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.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

145 Pound Girl Defeats 2 Guys

She pins this guy










and beats this guy on points in overtime




Female Wrestler Pins Guy

Chinese Female Wrestler Takes On The Men

I was working as a photographer during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and had been sent to China's national training center to get some photos a few weeks before the Games began. Both my parents are Chinese so I knew the language, which was a big help. The first stop was the wrestling room. I had wrestled all 4 years of high school so I knew a lot about the sport and was interested in seeing how the Chinese team was doing.


I had arranged to meet one of the coaches, who led me into the gym where there were 4 big mats laid out and pairs of wrestlers were going at it. I was following the coach to the opposite end of the gym to drop off some of my stuff when I noticed something strange. Two wrestlers had just walked out to the center of the mat to shake hands. Both were muscular and soaked in sweat, Both were wearing singlets with the Chinese flag, but they were slightly different. The wrestler with the  short black spiky hair had a lowcut singlet with the front part leaving both nipples exposed. The other had longer hair and was wearing a much higher-cut singlet.


"Hey, that's a girl!" I said to the coach.


He stopped and turned around to see what I was talking about and responded matter-of-factly, "Yeah, she's our 72kg women's champion. She often practices with the men - and usually beats them too."


This I had to see. I pulled out my camera as the action began.


The two wrestlers hunched over as the whistle blew. The male wrestler went in for a double leg takedown, but the female wrestler sprawled, took hold of his head and quickly moved to his side, catching is left leg. She tried to flip him over, but he got his balance and planted both arms on the mat, his chest sagging down as he raised his ass in the air. His female opponent got behind him and grabbed his ankle as she wiped some sweat from her face onto the guy's already went singlet.


Then she pounced on his back and slid both legs don inside his thighs, locking her heels just at the base of his balls. She then wrapped an arm around his chin and twisted him until he started groaning in agony.


"Wow, she's really brutalizing him!" I said to the coach.


"She's just showing off for the camera," he replied.


That was definitely true. She was pretty much posing as I snapped away. I felt a little sorry for the guy. He was basically just a prop now. She'd ease up for a few seconds, and then squeeze, digging her heels into his testicles and making him cry out in pain. His face was convoluted and red as sweat streamed down his forehead, which she had an expression of determination. Meanwhile, the other male wrestlers were looking on in disbelief as one of their own was totally humiliated.


She could have finished him off right then, but instead she relaxed her hold and let him roll flat onto his belly with her body on top of his. The ref blew his whistle and called them back to their feet.


The male wrestler looked exhausted and kind of stunned. He was making clumsy attempts at takedowns until the female wrestler managed to get him in a headlock and. I could see she was going to throw him so i set my camera to rapid fire mode to capture it all. Over he went and landed with a loud smack. She had him on his back and tightened her vice-like grip and he just laid there, barely even flopping around. The ref got down to have a look and slapped the mat.


The victorious female wrestler sprang to her feet and the male wrestler remained prostrate on the mat, trying to regain his composure. Finally she went over and grabbed her beaten opponent's hand, pulling him to his feet so he could stand in the center of the mat to acknowledge her victory. The ref raised the female wrestler's arm in my direction so I could get a final photo.