways:
Upprétt staða
Pursuers shall remain upright. The positioning in many of the ethnic grips sports often resembles a setsquare but in Glíma that is called ousting or “bol” and is banned.
Stígandinn
Glíma involves steps, which involves contestants stepping forth and back like they are dancing in a clockwise motion. Stígandi is one of the characteristics of Glíma and designed to avoid a standstill and create opportunities for offence and attack.
Níð
It is forbidden in Glíma to tail your opponent to the floor or push your opponent down with force. That is considered to be unsportsmanlike and opposing the nature of Glíma as a sport for honorable sportsmen and women. Glíma sportsman or a sportswoman shall conquer his opponent with a Glíma grip so well implemented that it suffices in a “bylta”, which forces your opponent to fall to the ground without any further action. The concept “níð” does not exist in other ethnic grip sports.
Every year the best Glíma sportsmen and women compete for victory in the Íslandsglíma tournament. There they compete for the trophy “Grettisbelti”, which is the oldest and most prestigious trophy in Iceland. The Íslandsglíma first took place in Akureyri in the year of 1906 and the winner of the tournament is awarded with the Grettisbelti trophy and the title “Icelandic King of Glíma”. In the past decade women have also participated in the sport with good results. Their big tournament is called “Freyjuglíma” and the winner is crowned as the queen of Glíma.
Hryggspenna is more similar to other styles of wrestling and is considered to be more a test of strength than of technique. In Hryggspenna the opponents take hold of each other's upper body; whoever touches the ground with any part of the body except the feet has lost.
In Lausatök (loose-grip wrestling) the contestants may use the holds they wish. This style is a kind of reconstruction since it was out of practice for a period of about 100 years before being taken up again recently, within the last generation.
It is much more aggressive and differs in many ways from other styles of Icelandic wrestling. Lausatök comes in two forms: A version for self-defence and a version for friendly competition. In either all kinds of wrestling techniques are allowed but in the friendly version they are still taught to be executed in a way so they won’t cause the opponent injury. In such a friendly match the winner is considered the one who is standing tall while the other is lying on the ground. This means that if both the opponents fall to the ground together the match will continue on the ground by the use of techniques to keep the other down while getting up.
Even more divergent from other forms of Icelandic wrestling is lausatök when trained purely for self-defence (as is done a couple of places in Scandinavia). In such training the harmful and hurtful techniques or ways of executing the techniques, that are not accepted in other forms of Icelandic wrestling, are explored in as free and creative a way as possible while not injuring one's training-partners. Lausatök is one of the influences in creating the European martial art of Runa Glima which includes the Single Ringed Stick, Double Ringed Stick, Triple Ringed Staff and knife. The historical runes in a psychological combat context are also a part of study where as Glima practitioners are known to use Icelandic magical staves.
The International Glima Association (IGA) is the global organisation uniting all people and groups interested in Glima.
The current president of IGA is Orri Bjornsson from Iceland.
The Viking Glima Federation (VGF) is the international organisation that deals with Glima as a Martial Art. The current president and chief instructor of VGF is Lars Magnar Enoksen from Sweden.
The most prominent prize in Glima has always been the Grettisbelti. The winner has for decades been called Glímukóngur "the Glima king". This is the Icelandic open in Glima and has always drawn the best wrestlers of each era. Below is a list of the winners the years they won and the club they competed for.
Glimakings of Iceland
| Year | Glimaking | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | Ólafur Valdimarsson | UMFA |
| 1906 | Ólafur Valdimarsson | UMFA |
| 1907 | Jóhannes Jósefsson | UMFA |
| 1908 | Jóhannes Jósefsson | UMFA |
| 1909 | Guðmundur A. Stefánsson | Ármann |
| 1910 | Sigurjón Pétursson | Ármann |
| 1911 | Sigurjón Pétursson | Ármann |
| 1912 | Sigurjón Pétursson | Ármann |
| 1913 | Sigurjón Pétursson | Ármann |
| 1919 | Tryggvi Gunnarsson | Ármann |
| 1920 | Tryggvi Gunnarsson | Ármann |
| 1921 | Hermann Jónasson | Ármann |
| 1922 | Sigurður Greipsson | Umf. Bisk |
| 1923 | Sigurður Greipsson | Umf. Bisk |
| 1924 | Sigurður Greipsson | Umf. Bisk |
| 1925 | Sigurður Greipsson | Umf. Bisk |
| 1926 | Sigurður Greipsson | Umf. Bisk |
| 1927 | Þorgeir Jónsson | Stefni |
| 1928 | Þorgeir Jónsson | Stefni |
| 1929 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1930 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1931 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1932 | Lárus Salómonsson | Ármann |
| 1933 | Lárus Salómonsson | Ármann |
| 1934 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1935 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1936 | Sigurður Thorarensen | Ármann |
| 1937 | Skúli Þorleifsson | Ármann |
| 1938 | Lárus Salómonsson | Ármann |
| 1939 | Ingimundur Guðmundsson | Ármann |
