lauantai 2. kesäkuuta 2018

Battleground Valhalla Rising part II


After writing the previous text I still want to take a closer look at some of the details of what took place in the Valhalla Nordic Championship match between "The Rebel" StarBuck and myself at Power Expo 2018.

Photo by Marko Simonen
As people are often eager to say things concerning pro wrestling matches or techniques, I would first like them to understand what the holds are about. The one we see here in the photo for example you can utilize as a joint lock but the primary use is gaining control over the opponent and moving him or making him move himself as an attempt to get out. If you want to make it tight instead and really put on loads of pressure there's a fair chance he might be able to bend the arm just a little bit and, by doing so, dig the tip of his elbow into your muscles even hitting some pressure points. Of course there are ways to attack the joint in an explosive manner thus fracturing parts of it, but as sportsmen we are not there to cause severe damage to one another. To hurt and to injure are two different matters.

Photo by Marko Simonen
I am not the easiest person to move around even for somebody larger than myself, but I just mentioned explosivity so I thought I must say a few words about this photo. StarBuck lands a devastating clothesline on me and you can clearly see that he takes my feet off the mat. In several occasions I have seen wrestlers who do not fully comprehend the nature of this move when they should if not master the art then at least handle the basics. Any blow is similar to a hold or a lock in the sense that everything is about creating pressure: in a case like the one above, superkick or whatever this is only done more rapidly than while grappling. Be quick, hit the target in the right place and know how to direct your bodyweight through an this is what the results will look like. Do not settle for less.

Photo by Marko Simonen
This particular throw reminds me of British wrestling and matches like the ones between The Dynamite Kid and Mark "Rollerball" Rocco. If you're there to pin the opponent, then you must first bring him to the mat. Use all the force and speed you want but take him down instead of lifting him upwards - see what I mean? One strength that I have is knowing there is a time and place for everything, the other is a variety of techniques that may surprise the opponent. Old school, hybrid style or conventional martial arts - any tool is useful as long as one knows how to make it work. Too many people rely on what they see happening around them on a daily basis, so in the long run the outcome will look like a brick wall. Why not build a structure of natural stones for a change, give the world a little bit more to study.

Photo by Marko Simonen
Sometimes going directly towards the mat is not enough, and we must increase the power of the impacts. Throwing the opponent literally across the ring is a tempting idea, but he or she might have plans diverse from the ones in your mind after which you suddenly find yourself in a very unfavorable situation. This happens a lot of times when somebody tries to position the other person on top of the turnbuckle, but in the match at Power Expo StarBuck was clever enough to let me climb up there in order to make my move - I could have used a missile dropkick or even a clothesline-type of maneuver - before executing his counter-strike. Successful strategy comes with experience and The Rebel has not only one of the longest careers but also an exquisite set of know-how plus the means of accomplishment.

Photo by Marko Simonen
Sleeper hold is still one of the most powerful and straight-forward techniques in wrestling today and you don't even have to take my word for it. One part of the perception is that you know how to fight back when been put in it, although the main goal of course it simply to make it to the ropes. However, not that I'm not merely blocking the movement of StarBuck's hand - I'm trying to place it to the side which would allow me to move my body more and escape the hold by pulling my head down at the same time. If we lived in a perfect world (from my point of view) the result might also be that I'd twist his forearm into an upper wrist lock, but let us keep that rope break and the referee in mind for a start. There's nothing wrong in recognizing an opportunity, just remember that there's no time for fantasizing in the ring.

Photo by Marko Simonen
The whole body is a weapon, the whole body is a target - this is how I was taught. In the photo I've been able to push my head backwards and into StarBuck's face so that he's lost his balance without letting go of my neck though. Therefore I've simply rolled across and turned his hold into a pin attempt, or made his weapon mine so to speak, the game plan being that the referee starts the count as he sees StarBuck's shoulders on the mat which would force The Rebel to let go immediately. With such moves that come unexpectedly there is a danger that you might actually tighten the opponent's hold by twisting your body in a peculiar manner, but then again we are supposed to be athletes to begin with and agility does come with the territory. Over the years people may even have noticed that my neck muscles possess strength that's exceptional to say the least.

