Glima
Icelandic national wrestling in a belt with straps, wrestled upright. The rules were written down by Jón Jónsson in the eighteen-eighties.
Quick Facts
IcelandCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Glima
About Glima
Glíma is the Icelandic national wrestling. According to the federation Glímusamband Íslands, it was practised already at the Althing, founded in 930, and Grettir's saga and Egil's saga describe it. Jón Jónsson wrote down the rules in 1880–1890, the club Ármann was founded in 1888 and Grettisbeltið has been contested since 1906. Glíma was an exhibition sport at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics. Wrestlers wear a belt with straps: the right hand holds the waistband from below, the left the right strap from outside. A wrestler must stand upright, and a wide stance with bent hips is forbidden. A fall occurs when the opponent's thigh, buttocks, trunk, shoulder, head or upper arm touches the ground, and the rules list eight main holds. Besides the main form, hryggspenna and lausatök are also practised. A round lasts two minutes for adults and the contest is run by three referees. Winners of the national competition Íslandsglíman hold the titles Glímukóngur and Glímudrottning Íslands. Children under 11 may compete without a belt. Jóhannes Jósefsson, who held Grettisbeltið in 1907 and 1908, wrote the first English book about glíma in 1908.
History
According to the Icelandic federation Glímusamband Íslands, glíma was practised as early as at the Althing, founded in 930, and Grettir's saga and Egil's saga describe glíma bouts. According to the federation, Jón Jónsson formalised the techniques and wrote down the rules in 1880–1890. According to the Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, a demonstration and competition took place in 1874 at the millennium celebration of Iceland's settlement, and in 1888 the glíma club Ármann was founded. Icelandic wrestlers showed glíma as an exhibition sport at the 1908 London and 1912 Stockholm Olympics. According to English Wikipedia, the first modern competition with a trouser grip was held in 1888, the belt was introduced in 1905 and Grettisbeltið was first contested in 1906.
How it differs
Glíma differs from most wrestling in its stance. Under the federation's rules a wrestler must stand upright, and a stance with bent hips and wide legs (bol) is forbidden, as is rough pressing down of the opponent (níð). According to Hurstwic, wrestlers circle clockwise at the start and between holds and do not follow the opponent to the ground.
Technique
Per the federation's 2024 rules, the right hand holds the belt's waistband from below and the left hand the right strap from outside. A fall is when the opponent's thigh, buttocks, trunk, shoulder, head or upper arm touches the ground. The rules list eight main holds, including leggjarbragð, hælkrókur, hnéhnykkur, mjaðmahnykkur and klofbragð. Besides belt glíma, hryggspenna with a back grip and lausatök with a loose grip are also practised, according to the International Council for Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG). The federation's rules omit these forms.
Training
According to the rules, children under 11 may compete without a glíma belt. The federation's website lists regular training for schoolchildren in several clubs, for example at KR in Reykjavík for children aged 6 to 14 twice a week. We have not found a training methodology from a higher-level source.
Ranks and progression
Under the 2024 rules a round lasts two minutes for wrestlers from 16 and a minute and a half for younger ones, and the final may have no time limit. The area is a square of 6×6 to 10×10 m or a circle 6 to 9 m across, with a head referee and two side referees. According to Hurstwic, national winners hold the titles Glímukóngur and Glímudrottning Íslands, and women have been allowed to compete since 1988.
Today
Iceland's federation calls glíma Viking heritage and a national sport. The 115th Íslandsglíman, the main competition, held for the first time in Búðardalur, had eight men and three women. We have not found glíma inscribed on the UNESCO list.
Did you know
Jóhannes Jósefsson held Grettisbeltið in 1907 and 1908 and wrote the first English book about glíma in 1908. According to olympics.com, he later financed Reykjavík's Hotel Borg, opened in 1930, and ran it for about thirty years. According to Hurstwic, Grettisbeltið is the oldest Icelandic trophy.
Styles & Branches
Old Icelandic strength wrestling in a clinch around the torso, in which opponents try to break each other backward. In 2024 the Iceland Open Hryggspenna tournament was held.
Old Icelandic wrestling with loose grips anywhere on the opponent's body, related to glíma. The old glíma rules banned it in glíma, and the last documented contest dates from 2007.
Frequently asked questions
What is Grettisbeltið?
The belt of the Icelandic glíma champion, first contested in 1906. According to Hurstwic, it is the oldest Icelandic trophy.
How is glíma won?
By a fall of the opponent. According to the federation's rules, it occurs when the thigh, buttocks, trunk, shoulder, head or upper arm touches the ground.
Was glíma at the Olympic Games?
As an exhibition sport. Icelandic wrestlers demonstrated it in London in 1908 and in Stockholm in 1912.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.