Showing posts with label women's wrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's wrestling. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Battle of the Sexes 3 - Female Wrestler vs. Male for the Championship

Satoko's last match was for the championship. She looked calm as she warmed up, pacing back and forth and stretching her muscular arms. Her opponent was jumping up and down in his corner, his dick bouncing around inside his singlet. It looked like he wasn't wearing any underwear, which didn't seem like a good idea since he was going to be wrapped around Satoko's firm body.

The ref called them both to the center of the mat and they stared at each other icily as the shook hands. Satoko had already taken out two men. If she defeated this one, she would take the men's championship crown.

The whistle blew and Satoko pounced like a tiger. She slammed her shoulder into his thighs and locked her hands below his ass. The with a mighty scream, she hoisted her male foe into the air. His face was full of terror and agony. I could see why. When Satoko locked her hands around him, she extended her thumb and it was now driving straight up into his anus. What punishment! The guy was just abut begging for her to slam him down onto the mat, but Satoko kept him in the air for a minute until he cried out in pain. Then she drove forward and brought him crashing down onto the mat with a thunderous boom.

The guy twisted around so he was on his belly. They were right on the edge of the mat now, just a few inches from where I was sitting. I could hear the male wrestler panting for breath as Satoko climbed onto his back, put him in a hammerlock with one arm and grabbed the back of his head with the other, rubbing his sweaty face into the mat in front of me. The poor guy's face was all contorted. Every time he exhaled he let out a little grunt: "aghhh, aghhh."

The action was stalling now, so the ref brought them up to their feet. The locked up in the standing position and Satoko shot another takedown, but this time he was ready for her and sprawled, grabbing hold of Satoko's head and bringing her to her knees. She managed to move to his side and slung her arm around his back. Then she wiggled her head out from his arm and swung back on top of him. Now she controlled him. She grabbed his ankles and began twisting, racking up point as he flipped over and over. The ref blew the whistle as they came to the edge of the mat and Satoko just let go of the guy, sending him rolling right into me and the other spectators.

His sweaty head landed right in my lap. He looked up at me and shook his head in disbelief. I gave him a sympathetic look and helped him up. I did feel bad for the guy. But I was more in awe of Satoko and how she was completely dominating a third male wrestler.

The ref blew the whistle to start the final period. The male wrestler needed a pin if he wanted to win. Satoko was way ahead on points and was on the verge of a tech fall. She didn't seem to want that though, she wanted to pin him. They each shot some takedowns and scrambled for a few minutes. Time was running out and the man was getting desperate. The were both on their hands and knees lunging at each other. The guy went for Satoko's left leg. But as he did that, she grabbed hold of his left leg and trapped his head, pressing it low into her belly. He was getting quite a faceful as she grabbed his left ankle and hooked her free leg around his other leg.

"Shit! she's gonna spladle him!" I heard one of the other wrestlers in the crowd say.

And sure enough, she tilted him over, spreading is legs far apart and over his head. His ass was spread wide open and balls were bulging out of his singlet. He was screaming in pain. It almost looked like he was going to cry. The women wrestlers in the audience were going wild. What a sight. This was probably the most humiliating way she could have possibly pinned him. The guys were gasping, their eyes bulging out as they witnessed one of their own getting beaten down by a female.
The ref slapped the mat and blew the whistle. Satoko released her victim and ran into the arms of a crowd of female wrestlers. Her defeated male opponent writhed in pain on the mat. A few of the male wrestlers came out to massage his thighs as the women celebrated.

Finally, the ref raised Satoko's arm in victory. The man she beat was limping. She had really worked him over.

Satoko brimmed with pride as the medals were handed out. She stoop atop the first prize pedestal -- over all the men she had defeated and had her photo taken.

At the end of the tournament, it was announced that from now on, there would be no men's and women's divisions. Instead, men and women wrestlers would battle each other regardless of sex and the best man -- or woman -- would be the champion.





