I once thought the word “wrestling” connotes to actors playing “fight” and that it’s all bogus. I was wrong.
As I sat on my corner in the activity area of SM Sucat last 12April08, those preconceived notions and feelings towards the word started to change. As I sat there watching the Paranaque Wrestling Team pick off their opponents with slams and pins, I realized that “Wrestling” is as real as it gets.
Forget everything that you think you know about wrestling. Just like me, maybe you got the facts wrong. I stand corrected for thinking that wrestling is about tag teams, loud costumes, monikers, big muscles and re-enacted violence, the thought that wrestling is about discipline and intelligence never crossed my mind until I started learning the sport.
What’s real
The first recorded wrestling match occurred during the Olympics in 700 BC. It was considered a form of military exercise minus weapons. You either win via three throws or via pin – where you flatten your opponent’s shoulders on the ground. Blows, biting and gouging were not allowed. Tripping the foot was permitted; there were no weight classes. The Olympic event that we have is similar to those of the ancient Greeks, the only difference is each bout is timed and is divided into three rounds, and that weight divisions are observed.
Going back to that corner of SM where I realized the potency of the sport: learning how to wrestle is scary and fulfilling all at the same time, scary in the sense that when you go into a match with Paranaque’s wrestlers, you must be prepared to say hello to the ceiling. Tie-up or clinch, pull or push, and hello ceiling- you’re on your back looking at the overhead lights thinking, “what the (expletive) happened?!”. It’s fulfilling because I get to train and learn with these elite wrestlers and people.
“Wrestling is one of the most underrated sports in our society,” a friend of mine said, “If you know how to wrestle, you’ll dominate almost every aspect of life itself. Wrestling gives more to someone a fit body and incredible strength, the discipline – both mental and emotional – that you’ll learn will come in handy when life (expletive) you over. ”
I once thought the word “wrestling” connotes to actors playing “fight” and that it’s all bogus. I was wrong because as far as life is concerned, wrestling is as real as it gets.
Filed under: Uncategorized
