alpinisto's blog

For February an invitation to visit sportynord in Hildesheim came very appropiate. I had never before wrestled in February, and until this winter I had never wrestled in any of the winter months, but sportynord had invited me after I the previous May had wrestled one of his friends in Sachsen-Anhalt. Sportynord was rather old chap but very fit for his age, and my Berlin friend, Romano, had only succeeded it winning over him once. This was planned to become a larger tournament, for besides me he had also invited four other guys to come on Sunday, but in the end only two of them showed up. At least four would be a good company.

One of these visitors was one I had not heard of before: Ringerbuddy from Mülheim an der Ruhr, and on Saturday evening he joined sportynord to pick me up from the train station. Sportynord lived in a big house in central Hildesheim where he had plenty of place so we both could stay the night there. Marko75, the other guy, showed up the following morning, so now our small group was complete.

These two guys opened the tournament on Sunday morning. With more than 50 opponents on his belt, marko75 was clearly the most experienced of us all, while Ringerbuddy with about a dozen previous opponents was the least experienced. Therefore it was no surprise that marko75 could win this match rather easily. But he was good with beginners, and even from my couchside point of view I could learn a thing or two. But I could not expect that marko75 would be just as easy on me when we came to wrestle - and our match was the next!

Marko was 12 years younger than I was, and like all other younger guys, very agile. I had always had a keen interest in good muscular masculine thighs, and Marko indeed had a good stable pair of such. Obviously I much too soon ended up tightly scissored between them, but even though he impressed me quite a lot, for I have never been in such tight scissors before, he could not make me tap out. But he was well trained, for as soon as he realised that I would not give in to this hold he swiftly moved position for some other attack. I sure could see the combined effect of experience and good agility, for with his good legs he managed to keep me controlled one way or the other.

Ringerbuddy came next, and with him we had similar weight and height stats. He had the sense of attack, which many other of my previous opponents have complained that I didn't. But I have always had a rather defensive tactics, see where it goes and then find my best time to strike. It was a probability that Ringerbuddy took home most points but after last month's match I was more focused that I would not give him a shoulder victory. Also it was a bit frustrating to hear Marko call his various advices to him while we were wrestling. Though in the end I apparently was more fit than he was, for after a nice sweaty match he gave in to me.

In the meantime sportynord had appeared in the matroom, so while Ringerbuddy and I took a rest Marko could wrestle him. Sportynord was six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than me and not to be underestimated, for he had worked all his life as a gym master in the school. I therefore knew what I was up to, and so that sportynord also could have the same knowledge on how I wrestled I had another match with Marko. Not that it made much difference for me, for even though he now had had numerous fights today it apparently was impossible to tire him out.

I must say that sportynord was incredible fast for his age. Normally I am pretty good in not making too much advantage of my larger weight, but with sportynord it sometimes was needed, for this was my fourth match that day, so I was getting more tired now. But in the end I managed to press him up towards the wall bar, so to avoid further problems he now called it quit.

But I was staying at sportynord's place for several days, so I would have plenty of time to wrestle him again, so on Monday we again went down to his basement matroom for another match, and this time I started out in a quite unusual way for me, as I went right on him and soon we were down on the mat with me on top of him. I remembered what Marko had told Ringerbuddy the previous day about the importance of getting your own weight on top of your opponent right from the start and keep it there. And it also worked for me, though I found it a bit embarrassing to use my superior weight on an old guy like sportynord.

Yet he seemed to cope well, and maybe my experience had increased, as it seemed to work well now I for the first time ever had wrestled all through the winter. I normally don't remember much from the particular match, but in this match I at one point realised that I was about to put sportynord in a spladle! I had never been put in a spladle myself, and those times I had tried to do it on someone else it had always failed. This time it worked so well that sportynord felt forced to tap out because he was not flexible enough for such holds.

I was pretty content with the fights in Hildesheim. I had had a total of five matches: two with marko75, one with Ringerbuddy and two with sportynord and I had won most of them, except for the two versus marko75. Sure it would be interesting to wrestle marko75 again, and he later told me that he would be happy to wrestle me again next time we met. Next month I had hoped to get to Paris for wrestling, but my finances will not allow this. So this instead will be another visit to Berlin, where there always are guys who would enjoy wrestling me.