| 1940 | Ingimundur Guðmundssson | Ármann |
| 1941 | Kjartan Bergm. Guðjónsson | Ármann |
| 1942 | Kristmundur J Sigurðsson | Ármann |
| 1943 | Guðmundur Ágústsson | Umf. Vöku |
| 1944 | Guðmundur Ágústsson | Ármann |
| 1945 | Guðmundur Ágústsson | Ármann |
| 1946 | Guðmundur Ágústsson | Ármann |
| 1947 | Guðmundur Ágústsson | Ármann |
| 1948 | Guðmundur Guðmundsson | Ármann |
| 1949 | Guðmundur Guðmundsson | Ármann |
| 1950 | Rúnar Guðmundsson | Umf. Vöku |
| 1951 | Rúnar Guðmundsson | Ármann |
| 1952 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1953 | Rúnar Guðmundsson | Ármann |
| 1954 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1955 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1956 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1957 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1958 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1959 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1960 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. R |
| 1961 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1962 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1963 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1964 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1965 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1966 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1967 | Ármann J Lárusson | Umf. Breiðablik |
| 1968 | Sigtryggur Sigurðsson | KR |
| 1969 | Sveinn Guðmundsson | HSH |
| 1970 | Sigtryggur Sigurðsson | KR |
| 1971 | Sigtryggur Sigurðsson | KR |
| 1972 | Jón E Unndórsson | KR |
| 1973 | Jón E Unndórsson | KR |
| 1974 | Hjálmur Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 1975 | Pétur V Yngvason | Umf. Víkverja |
| 1976 | Ingi Þór Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1977 | Ingi Þór Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1978 | Ómar Úlfarsson | KR |
| 1979 | Ingi Þór Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1980 | Pétur V Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1981 | Ingi Þór Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1982 | Pétur V Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1983 | Eyþór Pétursson | HSÞ |
| 1984 | Pétur V Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1985 | Ólafur H Ólafsson | KR |
| 1986 | Ólafur H Ólafsson | KR |
| 1987 | Eyþór Pétursson | HSÞ |
| 1988 | Pétur V Yngvason | HSÞ |
| 1989 | Ólafur H Ólafsson | KR |
| 1990 | Ólafur H Ólafsson | KR |
| 1991 | Ólafur H Ólafsson | KR |
| 1992 | Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson | HSK |
| 1993 | Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson | HSK |
| 1994 | Orri Björnsson | KR |
| 1995 | Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson | HSK |
| 1996 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Ármann |
| 1997 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 1998 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 1999 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 2000 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 2001 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 2002 | Ingibergur Jón Sigurðsson | Umf. Víkverja |
| 2003 | Ólafur Oddur Sigurðsson | HSK |
| 2004 | Pétur Eyþórsson | Víkverja |
| 2005 | Pétur Eyþórsson | KR |
| 2006 | Jón Birgir Valsson | KR |
| 2007 | Pétur Eyþórsson | KR |
| 2008 | Pétur Þórir Gunnarsson | HSÞ |
| 2009 | Pétur Eyþórsson | KR |
| 2010 | Pétur Eyþórsson | Ármann |
The first world championship in Glima and Hryggspenna was held in Roskilde, Denmark in August 2008. The list of medal winners is below.
Glíma
Men, +100 kg
1. Orri Björnsson, Iceland 4 points
2. Sindri Freyr Jónsson, Iceland 3 points
3. Eduard Mihailov, Estonia 1+2 points
Men, -100 kg
1. Pétur Þórir Gunnarsson, Iceland 6 points
2. Jón Smári Eyþórsson, Iceland 5 points
3. Brynjólfur Örn Rúnarsson, Iceland 3,5 points
Men, -90 kg
1. Pétur Eyþórsson, Iceland 5,5+1 points
2. Ólafur Oddur Sigurðsson, Iceland 5,5+0 points
3. Hreinn Heiðar Jóhannsson, Iceland 4 points
Men, -81 kg
1. Snær Seljan Þóroddsson, Iceland 5 points
2. Bjarni Þór Gunnarsson, Iceland 4 points
3. David Lundholm, Sweden 3 points
Men, -73 kg
1. Óðinn Þór Kjartansson, Iceland 4 points
2. Aleksejs Kurilovs, Latvia 3,5+1 points
3. Steinar Bjarki Marínósson, Iceland 3,5+0 points
Men, -66 kg
1. Halldór Óli Kjartansson, Iceland 4,5 points
2. Magnús Bjarki Snæbjörnsson, Iceland 4 points
3. Júlíus Gunnar Björnsson, Iceland 2,5+1 points
Women, open category
1. Jóhanna Guðrún Magnúsdóttir, Iceland 3 points
2. Guðrún Heiður Skúladóttir, Iceland 2 points
3. Laufey Frímansdóttir, Iceland 1 point
Hryggspenna
Men, +100 kg
1. Eduard Mihailov, Estonia
2. Christian Bartel, Germany
3. Orri Björnsson, Iceland
Men, -100 kg
1. Zbignevs Romanovskis, Latvia
2. Jón Smári Eyþórsson, Iceland
3. Brynjólfur Örn Rúnarsson, Iceland
Men, -90 kg
1. Pétur Eyþórsson, Iceland
2. Ólafur Oddur Sigurðsson, Iceland
3. Andress Kools, Netherlands
Men, -81 kg
1. Vjaceslavs Masloboevs, Latvia
2. Bjarni Þór Gunnarsson, Iceland
3. Snær Seljan Þóroddsson, Iceland
Men, -73 kg
1. Aleksejs Kurilovs, Latvia
2. Óðinn Þór Kjartansson, Iceland
3. John Jozen, Netherlands
Men, -66 kg
1. Halldór Óli Kjartansson, Iceland
2. Benjamin Werth, Germany
3. Magnús Bjarki Snæbjörnsson, Iceland
Women
1. Jóhanna Guðrún Magnúsdóttir, Iceland
2. Laufey Frímansdóttir, Iceland
3. Ashley Leyten, Netherlands
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