Monday, July 4, 2011

Battle of the Sexes on The Wrestling Mat - Part 2




A few more matches were wrestles before it was Satoko's turn again. She was stretching and jumping at the corner of the mat to warm up. Her opponent was a guy I had seen wrestle a little while ago. His name was Takihada and he was wearing a singlet from his university. He didn't laugh as he looked over at his female opponent. He saw her pin the first guy who didn't take her seriously. So she had earned some respect.
The referee signaled for the wrestlers to come to the center of the mat. They faced each other and shook hands. Satoko was shorter than her opponent, but her legs looked more powerful. His shoulders were broader but she had well-defined biceps and the looked about equal in strength.
The ref blew the whistle and they locked up. Satoko shot a takedown, but Takihada caught her, pushed her head down and tried to swing around on top of her. But Satoko grabbed hold of his hairy calf and wouldn't let go. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to turn her, but her broad hips made that more difficult. He obviously wasn't used to wrestling a woman.
As he worked to roll her, Satoko had slid her arms up his leg and into his crotch so his balls were resting on her arms. She flexed a little and Takihada let out a groan as her bulging tricep put pressure on his testicles.
She pushed into his midsection, forcing Takihada to break his hold on her and move into a defensive position on his belly as Satoko took control over him.
A buzzer sounded indicating the end of the first period and both wrestlers went back to their corners.
Satoko's coach was giving he some advice as he massaged her muscular shoulders.
Takihada was getting an earful from his coach. I think he was mad that he couldn't pin her and was worried that his wrestler might even be defeated by a woman.
The wrestlers came back on the mat and as soon as the whistle sounded they lunged for each other. This time it was Takihada who shot first. He went in for a high crotch and brought Satoko's leg up as high as his head. It took him a while to get her down because she was so flexible, but he managed to kick her other leg out from under her and the two went down to the mat with a massive thud.
Takihada pressed his body down on Satoko's back. He drove his arms under her armpits and pressed his sweaty black hair against her cheek. Satoko grimaced as she tried to fight him off.
Takihada managed to get one arm around her head, bringing Satoko into a painful headlock. Slowly he turned her and then grabber her near leg, putting her in a cradle.
Satoko's coach yelled at her to kick out of it as Takihada's coach and teammates cheered loudly.
Satoko kicked and kicked, but it seemed futile. Her shoulders were almost pinned.
Takihada looked at his coach and smiled as he squeezed.
I noticed that Takihada was a little off balance. I thought that maybe his confidence was making him careless.
That's the sort of thing that let's female wrestlers beat men. And Satoko had obviously discovered that before.
With a burst of strength she kicked over to one side and rolled, taking Takihada with her. Suddenly, Takihada was on his back with his ass in the air as Satoko strained to pin him. Satoko's coach had jumped out of his seat and was screaming. Takihada's coach look stunned. His eyes were bulging out of his head as he yelled for his wrestler to get out of that hold.
But it was too late. Satoko rocked him a little more and pressed his shoulders down into the mat. Takihada flailed his big hairy legs, but it was no use. She owned him.
The ref slapped the mat and Satoko jumped up as he coach ran onto the mat to hug her.
Takihada rolled over as she freed him from that humiliating position. He was stunned. He grabbed his head with his hands and banged his fist on the mat.
He slowly got up to acknowledge his defeat, bowing deeply to Satoko as the referee raised her arm above him.
The pin moved Satoko up a notch so she was definitely going to place in the men's division. She just had one more match to see if she would actually get first place.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Battle of the Sexes on the Wrestling Mat in Japan

After my experience photographing women wrestlers in China taking apart a men's team, I decided to go to Japan, whose women's wrestling team was one of the best in the world. My photos from China got me a lot of interest, and with interest came money, so I thought I would see how far I could go with this.


