Webcast Transcript: Getting Started with Ursa, VeVe, Hanz

Last month, we recorded a little webcast featuring usual hosts VeVe and Hanz, along with special guest Ursa Fierce.  During this webcast, Ursa talked about some of her first impressions with getting into the wrestling scene.  VeVe and Hanz also commented on their early entries into the wrestling scene.

Presented here is a LONG transcript of the relevant dialogue.  I will attempt to title the various topic-shift sections in case you'd like to skim it.

Here is the hour-long video recording, and below that is the LONG text transcript of the relevant, non-tangent portions.

.......................

Ursa's First Impressions

VeVe:
So, we were going to speak a little bit about being a new wrestler, new-ish, coming into the session and video world now. It's cool because we have someone who is experiencing being new to wrestling now, and 2 people who've experienced a while ago and can refer to earlier experiences for a bit more perspective now. [...]

How are you finding entering the wrestling scene, Ursa?

Ursa:
Can we break it down?

VeVe:
So how did it come to pass that you got involved with this anyway?

Ursa:
It's a been like a slow approach for me. I joke that I'm very cautious about doing things, and then I jump in 100%.

With wrestling, I went to a beginner workshop a couple years ago at least, and before that I had a boyfriend who was a wrestler, and we would tussle around a bit, which was really fun.  But also I got really annoyed that I couldn't really match him at all, which was somewhat fun, but at a point I was like, eh, hm, I'm tired of this. So I went to a beginner workshop that you all were having, and it was crazy to me.

It was crazy. I grew up as a theatre kind, as a musician, as a swimmer, which is the least contact of all sports, you're not even in contact with the ground.

 Anyhow, so it was just crazy touching people in new ways, and having my weight be an advantage, where in other sports, and in life as a woman, you try to make your body smaller, not overwhelm people. So being in wrestling, especially this kind of wrestling, is a total flip of the script where that's concerned, and that's been pretty fun.

Hanz:
Were you nervous about it at first, going from the beginner workshop and jumping into the videos and having a public persona?

Ursa:
Yeah, totally, I was terrified. Just going to the first workshop was kind of terrifying. And then I was like, oh these people are nice, I don't know about this wrestling thing, but I like the people. And then I kind of slowly came back, once in a while, for over a year, and then...

The video making I was nervous about, but even more than that, once I started practicing and then I had my first competitive match, that was maybe the most nervous I'd been so far. And it was against -- it was from the live event last fall -- with Kari. Well, that was that one I was --

Hanz:
That was your first one?

Ursa:
Well, first, I fought Aqua X before that. But she's very small and inexperienced, so it was like this will probably be ok. And it was still hard match.

But then I'd been training a bit and I was going to be fighting Kari. And at that point I felt like I actually had some skin in the game. 'Cause I was like I know a couple things, like if I lose this, then that'll be terrible. And it's two 8 or 10 minute rounds. I think it was 8 that day. And I was like, oh, that's really long. And it's live, so there's that added pressure. So I was super nervous for that.

VeVe: 
That's like how you felt going into the Aqua match vs the Kari match. But then doing the Aqua match vs the Kari match, how does that compare?

Ursa:
The Aqua match -- she was very squirmy and energetic, and I had to keep moving the whole time. And I learned a lot. I think we both learned a lot through doing during the match, which I see happening with other beginning wrestlers: someone tries a thing, and you're like oh that worked for them, and so you try it on them. Or you're getting somewhere with one thing, and then they adjust. So I feel like I learned a lot, but had to keep the momentum up.

By the time I wrestled Kari, she had already wrestled Sweetie Dreams, I think, and maybe someone else also? And she was pretty beat [tired]. So, I went in really, really nervous, and then as we got going, I was like, oh, she's a lot lower energy at this point, so how do I navigate that? She was doing a lot of turtle defense [on elbows and knees in a ball], which I had never seen before.

