What is the main goal of the school and what was the feedback you received?
The main long term goal for me personally, is to produce a team of wrestlers, referees, ring announcers, managers and all other crew etc… to create and sustain a wrestling promotion and thus a wrestling scene in this country. Obviously there are many, many goals which need to be achieved before we reach that point. I hope to run the first ever Romanian Independent Pro Wrestling show in 2014. My goal for the first show is to bring in the very best wrestlers from all over Europe to showcase just how good the talent on our continent is! I’d also love the show to feature the first graduate(s) of SWS : Romania – but that’s all down to the trainees to prove they are up to the challenge by that point in time!
As for feedback, I have a number of very dedicated trainees who turn up to training every week eager to learn as much as they can! I think that’s the best feedback I can get? One strange thing I’m finding is the age and gender of the trainees here? When I trained in Scotland (and still continue to train – you never stop learning), I’ve trained with students as young as 8 years old ranging up to guys in their late 40’s. Most people start their training when they are around university student age – 18-24 years old. Here at SWS : Romania most of the trainees are High School age – it’d be great to see more of an age range as I’d ideally like to run two separate classes. One for the younger guys and one for the older folks too.. Also – all of my trainees here so far are male. The Source Wrestling School in Scotland has produced some of the very best female wrestlers in Europe and I’d really like to see some female trainees try to follow in the footsteps of the female stars from Scotland like Nikki Storm and Viper.
Another goal of the school, in the same vein as the original Source school in Scotland, is to bring in the best guest trainers from around Europe and the World. I have a whole bunch of guests lined up from around Europe including former WWE and TNA stars. But I need to wait until the school is more established until I can get the ball rolling with my guests. This is something I’m very excited to be doing!
Care este telul principal al scolii si ce feedback ai primit?
Telul principal pe termen lung pentru mine, este sa produc o echipa de wrestleri, arbitrii, crainici, manageri si restul echipei necesare pentru a creea si a sustine o promotie de wrestling si astfel baza unei comunitati in tara aceasta. Desigur, sunt multe, multe teluri pe care as vrea sa le ating inainte sa ajungem la acel punct. Sper sa am primul show de Pro Wrestling Independent Roman in 2014. Sper ca primul show sa aduca cei mai buni wrestleri din intreaga Europa pentru a arata cat de bun este talentul de pe continental nostrum. Sincer as vrea sac a la show sa lupte si primii absolventi ai scolii SWS: Romania – dar asta depinde de ei sa arate ca sunt gata pentru asta in acel punct.
Cat despre feedback, am un numar de student foarte dedicati ce se antreneaza in fiecare saptamana foarte dornici sa invete cat de mult pot. Cred ca asta e cel mai bun feedback pe care l-as putea primi. Un lucru interesant este varsta si sexul celor care vin. Cand ma antrenam in Scotia (si inca ma antrenez – niciodata nu te opresti din invatat), ma antrenam cu student de la 8 ani la oameni de 40. Majoritatea erau in jurul varstei de 18 – 24 de ani. Aici la SWS Romania, majoritatea studentilor au varsta liceului. As vrea sa vad un pic mai multa diversitate in varsta pentru a putea tine cursuri separate. Unul pentru cei tineri altul pentru cei mai in varsta. De asemenea, toti studentii sunt baieti. SWS din scotia a produs unele din cele mai bune wrestlerite din Europa si as vrea sa vad si fete de aici urmand pe calea starurilor precum Nikki Storm sau Viper.
Un alt tel al scolii este, in aceeasi fel ca scoala Source din Scotia, este sa aduca antrenori din Europa si din intreaga lume. Deja am o serie de oaspeti pregatiti din intreaga Europa, incluzand cativa fosti oameni din WWE si TNA. Dar trebuie sa astepteptam pana cand scoala este mai recunoscuta si pot cadea la o intelegerii cu oaspetii mei. Sincer, sunt foarte entuziasmat de acest aspect.
How does a training class look like? What should the participants expect?