I arrived at the wrestling room of a university in Tokyo to find 72kg wrestler Satoko training with a male wrestler. The two were on their feet just grabbing at each other. Satoko went in for a double-leg takedown, lifted her shirtless male opponent off his feet and slammed his sweaty back to the mat with a loud slap. He tried to twist around, but she was already on top of him with her hips pressed down against his belly. I zoomed in with my camera to catch his expression of desperation mixed with resignation. He was fighting, but he knew it was futile. His face disappeared as Satoko pressed her upper body down on him and she held him there for a few seconds until he stopped struggling.
Then she leapt to her feet and her coach called her over to talk to me.
She told me that tomorrow she was competing in a tournament. What got me really interested, though, was when she said that so far she was the only 72kg wrestler in the women's division and that if no one else showed up she was going to see if she could wrestle in the 74kg men's class.
I said that I would be there and went back to my hotel to make sure all my photography gear was charged up.
I got to the gym where the tournament was being held a little late. I was hoping I hadn't missed any of Satoko's matches, but it turned out that my timing was perfect. As expected, there were no other women for her to wrestle and the organizers had just agreed to let her compete against the men.
This was pretty unusual in Japan. While women's wrestling was quite popular, they almost never competed against men. Japan is pretty male dominated and I suspected that any guy who got beat by a female wrestler would feel totally humiliated.
I sat down on the edge of the mat where the 74kg matches had already started. As I brought my camera out, two wrestlers nearly plowed right into me after one guy threw the other on his back. I snapped a few shots as the winning wrestler pinned his opponent. As they cleared off the mat, I saw another guy warming up in the far corner. He was lean but very muscular and was wearing a wrestling singlet from a university in Tokyo. As he jumped up and down and stretched, one of the mat judges ran over to him and started talking. I figured out right away what he was telling him because he had a shocked look on his face and immediately turned over to the opposite corner where Satoko was warming up.
The male wrestler chuckled and nodded his head and his teammates in his corner laughed. I got a few pics of them all laughing because I didn't think he was going to be laughing when he got on the mat with Satoko.
The two shook hands in the center of the mat and the ref blew the whistle. The male wrestler shot a takedown, but Satoko sprawled and pushed his head down, and wrapped her arms tight around his upper body. She was being really aggressive and drove all her weight onto him so he collapsed onto his belly with his face in the mat. I think he was kind of stunned because before he knew what hit him, she had jumped on his back and was trying to get her arm under his to turn him on his back. It looked painful and almost illegal as she wrenched his arm up and fought to turn him. I zoomed in on what you could see of his face. It was all contorted as she mopped the mat with his forehead. He was definitely in some pain judging from the loud groans I was hearing. He looked up at the referee hoping for some mercy, but she had relaxed her grip on his arm so it wasn't dangerous anymore. The action slowed and the ref blew the whistle to bring them up to their feet.
It took him a minute to get up after the beating he just took. He slowly got to his feet and swung his arm around a few times to make sure it still worked. His teammates looked worried. I think they were afraid that she was going to actually hurt him.
Satoko looked confident, but not cocky. All she cared about was beating this guy. She knew she was better than him. And she was going to make sure he didn't forget it. The ref blew the whistle and the male wrestler shot low, wrapped his arms around her hips and lifted her off her feet. Satoko fought to get away and in the scuffle she rammed her elbow right into his eye.
"Awhhhhh!!" he cried and released his hold, calling a time out. A nurse came over to him to look at his eye. He was definitely going to have a shiner, bit there was no blood, so they sent him back to the mat for more punishment.
He looked mad now. Not only was he probably going to get beat by a girl wrestler, he was going to have a huge black eye that everyone was going to ask him about.
AS they started wrestling again, he tried the same throw, but she was ready for him and the two collided, chest to chest, struggling to get the upper hand for a throw. But Satoko managed to get some leverage and in one explosive moved lifted the guy up, letting out a scream as she did. The spectators around the mat, who were mostly male wrestlers gasped as Satoko slammed the guy to the mat. He let out a cry of agony as his body fell. His female rival climbed on top of him. He tried to bridge. His cock bulged out of his singlet as he pumped his pelvis in the air. But Satoko slammed her hips right down on him, pinning his penis as she pinned his shoulders. One of her breasts was smothering his face, as if to remind him that he was being defeated by a woman.
Finally the ref put an end to the beating and slapped the mat, calling the pin. Satoko jumped to her feet and screamed, punching her fist in the air. Her beaten male opponent clutched his head with his hands and curled up in the fetal position on the mat.


Everyone started applauding what she had just done to this guy. It must have been hard for him, but he managed to compose himself and get up as the ref raised Satoko's arm in victory.
But it wasn't over yet. Having beat this guy, she advanced to the next bracket. Everyone was wondering if she could actually win the weight class and become the champion.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Female Grappler Chokes Out 220-Pound Male Wrestler

Me and my buddies used to always meet up in the mat room of our old high school on Saturday afternoons to do some wrestling. Usually we did submission matches. It was a lot of fun. We would all try to prove how tough we were - testing our strength against each other. Jose, a 220 lb. Mexican dude was the unofficial coach. He was the most experienced and usually was able to kick all our asses.
We had just started practicing one day, when these this girl walks in. We figured she was lost, but she was wearing wrestling shoes and lycra shorts and a lycra rash guard. So basically she looked like she was ready to rumble.