She's like 280 lbs maybe, so to break down that kind of turtle, I was just hanging on her, like I don't know what I'm doing. But trying to work what I'd learned without -- I don't know -- she's a visitor, she's visiting, I don't want to make it horrible for her. If that makes sense. So, they were different matches, for sure.

How about you guys, do you remember?

Hanz and VeVe Give Their First Impressions

Hanz:
 I remember. I wore a mask for the first couple years. That's how nervous I was about doing videos. 

VeVe:
Yeah, the first video match that I did was against Veronica Vicious, who was a founding member of the original Doom Maidens, back in the day.

 When we first started out -- doing videos was something that Hanz had to be our consultant about, because we hadn't quite figured out how to do that fro ourselves. So, Hanz was the cameraman of the hour. And we didn't have a format, we were just going to try this for the first time ever, and we went, I think, for 30 minutes straight, or maybe there was a short break. But it was exhausting, it was wild. 
Veronica and I were both really new to wrestling at the time, and something that I think people only learn later is conserving energy at all. So that was 100% full tilt the whole time, just like murderous. 

And I think, you know, it was probably a really exciting match, looking back, but it's also one that I'm really glad has mostly sort of disappeared from the internet because one of the things I also hadn't really learned yet in my novicedom was: I wore this awful tank top, tie dye, and I had an awful haircut. It was very learning experience.

Ursa: 
Had you been training BJJ or any sort of wrestling before that?

VeVe:
That was before I started training formally, but when we were just first founding Doom Maidens, we were doing our own practice sessions. So there were a couple people who knew a bit more than I did. So we were showing up for these little get-together self-training. ... So, we knew just that much, a little bit.

Ursa:
 Just enough to be dangerous to each other?

VeVe:
 I think maybe knowing almost anything can help be a little less dangerous. I know the first couple times I wrestled I did jump in with zero training whatsoever, and one of the first things I thought: I should start learning stuff to be less dangerous.

On Learning and Improving and Trying New Things

Ursa:
 Yeah. It's funny how just a little bit of knowledge takes you a long way. My first-FIRST competitive match was with Sweetie Dreams, and I had no idea what I was in for.

VeVe:
 Oh, I remember. That was shocking to you.

Ursa: It was shocking to me! Cause I had only wrestled her before in practice, and wrestled other people who were very kindly calibrating their skill level to mine. And so, I was like, wait, but it's a video -- you actually use all your skill? I thought it was going to be acting. Just a little bit. So I didn't know how much I didn't know.

 She got me with so many smothers, so I was like, oh my god, I can't breathe, rather than I shall turn my head now and be able to breathe.

VeVe:
That's a great thing about doing matches: you learn what you need to work on. It's also a great thing about when you're new: you can learn something every day that's super helpful. Whereas, when you've been doing it for a long time, it takes so much more investment to make small improvement. When you know nothing, everything is a giant improvement. It's a fun time. You really see advancement quickly.

Hanz:
 It's true. At first you're just improving by leaps and bounds, and then it gets to a point where you really have to study. Heh.

Ursa:
 And you're also just improving incrementally at that point, too, right? It's like [hand gesture curve]? 

Hanz:
 I've still got plenty to learn.

 VeVe: [to Hanz]
We tease you that you neither train nor ever change anything.

 Hanz:
 I don't.

 VeVe:
So you can get better at the 2 things you do.

 Hanz:
 Yep. Scissors and arm triangles.

 VeVe:
 You're the same wrestler every time.

 Hanz: 
 But they work.

 Ursa:
 You just rely on everyone else to change.

 Hanz: 
I'm the video game play who plays the fighting game and just hits "B" [button] all the time. Just like a constant low kick, and the other person gets pissed, like: why don't you do any real moves? Well, why don't you stop the low kick first? [...]

 Ursa:
So Hanz, you started masked?

 Hanz:
 I did. That was the only way I could convince myself to do videos and put them out there. Since then, I've actually gone and taken most of those down and away. After a while, I didn't like the way the mask looked, and as a fan as well of mixed videos, I always like mixed videos where you can see both people's faces, and see the emotions of the match. The mask was kind of taking away from that. 

