| two • introductions • ambitious, but rubbish... |
[Mar. 25th, 2008|06:38 pm] |
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| |  uncomfortable | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | the prodigy • no good | ] |
Congratulations!
Your screen name is: korins got wood
It's taken me about four years to understand what 'getting wood' means. Hearing it for the first time, I genuinely thought that the person in question had some... literal wood. It's only recently that I've realized what it means. So, when it came to choosing a screen name, korins got wood popped into my head first. It makes sense.
Well, it makes sense when you know my name. My name is Korin Wood. I'm 25 years old, and I was born in South Africa. I've lived in Vermont now for four years, and holy crap, it's so different. When I stepped off the plane, it was like I'd landed on Mars or something. It still frightens me, really, just how different life is. Most noticeably, the language. I don't speak much Afrikaans or Zulu, but one gets so used to hearing 'Hallo! Hoe gaan dit?' or 'Unjani?' every ten minutes. Sometimes I actually miss it. I usually end up calling home every day, just to hear my parents speaking.
Another thing I adore about America is the freedom we all have here. Everyone is equal, and free. It's beautiful. In the past four years, I've become a real Americophile. I adore the food, the culture, the music, the people, and most importantly, the wrestling! Wrestling isn't exactly HUGE in South Africa, but there's a decent following, and I am one of the loyal devotees. On Saturday afternoons, mainstream wrestling shows would be shown on the television, and I was instantly hooked. It had (and has) everything. It was exciting, fast-paced, glamorous, and incredibly addictive. A few weeks later, I knew I wanted to become a wrestler.
Unfortunately, as I've hinted at, South Africa isn't famous for its equality, especially towards women. I couldn't find anyone to train me, and, as such, ended up training myself, every day after school. We had this crappy trampoline in our back yard, that was my ring. I'd fall off it, and as such, I've had more broken bones than I care to remember. Aged 18, after four years of agonizing self-training, I contacted various South African wrestling federations, and handed out my tape. I must have sent out ten videos of me wrestling, and I only heard back from one federation. Naturally, I jumped at the chance of being able to wrestle professionally.
The three years I spent wrestling in South Africa were some of the craziest times of my life. We wrestled in some huge arenas, to massive crowds, and we also wrestled in tin shacks infront of about six people. There were times when I went for weeks without being paid, and times when we had to leave mid-show during to the crowds getting bored and deciding to riot. As insane as the three years in the SA fed was, I'm glad I've left it behind. Slowly but surely, I realized I wanted to work on a grander, more prestigious stage.
Once again, I sent out my tapes (DVDs this time) to the smaller feds in America. I must have sent about 50 tapes out, and I heard back from maybe... 10 at the most. One gets very used to "We're sorry, but we don't have any room on our roster for another talent" or "While we are impressed with your skills in the ring, we just don't think you are right for us", it's a little disheartening. Finally, when I was just about to give up hope, I heard back from a federation in New England, America. Eastern Wrestling Alliance were just crazy enough to take on a self-trained white South African woman.
I headed over to Burlington, Vermont in December 2003. Like I said earlier, it was just incredible, and I fell in love instantly. I also fell in love with EWA. They realized that I had potential, and some skill, I was just unrefined and potentially dangerous. So, they put me back at square one. I learnt how to take bumps safely, how to run the ropes properly, everything. Then, they built up what I already knew, and added more to it: more holds, more power moves, more of everything.
The rest, as they say, is history. I'm a three-time EWA Women's champion, and a one-time EWA Hardcore champion. My goal for 2008 is to get the Cruiserweight belt.
I would describe my style of wrestling as... hm. I suppose I'm a technical powerhouse. I can go up to the top rope and do high risk, I would just rather not. Lucha wrestling is a real art, but technical mat-wrestling is just beautiful. There's something so satisfying about being able to land some real power moves. That's my thoughts, at least. I've been asked to do all sorts from the top rope, but the most I will probably stretch to is a splash from the second rope. I have no desire to be airborne!
When I'm not wrestling, I work as a legal secretary for a solicitor's firm in Burlington. It's not exactly thrilling work, but it helps pay the bills, and when my body finally gives up on the wrestling lark, I'll have something to fall back on, I suppose. Ideally, I'd like to go into training once I'm done wrestling, but sometimes it falls to the luck of the draw, I suppose.
I spend quite a lot of time snowboarding and snow skiing as well, which is something I've just learned recently. I'm in love with the snow as well, it's so beautiful. When all the insane snowstorms were raging, I was just mesmerized by it, it looked perfect. I've spent most weekends up on the slopes since January, and I'm a passable snowboarder now. I don't think I'm championship material, although I could try out for the South African Olympic Snowboarding team. I don't even know if that exists. If it doesn't, I'll invent it.
Kudos to anyone who's gotten this far, you've done really well. Right now, I can't force myself to type anymore. My shoulder is aching, I think I'm gonna go rest up infront of the television, with plenty of candy.
- Korin
( korins got wood ) |
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