S2 #47 / Headhunter Higgins on reviving Irish Collar and Elbow wrestling

Today, we’re honored to have a guest who embodies the true spirit
of a warrior. Tom "The HeadHunter"
Higgins is a 2x Catch Wrestling World
Champion, a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and a
respected coach. He’s not just a competitor he's also inspiring a
whole generation of grapplers to take up the virtually lost Irish
martial art of Collar and Elbow wrestling.


Tom takes us through the world of Catch Wrestling and Collar and
Elbow and talks to how his practice influenced his spirituality
including an incredible mystical experiences at Clochafarmore,
the place where Cuchulainn is said to have made his last
stand.
We get into Irish stick fighting, the history of fraction fights
and my time with shooting an essay with Kusthi wrestlers in New
Delhi.
Enjoy!
Show notes:
https://www.instagram.com/headhunterhiggins/
https://www.instagram.com/wrestling_wars/ 
https://www.youtube.com/@Headhunterhiggins
Cúchulainn's
Stone   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clochafarmore

The Morrígan
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morrígan
Collar and Elbow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collar-and-elbow 
Tom's Collar and Elbow playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huYz3jyAYac&list=PL-QH2AO3ZwNUcWdqBDa0E1RAaYN6jtO50

Catch wrestling
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_wrestling
Bataireacht Irish Stick Fighting
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221016-bataireacht-the-ancient-irish-martial-art-making-a-comeback

Fraction Fighting
https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Folklife-Collections/Folklife-Collections-List-(1)

Video on Fraction fighting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsznbC-Y61k
Donnybrook
https://grammarist.com/interesting-words/donnybrook/
My photo essay on Kusthi Wrestlers
https://www.darraghmason.com/index/G0000GfXkTgiFkjg





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