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/@HeadhunterhigginsCúchulainn's Stone   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ClochafarmoreThe Morrígan  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_MorríganCollar 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-QH2AO3ZwNUcWdqBDa0E1RAaYN6jtO50Catch wrestling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_wrestlingBataireacht Irish Stick Fighting https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221016-bataireacht-the-ancient-irish-martial-art-making-a-comebackFraction 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-Y61kDonnybrook https://grammarist.com/interesting-words/donnybrook/My photo essay on Kusthi Wrestlers https://www.darraghmason.com/index/G0000GfXkTgiFkjg Keep in touch? https://linktr.ee/darraghmason Music by Obliqka https://soundcloud.com/obliqka