Ursa:
 I've also heard people say that if the man is masked and is beaten, then he has no skin in the game. Right? You can't be properly humiliated if you're masked.

 Hanz:
 It's like a shield to hide behind. No just out there. But yeah, I finally decided to do one without the mask. It was actually for you guys, against Orlandoe, and I remember being really nervous about it, like, oh, I'm going to do a non-masked one. So we did the match, and I saw it when it was done, watched it, then I was like, yes, this looks better, I like it better. I'm just going to do this from now on. But it's scary at first. A little bit.

 VeVe: 
 What was the tipping or trigger point thing that made you say: I'm going to try this?

 Hanz: 
 I think I just got to the point where I would see -- cause I was doing videos for my own store at that point -- and they all had the mask on, and I would watch them back, and I would be like: I would like this video better, like -- I like stuff about my early videos, but the one thing I would change is I wish I wasn't wearing the mask. And also, it was hard to breathe in that thing. And I would breathe loudly. It was kind of Darth Vader-ish. So.... which was kind of distracting as well. So I was just like, you know, I'm going try it without the mask and see how it looks.

 Ursa:
 You've never gone back...

 Hanz:
 Nope.

 Ursa:
 Did you ever think you'd be making the kind of videos you've been making lately?

 Hanz:
 Ha. No, I didn't. So that's another whole step. Completely unmasked. That was actually less scary than taking the mask off the face. That was a much less scary step than removing the mask originally.

VeVe:
 There's nothing more you can do about identity after you've shown the face.

 Hanz:
 Yeah. The mask is like your face is out there, and this is what everyone sees. [...]

 Ursa: 
 With the sexier (unclothed) stuff -- I would love to feel like I could do that, but there's so much stigma around it, I think especially for women. There are plenty of women around who do it and are amazing, but, personally, that feel like a scarier step for me than doing regular sexy stuff with clothes.
Body Positivity, Confidence, and Being Yourself

Hanz:
 You're always afraid people are going to shame you for it, right? But it can be a very body-positive kind of thing. That's the way I think about it.

 Just sort of, growing up, it was always this shame with nudity or eroticism. And to get to just do it and put it out there is kind of freeing in a way. Just be like: no, this is a good thing, and I shouldn't have to be afraid that someone's going to make me feel ashamed of it. Like they shouldn't be able to make me feel ashamed of it.

 So. Yeah. I thought about it for a long time: do I really want to do this? It's kind of a big step, and once I came to the conclusion, it's like: you grew up feeling ashamed of this, so this is kind of like stepping away from that, which is nice.

 Ursa: 
 It can be empowering. Just talking about body-positivity, a lot of this wrestling has been therapeutic for me in a way, in that I'm like, yeah, this is my body, and it's not just thin, fit who can show their bodies in bikinis. I can also, and it's going to be wonderful. And it's out there for the world, and that's how it is. Fully own it. It can be good.

 VeVe: 
 You can get a totally realistic assessment "by doing" of what you're body can do. And here's how everything feels, and here are my abilities, and here's me up against another person. And I think a lot of so many assumptions are out there. Even just today, after I've been doing this for some many years, I went into a session and got: "you're pretty strong for a girl." Just "by doing," people find out --

 Ursa: 
Have you seen my muscles? Have you seen them? They're still muscles, even though I have tits. It's crazy.

 VeVe: 
 They work, and they move, and they do things. And by wrestling, you get rid of some of those assumptions. I can't do this. I can! I'm doing this right now.

 Ursa:
 I think it's something that you've challenged me a lot on. I'm like: my body doesn't do that! And you're like: just maybe keep trying. And then I'm like: oh, I can do it. It just took practice. Because my body's used to sitting at a desk and not squiggling under a human.