A normal training session will all take place entirely in our ring. We’ll have a quick warm up and a shortened Japanese Dojo style workout. After that we’ll do a few ring conditioning drills which work on our wrestling conditioning and allow us to practice some basic skills. Following that we’ll do some wrestling rolls, which are vital to getting new trainees used to some of the movements they will do while wrestling. Then we will run through some break-falls before starting the main part of our lesson. The main idea or skills I want the trainees to pick up changes from session to session. It could be working on break falling technique, technical wrestling, learning basic moves, striking, corner work, rope running… It just depends on our focus that week. I like to finish each session by giving all of the students a ‘main event’. I give the trainees a scenario which could conceivably be a short part of a match. This scenario will allow them to practice what we have been working on that day and also allow them to perform in front of the rest of the group and give everyone a chance to give and receive more detailed feedback.
Trainees should expect a physically demanding workout! If pro wrestling was easy – everyone would be doing it!! Look at the guys you watch on WWE – they all have incredibly well conditioned bodies and are in excellent physical fitness! I don’t expect this from all of my trainees to begin with – but I do expect them to try their hardest! If they can’t complete every exercise, I expect them to try their best and they will be able to do a little bit more next time! Its not easy and I wasn’t able to complete the workouts on my first day of training but it’s something to work on and improve. Also, participants should expect it to hurt!!! I still find it hilarious that most wrestling fans who have never stepped in a ring think that wrestling is easy and doesn’t hurt in any way – I think some people think a wrestling ring is like a trampoline or bouncy castle!! Although to be honest – I do enjoy the look of shock on peoples face when they realise just how much everything hurts! I remember the day after my first training session, I was so sore I couldn’t get out of my bed. I had to cancel everything I had on as I was in agony all over my body!
Care este programul unui curs? La ce sa se astepte participantii?
Un curs normal are loc numai in ring. Avem o scurta incalzire si niste exercitii in stilul Japonez. Apoi trecem printr-o serie de exercitii de conditie vizica prin care ne si lucram exercitiile de baza. Continuam cu niste rostogoliri ceea ce sunt vitale pentru noii student pentru a se familiariza cu miscarile din wrestling. Apoi urmeaza niste caderi fortate inainte de inceperea lectiei propriu zise. Ideea de baza sau abilitatile ce vreau ca studentii sa le invete se schimba de la lectie la lectie. Putem sa petrecem un curs intreg exersand caderi fortate sau manevre de baza, lovituri, munca in colt, alergatul corzilor. Totul depinde de tinta cursului din acea saptamana. Imi place sa inchei fiecare curs dand studentilor un “main event”. Le ofer studentiilor un scenario ce theoretic ar fi o parte dintr-un meci. Acest scenario le da ocazia sa lucreze ce am exersat intreaga zi si de asemenea le da ocazia sa lucreze in fata intregului grup si astfel toata lumea poate sa dea si sa primeasca feedback detaliat.
Studentii ar trebui sa se astepte la o sesiune foarte intense. Daca pro-wrestlingul era usor, oricine ar putea sa ii faca fata. Uite-te la oamenii din WWE: toti au o conditie fizica foarte buna. Nu ma astept ca toti studentii sa inceapa cu asta, dar ma astept sa dea tot ce pot. Chiar daca nu pot sat ermine toate exercitiile, ma astept sa faca cat mai bine si astfel data viitoare sa dea si mai mult. Nu este usor si nici eu nu puteam sa termin o intreaga sesiune in prima zi de antrenament dar e ceva ce trebuie lucrat si imbunatatit. De asemenea, participantii trebuie sa se astepte ca totul sa doara. Inca ma amuza ca multi fani care nu au pus piciorul intr-un ring, cred ca wrestlingul este usor si nu doare in nici un fel; cred ca unii oameni se asteapta ca ringul sa fie ca o trambulina sau un castel gonflabil. Desi, sincer sa fiu, imi place sa vad socul oamenilor cand realizeaza exact cat doare totul. Imi aduc aminte a doua zi dupa prima mea lectie: nu puteam sa ma ridic din pat la cat durea totul. A trebuit sa imi curat tot programul din ziua respective pentru ca eram in agonie.