"Hey, my jiu-jitsu class got cancelled. Do you guys mind if I roll with you?"
We all stared for a minute and kind of chuckled and then Jose said "Uhh... yeah, sure."
She sat down on the edge of the mat and started stretching as Mike and Shane battled it out in the center.
Mark got a triangle on Shane and he tapped out. As they made there way back to the edge to rest, the girl looked at Jose and asked he wanted to wrestle. Jose seemed shocked. The girl was pretty big - maybe 170 lbs. but Jose was a beast. "You want to wrestle me? I'm about 60 lbs. heavier than you. Maybe you should take on one of the smaller guys."
"I like a challenge. C'mon, are you scared a girl is gonna beat you?"
"I'm more scared that I'm gonna hurt you."
"Look, dude, I've taken apart guys your size before and I can do it again. Let's go!"
"Awright, it's your funeral little girl."
The two of them walked to the center of the mat and shook hands.
Jose took her down quickly. He went down into her guard as she wrapped her legs around his big torso.
He tried to pass her guard, but she caught one of his arms and pulled him back. Then she moved her legs up around his head and started to squeeze. She had one foot locked behind her knee and Jose's head was in the middle. Then she swung her hips and brought him down so he was lying on his side.
We all watched in awe. She was really beating on him.
Jose managed to get to his knees and used the strength in his legs to stand up. But she kept hold of him. Her legs were wrapped around his waist but she worked her way down and kicked the back of his knees until he fell backwards.
"Awhhhh!" Jose grunted as he collapsed under her.
She was on top of him. If this had been regular wrestling it would have been all over because she had him pinned. Jose tried to bridge and knock her off. He rolled onto his side, but then she caught him in a viscious headlock.
"Ughhhh!" Jose let out another painful groan.
Before he even knew what was happening to him, the female grappler turned her headlock into a choke hold. Jose was on his belly as she planted herself on his back and wrapped her arm around his throat while locking onto her other arm.
We all sat there with out mouths hanging open.
How could this be happening?
"So you still think you're gonna hurt me? Huh?" she taunted, as Jose's face grew redder.
"You ready to give up? In front of all your friends?"
She loosened her grip long enough for Jose to gulp some air.
"This isn't over yet, bitch!" He said defiantly.
"Your goin' down, big boy!" she replied.
And then she tightened up her chokehold.
But Jose wasn't tapping. His face got almost purple and then his body went all limp.
The girl let go and he flopped motionless onto the mat.
"Oh shit!" I screamed.
"Relax!" the female champ shot back. She got on top of her defeated opponent and pumped his chest a couple times and all of the sudden, Jose convulsed a little bit and opened his eyes - totally confused as to what had happened.
Then she got up,  said "Thanks for the workout, guys," and left.
Jose glared at her as she went. A girl had never beaten him before, much less humiliated him so much.
But he was never going to make the mistake of wrestling a woman again.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Chinese Women's Wrestling Team Defeats Men's Wrestling Team

I was heading over to the wrestling training center again today to photograph something I couldn't believe was even happening. Yesterday, after witnessing one of the members of the Chinese women's freestyle wrestling team destroy one of the male wrestlers, the coach told me that they were going to have an informal dual meet today with the women's team going up against the men's team. He said they started doing it a while ago because they thought it would help make the women's team stronger, but they were surprised by how well they did against the men and so now it is seen as a good training exercise for both teams.





A female wrestler squares off with a member of the men's team and takes him down to the mat.




When i got to the gym, i staked out a place matside and pulled out my camera equipment. The men's team was warming up, waiting for the women to come out. They were all wearing blue singlets and I couldn't help noticing that a lot of them didn't seem to be wearing any underwear under their uniforms, so their bulges were quite pronounced. They all lined up according to weight class on the edge of the mat as the women came out in their red singlets.


The 55 kilogram match would start things off. The male wrestler took his place in his corner with two of his teammates massaging his arms and shoulders as he prepared for the match. His opponent was jumping up and down and stretching her arms in the other corner. The referee took his place at the center of the mat and called the wrestlers out to begin. The male wrestler slapped his cheeks and let out a loud grunt as his teammate patted his ass and pushed him out toward the center of the mat. The female did the same as if to show she wasn't intimidated. The two athletes shook hands and hunched over, ready to battle it out.


