[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

I think if you check, barbed wire, tables, tacks etc have been around long before you were even born. Hard core wrestling was around when I was a kid and is not new or recent. In Japan it was a real big deal for many years.

Nattie, here is a link to the San Francisco bay Area Bombers on the banked oval. Check out the video clip....
Bay City Bombers: Banked Track Roller Derby

Ah, you're right about Japan. Guess there is kind of a fine line between hardcore wrestling and what you would consider ultraviolent wrestling. Didn't really see much in the states to my knowledge until around 1995 or so with ECW. I'm not referring to blood and such, more to weapons like barbed wire, tacks, etc. Been around in Japan a lot longer I do believe. Matches like Ian vs. Axel Rotten in the first ever American Tipea Deathmatch or the famous no rope barbed wire match between Sabu and terry Funk. Actually interviewing Funk Monday on a podcast. Should be very interesting. Japan, like you said, is a different story. They used to have FMW but now their major deathmatch promotion is Big Japan Pro Wrestling. I actually work online with a podcast for CZW. Have you ever heard of it? It's modern deathmatch wrestling based out of Philly. They often co promote events with Big Japan. Talked with the CZW owner tonight and he will be doing talent exchanges with BJW in Japan as well as WXW in Germany. Should be very interesting.

[Lara's mom]

Guys, I hate to be the one to "burst your bubble" but, wrestling is fake - good choreography though...

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Guys, I hate to be the one to "burst your bubble" but, wrestling is fake - good choreography though...

Yo would be very surprised about wrestling. What many people who aren't wrestling fans may not understand, is that pro wrestling is predetermined, but fake is not necessarily the right word for it. Yes there is a winner decided before the match, yes the wrestlers are communicating inside the ring, and yes the punches and kicks aren't intended to actually connect forcefully, however the effects are very real. FOr one, many people think that the blood in pro wrestling is fake. Believe it or not, the blood in wrestling is almost always real. They will do something called "blading" where they will use a small piece of razor blade and male a small cut along the crease of the eyebrow. They know just where to do this. There are many vessels in the head so it looks a lot worse than it actually is. The tables, ladders, and chairs in pro wrestling are very real as well. These wrestlers sustain concussions, broken bones, and neck injuries all the time. There are some wrestlers who will block the chairshots but many take shots straight to the head and pay for it later. There are ultraviolent wrestlers here in the states, as Yogi noted this is very popular in Japan, who use thumbtacs, barbed wire, fire, light tubes, glass, weedwackers, and anything else you could imagine. Is this stuff predetermined? Yes, however the weapons and effects they cause are all real and being a live show there is no way around this. These wrestlers, particularly deathmatch or ultraviolent wrestlers, have scars all over their bodies to show for this and the scars are very real. As a matter of fact, a company called CZW, not shown on television, had a deathmatch where someone was cut under the arm so badly by a light tube that the event had to be stopped and a helicopter had to pick him up and take him for emergency surgery. This was a very real, and serious situation. He could have died. You would be surprised just how real wrestling can be. Predetermined...yes, fake...not the right word. If you've seen Beyond The Mat or the new film The Wrestler, this side of pro wrestling is exposed. The wrestler who just commited suicide and killed his family, Chris Benoit, was found to have the mind of a 80 year old man because of the trama he suffered throughout his wrestling career.

Wrestling's NOT FAKE!!! lol

[CorkyMax]

Sorry everyone but wrestling sounds like something I can do without watching. Not only sounds stupid but pretty dangerous as well---And to have to use razor blades, etc. on ones own body to get the gory effects to 'entertain' the viewers is just plain ignorant and phoney to boot. Hopefully the so called reality shows will not try to 'fake' gladiators and lions in an arena in the near (or any other future) future for the 'amusement' of viewers! What fake effects would they have to use--maybe take a big bite out of oneself to make it look real! Hey! This subject was on roller derby anyhow!!