As planned I was going to Berlin in the middle of January, where I of course was to wrestle kleiner kerl again, plus what other wrestlers who could find the way to his place while I was there. Normally I wrestle kleiner kerl as the first guy while I am there, to get the travel stiffness out of my body, but this time he had been overtaken by Kuschelringer, one of the other guys I also had wrestled while I had been in Berlin last October. I remembered that last time I had wrestled him the result had been pretty undecided, but this time I was more relaxed and managed to do a good scissorwork on him. So this time it was clear that the result was in my favour.

The following day my host had opened a Match Request here on MeetFighters and there were three guys who had decided to turn up. One of them was of course catchbear, for he always shows up when I am there, Match Request or not, while the two other guys were new for me: goergilein and xxlbear. Kleiner kerl opened the party with a fight with catchbear, and then I came next with a fight with xxlbear. Despite his hame he was only 30 pounds heavier than me and two years older, and since I have never shrinked back from wrestling guys heavier than myself I felt sure that I could manage this guy. But I couldn't even manage myself, for when he unexpectedly lifted my one bad leg I fell back, and in the resulting disturbance he sprained his own leg. And even though he was ready to wrestle again twenty minutes later I could feel that he no longer had the power I could expect from him. Although I was easy on him I could rather easily defeat him - today! I just hope that I soon can get to wrestle this strong bear again when we can be more on level.

Catchbear came next. Him I unexpectedly had managed to defeat last time I had wrestled him, in July, but I was certain that I had only taken him by surprise then, for with his strength I did not expect to win over him the way I had done, so I felt sure that he now was coming back for revenge. But much to my surprise we had just a relaxed give and take match. Which I actually found good - though I feel that his revenge is still waiting in the wings for me!

On Sunday I finally got to wrestle kleiner kerl. It was now the third time I had stayed with him, and already last time he had noticed that I had become stronger. Whether this was because I now had wrestled more or because the effect of the blood clot finally had subsided - or a combination of these two - I could not say. Though this time I also felt that I had become stronger, and maybe even more fit. But I knew that kleiner kerl did not give in too easily, for he still wanted to win, so it became a long sweaty match where I some times had to make use of my weight advantage to keep him under control. So finally I could make him tap. I could have given him a bonus match or a rematch, but was still too exhausted for this, so that would have to wait till the next day, so we could have a final match before I went home again.

I had extended my weekend visit in Berlin with an extra day so I could wrestle Sperling again. I had also wrestled him in July, and even though he had about the same stats as me I did not expect to win over him for he was quick and also stronger, so I could only await the inevitable. Though I must say that I again could feel that I had become stronger - but not strong enough. A few times I tried to grab him in a headscissor, but every time he swiftly managed to escape my legs and after that he sure kept me under his control. Also Sperling had become more fit, so probably our match kept on longer than we both had hoped for. And once again I lost to Sperling. Though for me this did not matter, for I see wrestling more as a good workout for my body recovery.

Relaxing over coffee after the match Sperling's friend Tom asked me if he also could have a match with me. This guy I had noticed when back in April I had made an introductionary visit to Sperling, but I had no idea that he also had interest in wrestling, so even though I was tired I agreed that we could get to grips. He stripped to his shorts and now showed a well muscular body with probably the most impressive thighs I had ever seen! I hardly got in position before I found myself flat on the floor, with Tom of top of me, even though he was both shorter and lighter than me. And apparently also more experienced. On my question he told me that he had been wrestling since the 80s, so this maybe explained my surprise. What strength that Sperling might have left me with was soon consumed by this unexpected strong guy, and on the train back to kleiner kerl it was clear to me that I now was too exhausted to give him the bonus match I previously had promised him.

Thinking that I had never before wrestled in the winter I was happy to find that this also was a possibility, and it was good to feel that I apparently had a stronger body than I had thought, so maybe this can be a good start for my wrestling in 2017. At least it showed good and I felt still strong when I visited my physio after my return to Copenhagen. Next month will take me to Germany again, as I towards the end of February have an appointment in Hildesheim where I hope to meet more good wrestlers!

For half a year Tuviaz had planned to visit Copenhagen, and when he finally did I was lucky to be able to wrestle him in his hotel room, as the few other wrestlers here in Denmark apparently did not have much interest in wrestling this hunky guy. Also this gave me the opportunity to have some wrestling in the month of December, which I had never had before. So I felt a bit selected when I met him in his hotel room between Christmas and New Year.