Photo by Marko Simonen
What makes professional wrestling an art that is similar to the Wudang styles of fighting or Bushido is the fact that everything cannot always be measured by success, or the superficial meaning of the term. Learning is important even to veterans like The Rebel and myself, vision is one of the most significant things considering one's career and having the right kind of attitude is essential as the very basis of it all. I've only shared a few thoughts about a single match but hopefully that may help some individuals understand the depth that is everyday life to StarBuck and his true disciples. The question I once asked was "are you wrestlers or people you pretend to be wrestlers?" I have chosen my side, and the battle rages on.

Photo by Marko Simonen

perjantai 1. kesäkuuta 2018

Battleground Valhalla Rising


Photo by Marko Simonen
We often end up hearing opinions about pro wrestling that are presented by people who have no interest to see the action in the first place and, in addition to that, seem to find the very art more or less worthless. As the perception of such critics equals zero - anybody may notice the contradiction in justifying their condemnation with a lack of knowledge - I am happy to have this opportunity to point out a few factors essential in professional wrestling to people open-minded enough to accept this sort of information. If there is expertise in the text or not, you be the judge of that. However, I will take examples from the match I had against "The Rebel" StarBuck for the Valhalla Nordic Championship at Power Expo in Lahti, Finland 27th of May 2018.

Photo by Timo Muilu
First of all you can see a hold that does look simple but there are indeed various ways to apply it, meaning one has several methods of increasing the pressure. StarBuck chooses to crank the neck by pulling the upper part of my head to the side, for if his hands were any lower I could use my jawbone to break his grip. He also makes me arch my back a little bit; the position is far from optimal for me to utilize muscle strength other than that in my arms, so I'm mainly moving my legs and waist area to change the layout.

Photo by Timo Muilu
The headlock here is slightly different from the typical one because of the grip: there is a twisting motion which enables me to drive the sharp bone in the forearm into the tender part of StarBuck's face right under his cheekbone. When one grabs his/her own wrist simply from underneath without going spiral-like as mentioned the result is having soft tissue/flat surface against the area where the opponent's nerve pressure points should be attacked... Also notice how I lean forwards in order to stop StarBuck from standing up after which he could easily lift me and then land me hard in numerous ways.

Photo by Timo Muilu
In the next picture there's basically a combination of the previous situations with StarBuck once again having gained the upper hand. It is clear how he pushes my head deeper into the hold so the pressure is coming to me from three sides - not to mention the position he's put my legs in; due to that the route I would have to take to execute most of the counter-moves is as long as possible. Yet I must stress that the extremely powerful nature of StarBuck's chin lock is not simply about the strength of his arm, but the weight and the movement of his body PLUS the strength of his arm (actually both of them to be precise).

Photo by Marko Simonen
Some people love to proclaim that pro wrestling is not a combat art or that it has nothing to do with sports to begin with. Once you take a look at what's being done to my body it is easy to comprehend how important it's for us as wrestlers to be both strong and flexible: the more tense your muscles are the more damage the impacts will do to you, and while being aware of that we must at the same time remember that what we do is not ballet either. My training - at the gym or so - is very similar to what's practiced in other fighting skills so I assume that it has a lot to do with having been able to avoid serious injuries. If you want to have more room for your body to dance around I suggest you go functional at least from time to time.

Photo by Timo Muilu
I find the next hold very interesting for I first had StarBuck in a hammerlock which he was able to resist by turning to the side instead of lying face down and trying to move away (it was thus more difficult for me to actually manipulate his shoulder). There's a way of putting on even more pressure in that position by locking the opponent's elbow between your knees and then applying a crushing wrist lock, but since I'm a professional I'm not there to injure the adversary but to pin him - so in the photo I do use my legs to trap StarBuck's hand behind his back while catching his other arm to get the leverage to roll him until his shoulders hit the mat. Keeping him there long enough is a different story though.

Photo by Marko Simonen
StarBuck going for an extra gear in order to keep the title. As Yukio Mishima said: "I had no taste for defeat - much less victory - without a fight." In matches like the one in question the wrestlers are obligated to find the mode which allows them to not only offer the spectators an experience worth the trouble of being there, but to show them something they did not expect to witness. When the battle is in one's heart it affects the mind in a manner which turns it into a weapon, and the rest is not history but a mystery rather... There's something supernatural in the way that the Sport of Kings is able to change the physical realm.

Photo by Marko Simonen