[Yogi]

The thing is, is that wrestling is a form of entertainment and has never not stated this. It is choreographed and needs to be in order to pull off what is needed but in this there is an inherit high risk of serious injury which unfortunately happens more often than not and these injuries can and have been life threatening. No more or less than a stunt man in a movie. The difference here is that these guys often only have a short amount of time to get the act down before they have to get into the ring. When this happens, often things go wrong. Even Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan recalled the training in the early days and having a wrestler break one of his legs. The risk of injury when you do not move correctly or fail to follow what has been choreographed ends often in serious injuries. The number of wrestlers who have broken their necks is incredible. Even the 1984 Olympic Gold medalist who's name eludes me but Kurt something suffered a broken neck some years ago in a match I watched and I clearly saw that he did not land the way he was suppose to coming down on the back of his head and not on the back of his shoulders as he should have. Granted, I rarely watch anymore now that the boys are grown and in their 30's but I did start out watching and following locals like Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jimmy Superfly Snooka. I was actually amazed to find that most were smaller than me yet they advertised them as being so much larger. I had the honor of seeing a match with Andre the Giant years ago and to this day have never seen man or person anywhere near as large. He walked past me down the aisle. I had the end chair and when he went by me sitting down, his knee was at eye level. Obviously in my youth I found contact sport more enjoyable as I participated in them myself ie: wrestling and football so it was fitting that I would watch and enjoy but to me it was always entertainment and never really considered a sport. Granted though, to perform in the arena these men and women do, they need to be agile no matter how large and in physical condition. It is not something you can walk off the street and just do. Many former professional football players have taken to this and but a handful were able to handle the physical beating their bodies had to endure. So is it "fake", it depends on what your definition of fake is. If you mean fake wrestling, than from my standpoint as one who truly wrestled, yes. Is it fake as far as entertainment goes, no. It is entertainment like Roller Derby is. It is a place for society to vent against the bad guys and root for the good guy. It has a valid place as far as entertainment. Who did not yell and applaud when Rocky finally one against Apollo Creed. An upstart second rate boxer given and opportunity to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world. It was a movie, it was fictional but when I saw it when it first came out nearly every person in the theater rose and yelled. It gets you going which is what entertainment is there to do, nothing more and nothing less. These days I can take it or leave it, which in my case is more leaving it but it does not mean it is less entertaining than before just that there are other shows on TV I find more entertaining at the moment. Keep in mind, if it was not entertaining someone needs to explain Wrestle Mania putting more fans in the seats than a super bowl game.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

The thing is, is that wrestling is a form of entertainment and has never not stated this. It is choreographed and needs to be in order to pull off what is needed but in this there is an inherit high risk of serious injury which unfortunately happens more often than not and these injuries can and have been life threatening. No more or less than a stunt man in a movie. The difference here is that these guys often only have a short amount of time to get the act down before they have to get into the ring. When this happens, often things go wrong. Even Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan recalled the training in the early days and having a wrestler break one of his legs. The risk of injury when you do not move correctly or fail to follow what has been choreographed ends often in serious injuries. The number of wrestlers who have broken their necks is incredible. Even the 1984 Olympic Gold medalist who's name eludes me but Kurt something suffered a broken neck some years ago in a match I watched and I clearly saw that he did not land the way he was suppose to coming down on the back of his head and not on the back of his shoulders as he should have. Granted, I rarely watch anymore now that the boys are grown and in their 30's but I did start out watching and following locals like Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jimmy Superfly Snooka. I was actually amazed to find that most were smaller than me yet they advertised them as being so much larger. I had the honor of seeing a match with Andre the Giant years ago and to this day have never seen man or person anywhere near as large. He walked past me down the aisle. I had the end chair and when he went by me sitting down, his knee was at eye level. Obviously in my youth I found contact sport more enjoyable as I participated in them myself ie: wrestling and football so it was fitting that I would watch and enjoy but to me it was always entertainment and never really considered a sport. Granted though, to perform in the arena these men and women do, they need to be agile no matter how large and in physical condition. It is not something you can walk off the street and just do. Many former professional football players have taken to this and but a handful were able to handle the physical beating their bodies had to endure. So is it "fake", it depends on what your definition of fake is. If you mean fake wrestling, than from my standpoint as one who truly wrestled, yes. Is it fake as far as entertainment goes, no. It is entertainment like Roller Derby is. It is a place for society to vent against the bad guys and root for the good guy. It has a valid place as far as entertainment. Who did not yell and applaud when Rocky finally one against Apollo Creed. An upstart second rate boxer given and opportunity to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world. It was a movie, it was fictional but when I saw it when it first came out nearly every person in the theater rose and yelled. It gets you going which is what entertainment is there to do, nothing more and nothing less. These days I can take it or leave it, which in my case is more leaving it but it does not mean it is less entertaining than before just that there are other shows on TV I find more entertaining at the moment. Keep in mind, if it was not entertaining someone needs to explain Wrestle Mania putting more fans in the seats than a super bowl game.

