Started wrestling training...

[leonp1981]

Tonight I had my first wrestling training session, and I am sore as hell.  I must admit, I was pretty nervous beforehand, but it went fine and I actually really enjoyed it.  They started by going through a few basic moves, and how to fall correctly, and then me and another newbie had 10 minutes to come up with a short match, which I lost.  

Then there was an elimination match with everyone, two in the ring at a time.  This was to get us used to working off the top of your head, and with random people at the same time.

All in all, it was good fun.  Although I don't know if I'll be saying that tomorrow!

[Montague]

Damn…
They teach you a back bump, how to lock up, and then want you to put together a match?

Sounds good, though.
Keep us posted.

Good luck!

[leonp1981]

Damn…
They teach you a back bump, how to lock up, and then want you to put together a match?

Sounds good, though.
Keep us posted.

Good luck!

Yeah, front bump, back bump, lock up, arm lock, couple of ways out of the arm lock.  Everything else was kinda improvised.  I think I did alright, I got beat when I went for a crossbody, but the other guy caught me and did a World's Strongest Slam on me.   

It's weird though, I've just watched Breaking Point from last night, and I saw everything in a completely different way.  Each time they did a move/sequence, I was thinking, hmm... could I do that, how could I fit that into a match...  It was weird.

[The Showstoppa]

Yeah, front bump, back bump, lock up, arm lock, couple of ways out of the arm lock.  Everything else was kinda improvised.  I think I did alright, I got beat when I went for a crossbody, but the other guy caught me and did a World's Strongest Slam on me.   

It's weird though, I've just watched Breaking Point from last night, and I saw everything in a completely different way.  Each time they did a move/sequence, I was thinking, hmm... could I do that, how could I fit that into a match...  It was weird.

Very cool leon.  It would be cool if you kept a video log of your progress.  Believe me, when you are old and broken down, it will be fun to look back on.

[Montague]

I trust they informed you that the “softest” part of the ring is in the middle?
Try to aim for that area when taking harder bumps.

Hopefully they have a decent wrestling ring for you guys to practice in, and not a fukking boxing ring, which is significantly harder.

[flexingtonsteele]

where is this school that ur going to?

thats VERY uncommon to do a "match" ur first day of training.

usually its just back bump and front bumps at the most! maybe running the ropes too.

[leonp1981]

Very cool leon.  It would be cool if you kept a video log of your progress.  Believe me, when you are old and broken down, it will be fun to look back on.

My gf was asking me to take some pictures as well.  I might take a camera along next week and get some pics.

[leonp1981]

I trust they informed you that the “softest” part of the ring is in the middle?
Try to aim for that area when taking harder bumps.

Hopefully they have a decent wrestling ring for you guys to practice in, and not a fukking boxing ring, which is significantly harder.

Yeah, they did, the slam that finished me off was in the centre luckily.

I think it's a wrestling ring?  It's a massive metal frame (which we had to set up first!) with 1 inch sheets of plywood, then some foam sheets, then two canvas covers on top.  It seemed alright, and the bumps didn't seem to hurt as much as I was expecting them to.

[leonp1981]

where is this school that ur going to?

thats VERY uncommon to do a "match" ur first day of training.

usually its just back bump and front bumps at the most! maybe running the ropes too.

It's just a small franchised company I think.  They've got a website somewhere, I'll try and find out what it is. 

We all had to run the ropes / bumps as a warm-up, then it was straight into learning some moves.  I'm a very impatient person anyway, so I wanted to get right in there.  My only worry was planning the match out, cos I'm quite an organised person, I'd have preferred to have it sorted beforehand.  But in the end one of the other guys called the first few sequences for us, then let us do the second half ourselves.

[flexingtonsteele]

It's just a small franchised company I think.  They've got a website somewhere, I'll try and find out what it is. 

We all had to run the ropes / bumps as a warm-up, then it was straight into learning some moves.  I'm a very impatient person anyway, so I wanted to get right in there.  My only worry was planning the match out, cos I'm quite an organised person, I'd have preferred to have it sorted beforehand.  But in the end one of the other guys called the first few sequences for us, then let us do the second half ourselves.

make sure its a reputable school bro, if no one from there has done anything in the business, dont go there!

good luck!!

[leonp1981]

make sure its a reputable school bro, if no one from there has done anything in the business, dont go there!

good luck!!

It's tricky to use that theory over here, cos anyone who makes it in this business ends up in America!  The guy who runs the place has wrestled all over, someone said he'd had a match against Jake Roberts once, but that was probably in some indy show somewhere in the UK.

