Rehearsed Moves in Wrestling
Wrestling moves are tricky, since if you are not paying close attention, you might believe the throws are real. At the moment I am still a little reluctant to fill you in on the moves, since I am not a wrestling fan, however my son is, and he is going to give us the inside information on wrestling moves to help us see it for what it is, fake.
One of the oldest moves is the ‘banana splits’, although, today, the move is now known as the ‘leg splits’. This move entails one wrestler putting both hands on the legs of the other wrestler and pushing the legs apart as far as they will stretch. This move will force the wrestler to put his/her own shoulders to the mat. If the wrestling move were genuine and the wrestler failed to submit, his/her legs would rip some muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.
The ‘Cobra Clutch’ is another of the holds that would in reality cause agony. The cobra move is universally recognizable as the cross chokes or arm locks. The challenging wrestler will come from the back of the other pugilist and using a single arm in the “Nelson Hold”. The opponent will then use his/her arm to tug the wrestler’s arm trying to prevent him from pulling across the neckline and choking him as a result. The back clutch, or bombard is similar but the challenging wrestler is on his back under his opponent extending his arms upward from behind.
The ‘Rock Bottom’ moves entail the adversary drawing his opponents arm over his shoulder. The wrestler then places the opponents arm over his/her shoulder and lifts and dives forward onto the mat. During this attack, the challenger is hitting the mat head first, which if actually executed, would break some bones, or else cause some serious pain.
The ‘Choke Slam’ involves the attacking wrestler gripping the opponent’s arm and lifting his arm close by his opponent’s side, over his shoulder. Then he lifts the opponent and slams him to the mat.
The ‘Big Boot’ move is a running attack, the wrestler lifts up his boot connecting with the face of his opponent. A kick in the face with a boot in other words, which would knock a person on his/her rear any time, causing the kicked person to feel severe concussion for a while.
What makes wrestling so exciting is the phoney dialogue, the outfits, the characters and the moves. If you think of the movie Superman, and how he dresses, you will see that without his outfit he wouldn’t have any character appeal as Superman. Likewise, the wrestlers wear outfits that make them appear as though they are super heroes of the ring, indicting the villains. Each wrestler has his/her role in the ring. It is usually quite placid, but made to look violent!
Wrestling has rules, as well as restrictions although the moves are fake. Wrestlers must respect the ropes of the ring, as well as the colour codes in the ring. There are also styles of wrestling, which include the folk style, freestyle and Greco Romanian styles.
Each of the styles has its own set of rules, although the freestyle and folk style are somewhat similar. Usually, the styles are demonstrated so well that you wouldn’t know which style the wrestlers are using.
As with a script, most of the moves are composed and rehearsed, which means that a director is out of sight using his/her hands to direct the wrestlers in the rings. For the most part, wrestling is nothing more than an act with a few exemptions like when the KAYFABE brakes down, when a real fight might break out. The KAYFABE is wrestling’s means of verbal communication.