You're thinking of Kurt Angle. Actually just got finished watching him tonight on TNA Wrestling's program on Spike TV. Just last month he did a huge back flip moonsault off the top of the steel cage and nearly landed right on his head. Very scary moment.

Speaking of Piper, I'm actually interviewing him as well on a podcast I do on Blog Talk Radio later this month or early next month. Should be a lot of fun. He's a real nice guy. Speaking of Hogan, Yogi, have you ever seen Hogan Knows Best? It is obvious that he is broken down physically from over 30 years in the wrestling business. He's involved with TNA now.

Hardcore wrestling and violence is not what wrestling is all about. In fact, a small portion of it includes this. There are many styles of wrestling. If you watch certain promotions such as ROH or certain promotions in Japan (most of this is not the stuff you see on TV) you will see matches that would even cause some one who is not a wrestling fan's jaw to drop. Some styles are so fast paced and athletic it's truly unbelieveable. Wrestling is really a true art, believe it or not. Speaking of Japan, wrestling is perceived a lot differently there than here in the states. Here it's often misunderstood. In Japan, it is highly respected and very popular. It is a part of their culture. Same goes with Mexico and Lucha Libre which is professional wrestling in spanish. In fact, I believe statistics show that lucha llibre is the second most popular sport in Mexico besides soccer or football as they call it. Wrestling is more of a sport, predetermined but not fake by any means, in Japan and Mexico where it is more of what you would call sports entertainment here in the states as far as the mainstream stuff goes.

[nattiej1976]

LOL i forgot about this thread..................Just to let you know, I have persisted with the Derby, still loving it, loving the body im getting from it too, lumps and bumps from everywhere are dissapearing.
Touching wood as I type, have not yet had any major injuries, (except for a torn thigh muscle............gosh that hurt)
I am however a walking bruise, and weekly find new blue and black spots somewhere on my body, but it is to be expected.
I have all my own gear now, so its really nice to have good quality skates and protective gear that fits well.
Getting closer to being ready for my first official bout.
Still trying to come up with a name though, so any suggestions would be welcomed with open arms.
Given the name is officially and internationally registered, would love something that really does represent who I am, not just a name for the sake of a name.
So if you are up to the challenge of helping me find my new derby name, here is a little about me. Both physical appearance and nature.

Extroverted Introvert (try and make sense of that if you can)
Sagittarius.
Love my pets (cats and Kato of course)
Blonde hair (again finally after being black for ages) blue eyes (naturally, however have dark brown and bright green and purple contacts which I will often wear depending on my mood for the day)
Prone to be a little bit girlish and princess like sometimes, yet a complete dag the rest of the time (so never inbetween, either dressed to kill or in a tracksuit)
Generally quiet, yet VERY oppinionated and verbal if Im passionate about the subject.
Techie geek, love anything technical and complicated.

Im a walking contradiction really...........*toddles off to check oneself into councelling to ensure there is no concern of split personallity disorder*
(not trying to offend or poke fun of anyone who truly does experience that or is close to someone who does by the way, its just even derby itself is far from what anyone would have imagined me starting and even sticking too)

[harley_quinn]

I wanted to do that sooo bad... but no health insurance currently so it didn't work out. Good luck, I am so jealous

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by harley_quinn

I wanted to do that sooo bad... but no health insurance currently so it didn't work out. Good luck, I am so jealous

Doesnt your local derby league have insurance for its players? Our league has insurance for its members.

[harley_quinn]

I don't really have the time to do it now, but I should see if the local team has insurance. Maybe check it out when school is out.