Tuviaz had about the same weight and height as I had, so in theory we were quite equal. But there were some differences I had not been prepared for: that he was both stronger and way more experienced than I was. I have never avoided wrestling more experienced or stronger guys, even if I might get squashed, for I have a sturdy body and thus should be able to cope with this. Also I think I can only learn from the more experienced guys, but maybe the difference was too big in this case. We seemed pretty equal in scissors and bearhugs, which were the only holds I had practised, but on all other holds he was superior. I soon was to find out that he had practised BJJ regularily for five years, which I had no experience with, as I for ethical reasons had focused on wrestling and didn't want to mix the various styles. Thus in our first round it didn't take him many seconds before I had to tap out.

The following rounds were quite similar, though I noticed that I could eliminate some of my opponent's stings by using a technique that I had learned when wrestling GymGladiator the previous month. Not that this had any major effect, but it gave me the feeling that I could last a bit longer in the rounds, which now lasted several minutes. I noticed that Tuviaz was breathing heavier, and maybe I had more stamina than he had and therefore might have a chance to win one of the rounds in the end. Just like I had succeeded with, when wrestling one of the Berlin guys there this summer.

Well, I never got that far, for after three or four rounds I had to throw in the towel, now soaked with sweat. Being soaked with sweat I have always seen as a positive sign that I have had a good workout and fun when wrestling, even though I for a great part of the time had felt like a wrestling toy in Tuviaz' hands - or more like Bambi after having slipped on the icy pond in the cartoon film when Thumper asks him if he is having fun. But Tuviaz would be staying three more nights here in Copenhagen, so maybe I could get the chance to wrestle him again before he left.

Luckily this appeared to be possible, and two days later I returned to his hotel. The previous time he had proposed that we should have five rounds in wrestling and I had only been able to take three or four. This time he proposed that we should have ten rounds, though I thought that ten rounds would be just as ridiculous as five rounds. But let us just get started so we wouldn't waste any time.

The rounds this time were much similar to the ones we had done a few days before, but maybe I now knew what I would be up to. Already from the start the rounds were considerably longer, maybe it was just like the Berlin sessions where I always lose the first round because I don't do any warm-up practise, the following rounds were then more dubious. It seemed that we both were determined not to give up, though my body sometimes told me it would be better to give up to avoid further damage - and my brains sometimes told me that it would be better to give up and conserve the energy for the next round. So of course Tuviaz won all seven rounds we managed to do. I was just content that I had been able to stand up to a strong guy like Tuviaz for seven rounds. And perhaps this wasn't the last time we have wrestled, for before I left he told me that I should be welcome to visit him at his place for a few days so we can wrestle and have fun together in Israel.

I had been pretty exhausted after the battle, but I might have to consider this invitation, right now I am more focusing on my coming January match which will be another visit to kleiner kerl in Berlin. And hopefully he also this time can attract some of the many other good Berlin wrestlers.

