The Viking therapy club - Where men fight their demons

[JustJohn or JJ]

The Viking therapy club
Where men fight their demons
By Dougal Shaw
7 October 2017



It looks like the set of Game of Thrones. Wolin in Poland hosts one of the world’s largest gatherings of Viking enthusiasts each year.

Hundreds come to recreate Viking culture - and take part in fierce, competitive battles. Many are drawn by a passion for history. But, for a significant number, it’s a way of escaping their past - a past scarred by violence.

The Viking scene attracts people who are combat veterans, former football hooligans, and others struggling to come to terms with violence.

It also seems to appeal to men who have lost direction in their lives, and are looking for a sense of purpose.

Four members of the international group called the Jomsborg Vikings, which is about 2,000 strong, explain what draws them to the Viking world, and how it has changed their lives.

For more go here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/viking_club_where_men_fight_their_demons

[karl]

J.J.

I was not aware of interest in Vikings, but why not? My self? I have no defense against what these fellows are doing or for the reasons they hold dear. As children, we Frisians {Dansk Frisian} conducted amongst our selves very simular except we did not have swords. But, we made our shields from scrap metal, and our heavy wooden clubs from the scrap heaps the Brits left from their left overs. We would use old blankets or burlap sacks as padding and beat the dickens out of the oppositions shields with a great deal of noise and groans.

The one thing we did not do,, was mess with any witch symbols for sorcery is never out of style and it is not good to mess with things we do not understand.

Karl