Irish Collar & Elbow Wrestling with Tom “The Headhunter” Higgins - Sligo Ireland 2025

Описание: We finally got the opportunity to train with Catch Wrestling top dog - Tom “The Headhunter” Higgins - and it did not disappoint.

💪 3x Catch Wrestling World Champion
🇮🇪 Pioneer of the Irish Collar & Elbow Revival
🥋 Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

Tom is brought his “Catch Wrestling” and “Collar & Elbow” expertise to Atlantic Jiu Jitsu, Sligo for a one-night-only seminar!

Tom showed world-class technique, gritty grappling insights, and a gave a deep dive into Ireland’s original wrestling roots - Iomrascáil Coiléar Agus Uille na hÉireann 🇮🇪🤼‍♂️

We were joined on the night by local historian Paul Gunning. Paul’s research focuses on the cultural and social history of traditional Irish wrestling, particularly the Collar-and-Elbow style.

In his 2016 article “Hardy Fingallians, Kildare Trippers and ‘The Divil Ye’ll Rise’ Scufflers: Wrestling in Modern Ireland”, ( https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/... )
published in Sport in Society and later included in A Social and Cultural History of Sport in Ireland, Gunning explores
how wrestling was practised, organised, and perceived within Irish communities.

His work preserves knowledge of Ireland’s native grappling traditions and challenges earlier assumptions about their decline,
offering fresh insight into how Collar-and-Elbow reflected broader patterns of Irish identity, class, and leisure.

Tom Higgins on the other hand has taken great inspiration from the work of Paul and others and gone to great lengths to bring the Irish Collar & Elbow style from the pages of history back to reality. We got to
experience a taste of that at the seminar. After countless rounds of C&E our attendees were fully immersed in the traditional sport of Irelands past. Now alive and well, performed by modern day grapplers. Foot sweeps, throws and all sorts were on display. A fantastic night for grappling and Irish culture.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh a Thomáis !!

Big thanks also to Paul who added some great historical context to the event.

Agus mile buíochas to all who supported the event!

Go n-eirí an bóthar libh🙏

RESOURCES:

Hardy Fingallians, Kildare Trippers and ‘The Divil Ye’ll Rise’ Scufflers: Wrestling in Modern Ireland”,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...

Irish Collar and Elbow Wrestling by Ruadhán Mc Fadden
https://www.fallenrookpublishing.co.u...

#CatchWrestling #CollarAndElbow #HeadhunterHiggins
#SligoGrappling #IrishWrestling #AtlanticJiuJitsu
#JiuJitsuIreland #GrapplingSeminar #IrishMartialArts
#sligo