[Montague]

someone said he'd had a match against Jake Roberts once...

 

[UPINTHEMGUTS]

It's tricky to use that theory over here, cos anyone who makes it in this business ends up in America!  The guy who runs the place has wrestled all over, someone said he'd had a match against Jake Roberts once, but that was probably in some indy show somewhere in the UK.

Good luck, bro. Hope you can make something of a career out of it. Always was a childhood fantasy of mine to become a professional wrestler. Never tried to do it, though.

I know you post on Getbig a lot but how big a guy are you? Height? Weight?

[leonp1981]

I know!  But we don't get many big stars doing the circuits over here.  Usually just former WWE rejects or has beens.  Apparently Doug Basham does the occasional show for these guys as well!  Star power right there.

[leonp1981]

Good luck, bro. Hope you can make something of a career out of it. Always was a childhood fantasy of mine to become a professional wrestler. Never tried to do it, though.

I know you post on Getbig a lot but how big a guy are you? Height? Weight?

It's never gonna be a career for me.  It's something I've started doing for fun really, I'd like to be able to do a few local shows here and there, but nothing more.  I've got a family to support and £10-£20 for a show doesn't go very far.

I'm only a small guy, 5' 9" 175lbs without visible abs... 

[Montague]

I know!  But we don't get many big stars doing the circuits over here.  Usually just former WWE rejects or has beens.  Apparently Doug Basham does the occasional show for these guys as well!  Star power right there.

I wasn’t laughing at you or your trainers, brother.
What you’re doing takes a lot of skill & guts.

That one post just reminded me of a guy I knew who trained under Dominic Denucci at the same time Mick Foley & Shane Douglas were there.

I think afterwards he only wrestled locally, part-time for a year or so. He never even became a jobber for Fed squash matches.

But he always tells people that he “worked” with Mankind & “The Franchise.”
While omitting information regarding the capacity of his “work,” he’s telling the truth, but you can see how misleading that statement can be.
He’s a nice guy anyway, and certainly not the only one to talk like that.
 

[leonp1981]

I wasn’t laughing at you or your trainers, brother.
What you’re doing takes a lot of skill & guts.

That one post just reminded me of a guy I knew who trained under Dominic Denucci at the same time Mick Foley & Shane Douglas were there.

I think afterwards he only wrestled locally, part-time for a year or so. He never even became a jobber for Fed squash matches.

But he always tells people that he “worked” with Mankind & “The Franchise.”
While omitting information regarding the capacity of his “work,” he’s telling the truth, but you can see how misleading that statement can be.
He’s a nice guy anyway, and certainly not the only one to talk like that.
 

I gotta admit I laughed myself when someone mentioned it.  I couldn't help wondering what state Roberts was in during the match.

[leonp1981]

Just to update, today is the first day I have full movement back in my neck!  The muscles down the front of my throat were so sore, I had trouble tilting my head just to drink!  But it's gone now, and I figure it won't be so bad once I get used to it.

[Montague]

Your body will develop some tolerance to bumping, etc.
But don’t mistake that for invincibility.
It is still very possible to get very hurt.

[leonp1981]

Your body will develop some tolerance to bumping, etc.
But don’t mistake that for invincibility.
It is still very possible to get very hurt.

As long as the soreness doesn't last 4 days I'm happy.  I doubt I'll be taking any major bumps anytime soon.  If it gets too much I'll just develop a dependancy on painkillers...

 

[Montague]

Living the dream...

[leonp1981]

Living the dream...

Haha, damn right!

[leonp1981]

Unfortunately no training this week, as my gf had already planned a family get-together for my b'day.  Instead I met up with a couple of the other guys last night and had a good chat about some bits and bobs.  I've got a couple of moves and ideas I wanted to get their opinion on, and one of the more experienced guys said he'd train me one-on-one next week, which was good.

They're doing a show in 3 weeks, so if I can get the basics down, I might get thrown in as fodder in a Royal Rumble!

[Montague]

Does your promotion use women in any capacity?

[leonp1981]

Does your promotion use women in any capacity?

There were a couple of girls at training the first week.  One of them was too scared of getting hurt, dropping from clotheslines before the actual impact.  I think she's a manager for one of the heels.  The other girl I didn't see much of, but the other guys said she's awesome, not afraid to get in there and be thrown about.  Apparently she does a mean hurricanrana (spelling?).