In November I had my next challenge. It was GymGladiator in Mid-Wales who had invited me to stay two nights at his place, and going there by train from Birmingham it looked to be some great days as the sun was shining from a clear blue sky and the trees had all the autumn colours you could dream of. Pete picked me up at the station and soon after we were in his country house where he not only had his own gym but also a private mat room. I had been inspired to wrestle him for he had the same Armour singlet as I had, only was his singlet in gold colour and not white like mine. I should have thought that there could be a deeper meaning that his singlet was in gold - but I soon was to find out. For in spite of his less number of opponents than me he surely was more experienced than I was, so for his welcome wrestle I could clearly feel his superiority. But as I had expected he was both safe and sane.
That evening I could enjoy Pete's hospitality, for he did some excellent cooking and offered me a guest bedroom where I could stay the night! The following day was fully planned with wrestling and with his permission I had also invited other wrestlers to come and wrestle in Pete's magnificent and inspiring mat room. But although five guys had told me that they would come it was only Peter69 who drove up here from Cardiff, who got here. I found it a bit strange that none of the other guys had made use of this opportunity, for I had used public transportation all the way from Copenhagen, and it had only taken me four hours to get here by use of flight and train.
Peter69 was older than me and less experienced, but we weighed about the same so I was thinking this would be a relaxed match. He had been a bit afraid of my number of previous opponents so we had agreed that I would be easy on him. But I very soon found out that I would have to work harder to keep him down, for he put up a good fight. However, I managed to get on top of him and several times I had to increase to pressure on him to keep him down. After a while I found that the outcome would not change much so I proposed him that he should better give up and save his energy for the next match. But he consistently kept on wrestling into the inevitable and finally submitted. But then he was exhausted and needed a pause, in which I could wrestle Pete again.
This second match with Pete was not much different from the one we had had the day before, as for every round it didn't take many seconds for him to take me down and get me under his control. But I noticed that in one of the rounds he seemed to focus more on my legs, which on one side is my primary weapon while on the other side were my weak point ofter the blood clot. Once he twisted them in a special hold which I had expected to send jolts of pain through my legs - but this did not happen and baffled I could only see how he bend and twisted my legs, and I realised that maybe I should not be so afraid of using my legs for other things than scissors.
After lunch we had another session and I changed into one of my zentai suits which I had imagined could be okay to wrestle in but had never tried. Now I had the chance to test it, for with Peter69 I thought that I had a chance. Naturally my vision was a bit impaired in the zentai suit, but handicapping myself this way I realised that my vision through the black shield over my eyes gradually got better. Afterwards Peter69 told me that he had had a small advantage of my suit, that I apparently had been tamed a bit. Maybe I was, but this couldn't keep me from cornering him against the wall, and this time I wouldn't let him go, for he kept fighting for the three minutes we had agreed on.
I had one final match with Pete before we closed for the day, and since my zentai suit had survived the match with Peter69 I kept wearing it in the match with Pete. But he didn't need that extra advantage from me wearing the zentai suit, for he was just too superior for me. Though in some way I found it was a good feeling to be toyed with by him.
Then it was all over. Peter69 got in his car, the familiar Welsh rain had arrived and after another sumptuous dinner we spent the evening exchanging the pictures we had taken through the matches and saw some videos from Pete's previous matches, showing me that he was not invincible.
The next morning he took me to the train station and then continued to his work. I hope that I can get to wrestle him again, hopefully with a bit more experience! Next wrestling will be a hotel wrestle in December where a guy from Israel will visit Copenhagen, and we have planned to meet for a wrestle in his hotel room.

Last Thursday I boarded the bus to Berlin where I was to meet my friend kleiner kerl in Spandau. He had a double bed who he was willing to share with me and he also had 2x3m mats to wrestle on - what more do you need as a wrestler? Naturally we had our first wrestle when I had arrived to get the travel stiffness out of the body, and as usual he was controlling the match which he won. But he also knew that the next match could turn out different as I got warmed up.
I would stay there for the weekend, and we had planned to have a small tournament at his place. When in July I had visited him last time I had tried to invite other guys to wrestle while I was there, but this failed because the information came much too late. So this time I three weeks earlier had invited ten other Berlin guys to wrestle us while I was there.

Apart from wrestling I also had other things to do in Berlin. On Friday my host would have to be away to work, and I went to Schöneberg to have breakfast with my bondage friend there. He had known me since long before the blood clot and now it was maybe two years since we had seen each other. Immediately he noticed that my walking had improved since last time he had seen me, and maybe he was right. Maybe my impression, that wrestling is good for my body, was right. I hope so. But there is still a long way to go to gain the fitness I once had, if possible. Though as long as I can wrestle I can only be happy.

