Community Sports
Vikings of the mat: Local martial arts dojo wins gold at world glima championship
When Karri Rahkonen of Warrior Life Martial Arts in Gig Harbor discusses the Nordic martial art of glima, he emphasizes that it’s more than a fighting style. It’s a cultural handshake.
The martial art connects back to Nordic history and Viking culture. Vikings resolved both angry disputes and playful interactions in the same fashion: Wrestling their opponent to the floor via glima.
Rahkonen holds glima classes outside, both for practical purposes and out of respect for Nordic traditions. He teaches techniques that are useful for both experienced martial artists and those who are new to glima.
The main emphasis of each practice is to be safe and have fun. Rahkonen believes that it is important to take part in sports like glima to find their inner kid.
“You connect to a part of yourself that needs to be silly,” he said. “We miss it in so much of our modern day lives.”
What is glima?
Glima is sometimes referred to as Nordic folk wrestling. A match is decided when one stands over a fallen opponent without causing intentional harm. The ethos emphasize a humble winner and a gracious loser.
Warrior Life teaches Laustök, a freestyle glima echoing ancient battlefield grappling rather than the modern belt glima sport introduced in 1916.
Warrior Life Martial Arts members practice glima at Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor recently.
World competitions
But it’s not all fun and games. Warrior Life, a martial arts school since 2010, also has a competitive mindset.
The local dojo sent three competitors to the 2024 Glima World Championship, with Steven Gritton winning gold.
Warrior Life has a goal to send more competitors to Norway for the international competition in 2026. The dojo is looking for sponsors to support their competitors and send them to Europe to win more hardware.
Warrior Life hosts workshops, tournaments, plus demonstrations at local Viking themed festivals. The dojo is at 6615 38th Ave NW and the phone number is 253-509-7077. The class is scheduled for 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
Warrior Life members finish a recent practice at Skansie Brothers Park.