1000 Words

Pictures speak louder, so that's all I'll give you to speak about today's session.

Thursday Session

After the start of the work out, I felt a tinge in my back during pushups. I tried to work through it, but definately felt it doing some rolls. I sat out for a while while they ran, and did some arm drags and hip tosses. I got back into it when they started locking up and chain wrestling. I didn't get much of a chance to get in a good workout. I was afraid of re-injuring my back like I did at Aaron's. The feeling in my back wasn't the same as it was when I hurt myself, but enough to make me nervous. Time to rest up and go all out Sunday.

Long day

It's late, and I'm tired, so I'll keep it short. Worked through the pain today, but there many other things preoccupying all of us so the workout wasn't as rough as it has been. I got scoop slammed a couple times. That was fun. I watched a couple of matches as well. More detail next session.

Damage report

Walkin around, nothing feels sore. But while driving, I feel it in my neck when I'm driving and I check my blind spot. My abs hurt if I lay down and try to sit up. My quads hurt the worst if I bend down to pick something up. I think today will be spent doing the laziest repairs available to me.

Sunday is gonna be a busy day from now on

Session today, from 2 to 6. It's usually 3, but we spent some time sweeping out the place. It seems that Sundays are spent doing conditioning-type things and Tuesday and Thursdays are more about learning moves and techniques. I did, however, learn how to run on the ropes and throw myself over them. Check my Facebook for a picture of the ropeburn on my back. It looks worse in person, but it also looks worse than it is. I can feel it when you put pressure on it, but it's not bad at all. My neck does still hurt, but it didn't slow me down today. I did buy some IcyHot packs on the way home. I anticipate more pain tomorrow.

Today wasn't taught by the owner Fred, but by one of the veteran workers. He was tough on all of us, but especially hard on this one poor bastard who was also there for only the second time. He's a 15 year old kid who wants to go into the Army. He couldn't get the majority of the motions down and David wasn't having any of it. He's a "get up and do it again until you get it right" kind of guy, which makes sense. There was a lot of screaming going on today. One of the first things we did was dead cockroaches in the ring. You lay on your back, raise your head off the mat, and put your arms and legs up into the air at about a 45 degree angle. We held this position for a few minutes; it works out pretty much everything in your body. This kid...started crying. In a way, it was his own fault. He popped his mouth off about how doing these things wouldn't hurt, and that "you can't break me." He was wrong. Fred specifically told David not to stop us until that kid puked. Anddddddd he did. Right in the middle of the ring. That's probably the biggest no-no there is. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU NOT KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO THROW UP?"

They spent time on him alone while we found ways to utilize our time. He simply couldn't get down doing a bump, so they forced him to learn the only way they could. There was a lot of double-leg takedowns, shoving, tripping, all kinds of stuff they did to him to force him to fall right. I still don't think he ever quite got it down. To give the kid credit, he never gave up and left, and he said he'll be back Tuesday. Crazy motherfucker right there. I heard him groan, cry, puke, and I could see the expressions on his face, and the frustration of the trainers because he STILL wasn't getting it. Most of us agreed that this isn't for him and he should probably quit before he really hurts himself from doing things wrong, but at the same time I feel like he's trying harder than any of us. He got yelled at a lot by David. I got a fist bump and a "you've got a lot of heart, thank you." Kinda proud of that. I did waterlog myself and did feel like throwing up at one time, but it was never serious enough that I had to step outside. I went last on most exercises so I could rest and work through it. I won't be drinking too fast for long, that's for sure.

The ring needs some repairs done on it Tuesday so our workout will probably be short that night. I'm sure you'll see a post tomorrow about how sore I am and where. I don't feel it too bad now, but I bet I'll be walking gingerly into work tomorrow. Gotta walk it off, son. I'm surprised at myself on how fast I've picked things up. Like I've said before, I had no idea if I had any natural ability or talent. But I'm amazed that I'm in better shape than I thought, and I've been learning things quickly. I'm not trying to get ahead of myself though. One of the first things they said was shut up, open your ears, and shut your mouth. It's the fastest way to learn. I'm well aware of my inexperience. But I apparently have little issue hurling myself over the ring ropes.

At any rate, I'm having fun, and I'm sure my body needs this ass-kicking. It's more fun than the gym ever was.

WALK IT OFF, SON

A bit of soreness in my neck from the bumps taken last night. Not too bad; feels like when you sleep on it wrong. We'll see if anything else develops before the next training session, but I don't think it will. We didn't do much. Now that the ring is set up, however, I bet we will. Expect many expletives describing how I feel on Monday.

haha, fuck that, never mind

Just kidding! Today's was the first training session. I'm sure it wasn't nearly as hard as they normally are. Today was mostly spent setting up the ring. I did do some squats, jump squats, bear crawls, duck walks, a little jogging; etc. I also learned how to lock up (apparently I do pretty well) and how to take a bump (still needs work.) I especially liked getting a feel of the ring. Next session is on Sunday; next blog post as well. I think I'm gonna like this place. The people seem great.

The Beginning

So, let's start at the beginning. That seems like a logical place, yes?

If you are reading this, you most likely know me; at least to some degree. One well-known fact about me is that I enjoy professional wrestling. One lesser-known fact is that I have, in the past, seriously considered moving to San Antonio to attend a very prestigious wrestling academy. However, due to lack of money, and...well, motivation, I clearly never did that. I always knew it was a pipe dream; I'm hardly the type to get up and make an immediate and drastic change. I guess that's why I surprised even myself when I up and moved the two of us to Odessa, away from my hometown of 24 years.

I came here for my job. I worked at Chuck E. Cheese in Abilene for a little over a year at the bottom rung: promised everything, but given nothing. I enjoyed the people I worked with, but I knew I was going nowhere. In need of money I went back to my old job at Aaron's. I knew I'd go nowhere there either, but I'd get paid more doing it. Not two months after I went back, I was told of an open position in Midland. I applied, got the interview, and got the job. Three weeks later we were moved into a new home. Obviously my "mission" to become a wrestler got put back on an even farther burner.

Then, 5 days ago, Bridgette told me she had heard an ad on the radio for a local wrestling show. I looked it up, and sure enough, there was one two days from then. I immediately bought the tickets, and that Friday we went. I was very impressed by the quality of the show. To think, two days earlier I had no idea this organization had even existed. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of Odessa's own Old School Wrestling.

I spoke with one of the performers at intermission and learned the name of the guy in charge. I found him on Facebook, added him, and expressed my interest. He gave his number and told me to call him. On my way home from work today, I did. He left a very good impression on me. Fred was very down-to-earth. He wanted to create an organization free of backstage politics; a close-knit family of performers. They've just gotten a new building and they're in the process of moving into it. He name-dropped a few wrestlers he anticipates to work with in the future, but he didn't do it in such a way that he sounded like he was simply trying to impress me. He was very honest, speaking of the bad as much as the good. This is encouraging to me.

He invited me to come check out the facilities and work out with them this Thursday. I will do so. I expect to be shown exactly how out of shape I am. I also anticipate loving every second of it. I always told myself that I have no way of knowing if I have any talent or ability for wrestling until I tried. I also knew that if I never gave it a fair shake, I'd regret it the rest of my life. This blog may only have two entries: this and another saying "haha fuck that, never mind." Then again, this may become a long series of what I go through on a weekly basis as I train my body and perfect my in-ring skills. Maybe I'll be inviting my friends and family to my debut performance. Only time will tell.