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by harley_quinn

I don't really have the time to do it now, but I should see if the local team has insurance. Maybe check it out when school is out.

if your hard pressed for time, it may not be worth persuing at this stage. It does demand a pretty large chunk of your time.

[CorkyMax]

Still trying to come up with a name though, so any suggestions would be welcomed with open arms.
Given the name is officially and internationally registered, would love something that really does represent who I am, not just a name for the sake of a name.

I am prob. not good at this but may give you some ideas to 'shoot off of'---
Archer Lady (Sagittarius----I am an astrology buff)
Kato's Mom---If these sound too 'mild'---Think using something the opposite as being 'good?!'

Okay, being in a silly mood I guess,--Psycho Lady or Mama

Okay I will stop now!

[harley_quinn]

Green and purple contacts? Reminds me of Morgan Le Fay. Do you wear one on each eye? You can have a name that has something to do with that if you're into that kind of thing.

[lange]

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

So if you are up to the challenge of helping me find my new derby name, here is a little about me. Both physical appearance and nature.

Extroverted Introvert (try and make sense of that if you can)
Sagittarius.
Love my pets (cats and Kato of course)
Blonde hair (again finally after being black for ages) blue eyes (naturally, however have dark brown and bright green and purple contacts which I will often wear depending on my mood for the day)
Prone to be a little bit girlish and princess like sometimes, yet a complete dag the rest of the time (so never inbetween, either dressed to kill or in a tracksuit)
Generally quiet, yet VERY oppinionated and verbal if Im passionate about the subject.
Techie geek, love anything technical and complicated.

Im a walking contradiction really...........*toddles off to check oneself into councelling to ensure there is no concern of split personallity disorder*
(not trying to offend or poke fun of anyone who truly does experience that or is close to someone who does by the way, its just even derby itself is far from what anyone would have imagined me starting and even sticking too)

lol You sound like tons of fun. But yeah I think we're all a bit of walking contradictions.
I'm with Corky/Max. Personally, I'm usually blank when it comes to thinking up my own online user names but I'll give a try.

Countess Kryptonite
Yin & Yang
Archer of Chaos
Katos Karma
Whiz Kid
Storming Einstein

That was actually fun! Hopefully you'll get more ideas. Let us know what you come up with & kick some butt!!

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by lange

lol You sound like tons of fun. But yeah I think we're all a bit of walking contradictions.
I'm with Corky/Max. Personally, I'm usually blank when it comes to thinking up my own online user names but I'll give a try.

Countess Kryptonite
Yin & Yang
Archer of Chaos
Katos Karma
Whiz Kid
Storming Einstein

That was actually fun! Hopefully you'll get more ideas. Let us know what you come up with & kick some butt!!

WOW LANGE. I like all of those!!!!

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Still trying to come up with a name though, so any suggestions would be welcomed with open arms.
Given the name is officially and internationally registered, would love something that really does represent who I am, not just a name for the sake of a name.

I am prob. not good at this but may give you some ideas to 'shoot off of'---
Archer Lady (Sagittarius----I am an astrology buff)
Kato's Mom---If these sound too 'mild'---Think using something the opposite as being 'good?!'

Okay, being in a silly mood I guess,--Psycho Lady or Mama

Okay I will stop now!

I like Psycho Mama....lol and archer lady

Originally Posted by harley_quinn

Green and purple contacts? Reminds me of Morgan Le Fay. Do you wear one on each eye? You can have a name that has something to do with that if you're into that kind of thing.

LOL I did it once when I first got the brown contacts, I just put one in, but that was to stir up my hubby, who actually naturally has one blue eye and one brown eye, so I came out of the bathroom matching him......lol. Otherwise I dont mix them up, and will just wear one colour depending on my mood. the purple ones are actually very pretty, when they are in over my natural blue, they dont really turn purple as such, but brighten my natural eye colour and gives them a slight purple hue.

ETA I really should consider two contradicting names in one.............just went to the hairdresser, to finnish off the last of the blonding, am now on top platnum blonde, and underneath really dark purple, almost black purple, perhaps if I were to put a black dot on one side of the blonde and a blonde patch on one side of the black I could go the Yin & Yang............lol.