Will your school help its students obtain contacts with other wrestling organizations outside Romania? What options does a wrestler have after graduating your school?
The school aims to give everyone who steps through the door the best education in Pro Wrestling possible! It’s really up to the trainees and future graduates to make the most of it! Being an independent wrestler means you work independently. If another promoter from another promotion sees someone he likes in our school and on our shows – they will contact the graduate directly and negotiate terms for bringing them to the company to appear on a show. If the graduate agrees terms it’s up to them to make sure they impress everyone there in the hope that they will be asked to return to appear on future shows. In that respect – it’s up to the graduate. Although I will be doing my best to bring in talent and trainers from other promotions abroad who will always be looking to see if anyone impresses them. So in that respect I will be providing a platform for trainees and graduates to impress influential figures around Europe. While this sounds daunting – through processes like this, many Source Wrestling School graduates have gone on to tour the United States, Japan and mainland Europe over the last two years. I hope that the graduates of SWS : Romania will emulate and surpass the success of our colleagues in Scotland!
Scoala va ajuta studentii in obtinerea contractelor cu alte organizatii in afara Romaniei? Ce optiuni are un wrestler odata de a absolvit cursurile scolii?
Scoala are ca scop acordarea celei mai bune educatii in Pro Wrestling pentru oricine intra pe usa. Este datoria studentilor si a absolventilor sa faca tot ce pot cu asta. A fi un wrestler independent inseamna ca lucrezi independent. Daca un alt promoter din alta promotie vede pe cineva care ii face cu ochiul in scoala noastra sau la showurile noastre – ei vor contacta absolventul direct si va negocia termini de a-l aduce in compania lui sau pentru o aparitie. Daca cei doi cad de comun accord la o intelegere, atunci este treaba absolventului cand ajunge la acel show sa impresioneze pe toata lumea pentru a fi dorit si la altele. Eu totusi voi face tot posibilul sa aduc wrestleri si antrenori din alte promotii pentru a putea creea legaturi. Eu voi furniza platform pentru a creea legaturi, dar depinde de fiecare individ sa iasa in evidenta sis a impresioneze persoane influnete din Europa. La prima vedere pare o corvoada, dar acest process este cel prin care au trecut multi absolventi din SWS Scotia ajungand in State, Japonia si alte tari din Europa. Sper ca studentii din SWS: Romania sa urmeze acelasi drum de success ca si colegii lor din Scotia.
What do you think a person requires to be or to have in order to be a successful professional wrestler?
I’d like to break this down into two parts – what makes a successful trainee and what makes a successful wrestler:
A good trainee needs to be incredibly versatile, hard working and dedicated. There will be many different opportunities given to trainees and it is vital that they make the most of them! By the time I had debuted, I had done almost every role or job for my company that I could do apart from wrestle – each of these taught me valuable lessons and proved my dedication to the people running the company and showed I can be trusted with responsibility. I had put up posters to advertise shows, sold tickets at the front door of events, sold merchandise, driven the ring van, picked up foreign stars from the airport, built rings, worked the music desk, been a security guard at ringside, done ring announcing duties and refereed matches. All of these experiences allowed me to learn important lessons about in ring wrestling and how the business side of wrestling works. Trainees need to be versatile enough to do all of these jobs in order to prove themselves to their promoter in order to eventually be trusted to wrestle on shows.
