Glíma is Icelandic wrestling. Andrell Durden (top) and Edward Harris grapple for position during the All-Marine Wrestle Offs. ...

There are four points that differentiate it from other forms of wrestling:

• The opponents must always stand erect.
• The opponents step clockwise around each other (looks similar to a waltz). This is to create opportunities for offense and defense, and to prevent a stalemate.
• It is not permitted to fall down on your opponent or to push him down in a forceful manner, as it is not considered sportsman-like.
• The opponents are supposed to look across each others shoulders as much as possible because it is considered proper to wrestle by touch and feel rather than sight.

Glima comes in three forms: byxtagsglima, livtagsglima and lösatagsglima (These names are taken from Norwegian. The three styles probably have other names in Icelandic). The waltz is a dance in 3/4 time, done primarily in closed position, the commonest basic figure of which is a full turn in two measures using three steps per measure. ... Stalemate is a term that originated in chess, that is very widely used metaphorically in other situations where there is conflict or contest between two parties, such as war or political negotiations. ...

Byxtagsglima

The first version is by far the most widespread and the one typically associated with the term Glima. Indeed some would say the term Glima should be restricted to this kind and it is this version which is Icelands national sport. Historically it was also the one put in highest esteem for favourising technique over strength. It consists in the two wrestlers wearing a special belt. A fixed grip is then taken with one hand in the belt and the other in the pants at thigh height. From this position the glima-wrestler attempts to trip and throw his opponent. In this style of Glima if a wrestler is thrown he may attempt to land on his feet and his 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.

Livtagsglima

Livtagsglima is more similar to other styles of wrestling and is considered to be more a test of strenght than of technique. In Livtagsglima the opponents take hold of each others upper body. The one who touches the ground with any part of the body except the feet has lost.

Lösatagsglima

Finally there is the Lösatagsglima where the contestants may use the holds they wish. This style is a kind of recreation since it has been out of practice for a period of maybe 100 years before being taken up again within the last generation.

It is much more aggressive than, and differs in many ways from other styles of Glima. Lösatagsglima comes really 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 oneself.

Even more diverging from other Glima is Lösatagsglima trained purely for self-defence (as is done a couple of places in Scandinavia). In such training the harmful and hurtful techniques/ways of executing the techniques, that are not accepted in other forms of Glima, are explored in as free and creative a way as possible while not injuring ones training-partners.

Glima is today and has always been friendly recreation and a gentlemanssport but as the lösatags-version shows it also has a rougher side.

Glima is a very old combative style. Certain evidence of Glima dates back to the 12th century but some descriptions of wrestling in the Icelandic sagas and the Younger Edda makes it reasonable to believe that the system is much older. The core of the system is eight main bragd (techniques) but these form the basic training for approximately 50 ways to execute a throw or takedown.

The word Glima is often translated as “the game of joy”, which is a possible explanation, but it may also be related to the old word glimmer(English)/glimma(swedish)/glimre(Danish)/glimt(Norwegian) that means a flash or sudden reflection of light. In the latter case the name would be a reference to the styles (evidently) very fast techniques.

Surrounding Glima is a code of honour called Drängskap that calls for fairness, respect for and caring about the security of ones training partners.

External links

• The Gripping History of Glima
• The Icelandic Wrestling Federation (Icelandic Only)