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Wrestling is nothing new a sport but it has been going on since a long way. The first match was recorded at the Olympics in 708 BC. Wrestling had a special significance which was a type of exercise done without weapons carried out by military people. There are two recognized versions of wrestling: Orthia pale: The objective of this wrestling type is to beat the opponent by throwing him on the ground. If the opponent falls on the ground for three times then he is declared a loser. The match has no time limit and continues till any one wins and declared "triakter" (winner). Kato pale: In this type of wrestling the winner is declared by raising up the right hand and the index finger pointing upwards. Here also the wrestling does not end until one of the person is defeated.
Rules: No blows and biting were allowed. However tripping did not raise any kinds of objection. The place for the competition to be held was a muddy place or "keroma". The wrestlers were dipped with olive oil and some powder in order to promote a tight grip. There were some characteristics like quickness, craft and skill which certified a good wrestler. In Olympics, there was no consideration for weight hence a wrestler was required to posses a strong and stout body for wrestling.
Glima Glima was a kind of sport that gained popularity during the Viking age. The game was called wrestling as it was allowed to hit or kick a person. Just like in Sumo here the wrestlers also used special belts for a strong grip which was in the trousers. The wrestlers were required to bring their opponent down by exercising certain tricks. As soon as any of the wrestler fell down the game came to an end with the declaration of the winner. Today, Iceland maintains Glima as its national sport. But it has lost its identity in most of the Scandinavian countries. This happened because of the priests living in the Viking age, probably towards the end. They considered Glima as a non-Christian activity. But the people in Iceland never agreed to this and instead considered it an activity for improving discipline and morale. There is no restriction of gender or age in wrestling. The people of Iceland have in print about a match that took place between a man and a woman. The match had no end result. Rules of Glima: Glima requires the wrestlers to never make an eye contact between them. They were allowed to wrestle only by the sense of feeling and touch. Once the wrestlers have settled and took their position they start playing out their tricks on the signal. The tricks include making the opponent lose balance and try to trip him so that he falls down and tasting defeat. This type of wrestling is all about skill and presence of mind. One has to use his craft and skill to swing the opponent into the air and prevent him from standing on his feet and instead make him touch the ground with a part of his upper body. |