Now a successful wrestler – hhhhmmmm…. I could talk about this for hours (I’ve already been talking for hours!). The biggest thing I’d say is to be unique. If you want to make a name for yourself you need to be able to offer something that no one else is doing? Whether it’s your gimmick, your wrestling style, your promos, your wrestling gear, what you wear during your entrance etc…You need to be doing something that promoters see and think wow – I don’t have anybody on my roster who does that – I NEED him on my show! There is a good example from the Scottish Wrestling scene. There is a guy from Scotland who had been wrestling for for around 6 years on and off. He’d become disillusioned because he felt he wasn’t good enough. By his own admission he wasn’t the best wrestler, his body did not look good, he didn’t work out and would disappear from wrestling for many months at a time and then come back for one match every summer, but leave again because he felt his match was terrible. In his favour, he is one of the funniest, most likeable and charismatic people I have ever met. Eventually he started making funny youtube clips and video challenges for an upcoming match – the public loved it – because it showed how funny he was. He went on to make more and more well received promo videos and the now wrestling fans love him – he has changed his character entirely – instead of him actually being down about his ability and look etc – he uses it as his character – the crowds love him because he isn’t the best, he doesn’t look great but he is hilarious – everyone can relate to him and his new comedy character now sees him wrestle all over the UK every weekend instead of wrestling once every year and becoming frustrated about not being good enough. All this because he did something unique that nobody else was doing
De ce crezi ca este nevoie la o persoana pentru a devein un wrestler de success?
As vrea sa impart intrebarea in doua parti: de ce e nevoie pentru un student de success si un wrestler de success:
Un student bun are nevoie sa fie versatile, sa lucreze din greu si sa fie dedicate. Vor exista o diversitate de oportunitati pentru student si depinde de ei sa profite la maxim. Pana la debutul meu, facusem cam tot ce se putea face pentru compania mea inafara de wrestling; de fiecare data am invatat ceva de valuare si mi-am aratat dedicarea celor ce conduceau compania si am aratat ca pot avea incredere in bine cu responsabilitati. Am pus postere pentru show-uri, vandut bilete la intrare, vandut obiecte colectionabile, condus masina cu ringul, luat star-uri de la aeroport, construit ringul, lucrat la muzica, facut parde din echipa de securitate, am fost arbitru si am anuntat meciurile. Toate experientele mi-au oferit ceva de invatat despre ringul de wrestling si despre industrie in sine. Studentii trebuie sa fie indeajuns de versatili sa faca toate astea pentru a arata promoterului ca poate avea incredere in el pentru un meci.
Acum un wrestler de success… as putea vorbi despre asta cu orele (Deja vorbesc de ore). Cel mai important lucru cred ca este “a fi unic”. Daca vrei sa iti creezi un nume, trebuie sa oferi ceva ce nimeni altcineva nu ofera. Fie ca este prin gimmick, stilul de lupta, promo-urile tale, costumatia, intrarea etc. Trebuie sa faci ceva ce face un promoter sa gandeasca “Wow, nu am pe nimeni la mine care face asta, am NEVOIE de el la show-ul meu”. Exista un exemplu bun in wrestlingul din scotia. Este un tip care lupta de vreo 6 ani cu pause. Devenise destul de deziluzionat crezand ca nu e destul de bun. Chiar el recunostea ca nu era cel mai bun in ring, nu arata fenomenal, nu mergea la sala, si lucre un meci iar apoi disparea cu lunile pentru ca el credea ca meciul era oribil. Totusi este unul din cei mai amuzanti, agreabili si carismatici oameni pe care i-am intalnit. Pana la urma a inceput sa faca video-uri haioase pe youtube si pachete video pentru meciuri ce urmau. Publicul a adorat asta pentru ca ii sublinia simtul umorului. A inceput sa faca video-promo-uri din ce in ce mai de success si acum fanii il adora. Si-a schimbat personajul complet: in loc sa fie negative despre look-ul si abilitatea sa, acum le foloseste pentru personaj; publicul il iubeste pentru ca nu este cel mai bun, nu arata cel mai bine dar este amuzant. Toata lumea are o legatura cu noul sau personaj umoristic si acum lucreaza in intreg Regatul unit in fiecare weekend, in loc de odata pe an terminand in frustrare. Si toate astea pentru ca facea ceva ce nu mai facea nimeni.