Saturday arrived and my host had told me that he also had put up a match request here on MeetFighters. Which was good, for so far none of the ten guys I had invited to wrestle had showed up, even though six of them had confirmed that they would come. Yet my host had better luck with attracting other wrestlers to come to his place, for this day three guys showed up. One was catchbear1, a nearby friend of my host and one I had wrestled here back in July, the other ones were WrestleBear from Münster and Stringringer from Rostock.
Thus Stringringer was my first opponent this day. He was eight years older than me, but if I had expected a sedate match with him I was wrong. For he was much more agile than I had expected and soon it became a serious fight. Every time I thought that I had the grips on him he managed to escape from my holds and I could start all over again. But in the end I managed to put him down with his shoulders on the mat and stretch his arms and now he could not escape.
One point to me, and now I was warmed up I decided that it would be time for a second attempt on my host, kleiner kerl. I knew pretty well how he fought, for with his small build I could not rely on my good legs which usually is my main weapon. Though if I managed to catch him with my legs I knew he would be in trouble. So I could only try to find another way around to him. So it became a long battle where we rolled around a lot, sometimes with me on top, sometimes with him on top. But in the end I had cornered him and I successfully had my revenge from Thursday.
Now I was ready for the big guy. WrestleBear was weighing 124 kilos (270 pounds) and by far the heaviest guy I had wrestled. But he was shorter than me and I was not expecting him to be as fast as the two other guys. Though if he managed to get on top of me I would simply get crushed, so I would have to get on top of him and do it fast. I had read from his profile that he was more a jobber, and that appeared to be right. For he was not attacking me from the start, and therefore I rather easily could get him down and get on top of him. Apparently he was most into ground fight, but I was the same, so in this respect we were rather equal. Though even though I now was on top of him he didn't want to give in and started rolling from the side to side in an attempt to shake me off. And several times he actually managed to do so, but I was very aware of this and every time returned to my former position without giving him time to get up again. Keeping that big guy down kinda wore me out, and after a while doing this I asked WrestleBear if he would give up - and luckily he did, for now my knee pads also had slid down, and they were essential for me to keep this big guy in position.
After that match I left it to the other guys to fight on the mat. I had only once before wrestled three guys on the same day, and this was in 2014 when I had visited Perseus in England, and I had not expected to do more wrestling that day. But Stringringer wanted it otherwise, for he now wanted a revenge, and since it had ben a pleasure to wrestle him previously and he had travelled all the way from Rostock I accepted the challenge, even though I was too tired for that. Naturally also Stringringer had done some wrestling while here, but he was not as exhausted as I was now, so this time he rather easily made me submit to him. Apparently four matches in a day was too much for me. It seems that I will have to have a third fight with Stringringer one day to find out who of us is the champion.

Had I thought that I did quite well on Saturday then Sunday got more serious. Now two other guys turned up, one being Kuschelringer and the other one being BenAlHürxe. Ben was taller than me, twelve years younger, and even though his profile showed less previous opponents than me I knew that I would be in for trouble with him. For like me he had also participated in the Einsteiger wrestling camp in Lindow, but unlike me he had continued training in the Einsteiger wrestling club afterwards - which I had not. And probably had wrestled more guys than I had. So I soon found out what difference a year of wrestling training did to a body. It didn't take more than 15 seconds before I was down with my shoulders on the mat. I have never been afraid of losing to the better guy so we continued wrestling, even though I technically already had lost. But these further attempts didn't bring much, I maybe could keep wrestling for 20 seconds before I was back with my shoulders on the mat. He really was a formidable wrestler, and I saw that when later he was wrestling my host. Amazing that he was able to get down so low when he was in the bench. He sure would be good dancing lambada too!
The other guy, Kuschelringer, was more 'human'. He had enjoyed the pictures I had on my profile of me in my silver leotard, so for him I had brought my black leotard. This was a 'one size fits all' size, but I had always doubted that it would be solid enough to wrestle in. But this evening I would find out. For I liked the sleek and shiny spandex material, and hopefully Kuschelringer also did. He came on me like a raging bull and soon we were in a tangle on the mat. I tried to pacify him with my bearhugs, but he only seemed to enjoy this. While I were shedding my powers to no use. I had to think of something else, and surely I could have done so if I had had the experience of Ben. But I had not, but at least he didn't make me tapout. I have never had much interest in who is the winner and who is the loser, for me I just love building a sweat with another guy. And sweating I did wrestling Kuschelringer. So we will probably have another wrestle some other day.
The fight could have ended here, for I was now pretty tired after all that wrestle, but my host wanted a final match with me, and sure I could try to give him one, though I wasn't expecting too much. I had learned from him that his major weapon was a 'schwitzkasten', some kind of headlock, and I tried to lock that on him - but it only worked temporarily, In the end he managed to break free and then the tables were turned and soon he was on top of me. This had been another day with three matches, and in total I had had three matches with kleiner kerl, and he had won two of them. But he also told me that I apparently had appeared stronger this time than in July. Maybe another sign that wrestling is good for my body.

It had been a tough weekend, but I was still surviving, and so was my sleek black leotard. So on Monday morning I boarded the bus back to Copenhagen. It would be good to get those seven hours' rest time on the bus, and I seriously needed this rest time to recuperate from the tournament in Berlin. Next wrestling will be in November when I am invited to Wales for wrestling GymGladiator - another tough challenge.