The whistle blew and they locked up. He grabbed hold of her surprisingly solid bicep as she dug her fingers into the back of his armpit. They broke and circled each other some more, each looking for an opening.  He went to his knees and lunged for her left ankle. But as he caught hold of it she leaped to his side, slipping free of his grasp. His failed attempt at a takedown left him on his knees and his opponent was going to make the most of it. Before he could think of a way to defend, she swung behind him and grabbed him around his waist. She was now in control and he looked worried. So did his teammates. As the female team let out a cheer, the men cringed and tried to coach their teammate out of his predicament. But it started to look like a lost cause as the female wrestler let go of her male adversary's right forearm, brought her hand back and shoved her whole arm between his legs, latching on to her other arm which was still squeezed around his waist. He let out a groan as her bicep dug into his balls. I zoomed in close to capture the expression of agony on his face. With the leverage she had achieved, the girl turned him onto his back in a cradle. She squeezed him tighter as he struggled in vain to free himself. It was no use. She rocked his shoulders back and the referee slapped the mat and blew his whistle. The women's team erupted in cheers as their victorious teammate released her victim and jumped to her feet. The male team sat stone-faced as their defeated wrestler punched the mat with his fist and got up to his feet for the final humiliation of having to stand there as the ref raised his female opponent's arm in victory.


The next match offered the men some hope. Their 66 kg wrestler proved to be too much for his female opponent. From the moment the whistle blew he dominated her. She managed to get a couple take downs, but as the clock ticked down at the end of the first period, he had her on her back and she was struggling to keep her shoulders off the mat. She was saved by the bell, but the second period was more a less a repeat of the first. Still, he had a hard time pinning her and she fought him fiercely. Finally, though, he was too strong for her and he flattened her, pressing his hard pecs into her breasts as she succumbed to him for the pin. The men's team was ecstatic as their champion got to his feat, his penis poking out from his singlet as the ref raised his arm in victory.


The score was tied now. The guys obviously hoped that the first match was a fluke and that they would be able to prove that wrestling was a man's sport in the remaining matches.


The men were feeling cocky again as they sent their 74 kg wrestler out to face his female foe. The male wrestler had a very military look - he was lean and muscular with a typical buzz cut. The woman he was up against had shoulder length hair and was shorter than him, but looked kind of stocky.


A male wrestler locks up with his female opponent.


I wondered if this guy was going to be able to take her. Because she was shorter and had broader hips, the girl was going to be tough to take down. The male wrestler discovered that early on. He tried shooting takedown after takedown to no avail until finally, he stepped into a trap she had set and she caught him in a headlock and threw him over her shoulders, slamming him to the mat. The women's team went wild as their wrestler clamped her brawny arm around the man's head as he desperately flailed. He tried to bridge out of it, which gave me a great photo. As he thrust his hips into the air, his cock and balls bulged from the tight lycra. His head was buried in her breast and his face was red and contorted. I was pretty close to the action, snapping away with my camera. The guy was struggling to breathe as the woman continued to grind his sweaty head into the mat. She dug her heels in and leaned into him, putting all her weight on his upper body. It was too much for him. His bridge collapsed. He was helpless. The ref slapped the mat and she released him. He looked relieved that his beating was over and he could at least breathe again. The female wrestler leaned up and flexed her muscles for the camera. It was a great shot - this powerful athlete and her vanquished male opponent.


The men's final hope was in their heavyweight wrestler. He was a national champion and was kind of chubby but muscular. His chest was like a barrel with a little black hair around his nipples. His armpits were also very hairy, but the rest of his body was smooth. He walked to the center of the mat to face his female opponent. She looked smaller than him, but was very muscular. Apparently she used to be a weightlifter but had switched to wrestling a few years ago.
A male wrestler lies on the mat after his defeat at the hands of one of the women wrestlers


The match started with both of them locking up. Heavyweight matches were usually pretty slow, but i got some nice photos of the two of them with their heads pressed tightly together. He brought his arms in tight around her and managed a throw, grunting loudly as he brought her to the mat. But they were close to the edge and they rolled out of bounds. They came back to the center and the action repeated. This time, he made sure they were in the center of the mat when he again locked his arms around her and let out yell as he attempted the throw. But this time she was expecting it and fought back. Instead of throwing her over completely, she cut him off part way and landed on top of him. Suddenly, he was on his back with the female wrestler on top of him. The women's team started screaming as the men looked on in horror. Their heavyweight champion was on his back. The female wrestler shifted her weight to his upper body, straddling his belly as she pulled his arms over his head. Bridging was useless. She was too heavy. drops of sweat streamed from his hairy armpits onto the mat as she bore down on him, pressing his bog shoulders into the mat. Anther loud slap of the mat signaled another victory for the women's wrestling team over the men. It was all over now and the men's team had been defeated.


One of the female wrestlers celebrates her victory over a male wrestler


I wouldn't had believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. I was happy though because I figured that the pictures I got from this spectacle would get a lot of attention.