You know I’ve been so busy with things lately that I have not really had time to sit down and discuss what is going on in my mind.
But as it is past the 2 year mark when I first started writing about being a UK Scene wrestler and I have to admit I have come a long way from the idealistic green trainee, eager to find out more about the hobby I had picked up.
So what piece of advice can I impart now?
Wrestling is first and foremost a business and as soon as you take it personally then you have already lost. What do I mean? Well listening to gossip, hearsay and rumours are the characteristics of a human being and it is rife anywhere, but you keep yourself away from it, do you own thing and make your own judgements in life then you will get on with wrestling a whole lot better.
The funny thing is that I have also recently discovered that fans have completely differing ideals as to what makes a good wrestling as opposed to what wrestlers think.
It is a lot of food for thought when you are promoting a show, as you need to find a fine balance between the two and to be honet promoting is really ALL about finding a balance, and a lot of organising.
It is hard work, but rewarding when you hear people say on both sides of the curtain that they have enjoyed the show.
Oh, the other big question? The answer is no, you won’t gain respect by being a promoter, you gain respect by being a decent person.
Moving away from myself, I have always heard complaints that the UK Scene has too many wrestlers and too many schools, I’ll leave that for you to dicuss on the UK Scene forum.
I think the biggest concern from my point of view are the schools that open and training where the head trainer has themselves done only 1 weeks worth of training. Yeah, I know it sounds a bit of an exaggeration (and probably is) but there are always locker room stories of people being hurt by poorly trained wrestlers.
As an aside, I hope you read what I said above properly about gossip.
Problem is, I have met some of these people and so, I have been able to make up my own mind.
Plus there are things you would see as common sense, for example, washing your pads, or at least keeping a bottle of fabreeze in your bag if you have a weekender, but then again, more than one pair works just as well.
Lycra… yes! LYCRA! One wrestler pointed out to me the dangers of wearing jeans in the ring, you know those little studs you get on jeans, brass ones, imagine what they do to an opponent’s skin when they come into contact after a crossbody, imagine the blood.
Having said that, it took a lot of persuading to get me into it, but there is no room for self-consciousness, in fact, if you look good then you should show it off.
Hope you enjoyed this tenet and please feel free to discuss it on the TWO forums.
Saz