 Also, it's so nice to get all of the positive reinforcements from fans. So when I meet people being like: oh my god, you're so gorgeous. And I'm like: yes I am, and people in the mid-west never appreciated me. I'm like: I was wasted on everyone else, and now I'm finally getting the recognition I feel like I deserved all along, and it's so nice. It's so nice getting that. So, thank you. And I'm like: I know, I know, and it's nice that you know too.

 VeVe: 
 That's one thing I always say when I have a muscle worship fan. I'll get a couple questions, like: do you like being worshipped? I'm like: yeah, of course! And: "I so like your muscles" or "I so like your body." and I'm like: That's really nice, because I do! And I put a lot of work into doing it. So it's nice to know other people like what I like about myself. And that's pretty cool.

 Ursa: 
 And I feel like in this work too, it's sort of a reflection -- and I'm going to get a little philosophical here -- but I feel like there's a fan for everything, there's a fan for every body type. Your fans may not be the same as my fans. But really, the more you are yourself, people like it. And I feel like that plays out in the real world too, in that you're like: well, if there's everyone who likes my body, maybe I don't need to try to be so one way or another in the world, and I can just be myself and somebody will like that.

It's a nice little playing out of that theory. Because people talk about, you know, oh, well, just be yourself, go all Hamlet, "This about all, to thine own self be true," but it's nice in this work to actually see that play out. And the more you are yourself, the more you share of yourself, people are like oh my god, you're amazing, and getting that immediate feedback, you're like, huh, yeah, all right, great! 

Hanz:
Do you actually find in doing this that the confidence [you build] -- do you find that crossing over into your non-wrestling day-to-day life?

 Ursa:
 Yeah, I think it feed back and forth, you know. I think me feeling confident and good about myself allows me to do wrestling. And I think the more I do it, the more feedback I get that comes back and feeds the other. So I think it all kind of builds. And it gives me more confidence, and having more confidence gives me more wrestling mojo --

 Hanz:
 I've told a few people that part of the thing that made me jump off -- because I've always wanted to do this and try this, but I was always hesitant and nervous -- but the thing I always think to myself: when I get to the end of my life, when I'm in my deathbed, my worst fear would be looking back on my life and thinking there are all these things I wanted to try and never did it because I was too scared. If I could be in that moment and say: there are all these things I wanted to try and I tried then, even though I was scared and I did it anyway, at that point I would be happy and look back on my life.

 Ursa:
 No regrets.

 Hanz:
 Yeah, that was a faster way to say that.

 Ursa:
I feel like another thing I've been learning in my own life and in wrestling is to deal with discomfort. Which I feel like in the US and Western civilization we're taught that if something's uncomfortable, you shy away from it, you don't do it. And just learning to be like: ah, I'm being choked right now, or, like in our match, I'm being body scissored right now, very hard, and I could tap right now, or if I just chill out, I could probably get out of this. So, that's a nice --

 Hanz:
 You're very resistant to my body scissors.

 Ursa:
 Yes! I'm so happy. I actually said I was injured from that match, and I was afraid it was from the body scissors, but it was just a muscle thing. But at first I was like: oh no, did I resist too much? I just resisted appropriately.

 Hanz: 
 I always try to put those things on slow, you know. So, rib stuff...

 Ursa:
 I'm not saying it was pleasant. So, when you put the video out, and people buy it, and you listen to the noises I was making, I think you'll be able to tell that was not pleasant. I was like, what are these noises coming out of me? They sound really sad and unhappy.

 VeVe:
 Then afterwards, maybe some happy noises for escaping...

 Ursa:
Yeah. Like so many people have fallen victim to your body scissors. You know, it's kind of a cheap shot. It's very effective. But it doesn't feel like it should be as good as it is, but it's very --

 Hanz: 
 It's my version of a low kick.

 Ursa: 
 Yeah. It's pretty bad.

Ursa's Intro into the Video Realm

 VeVe [to Ursa]:
 I wanted to ask you, what was the thing where you went from coming to training sessions and hovering on the edges, what was the catalyst to jumping in and doing the videos?

 Ursa:
 I think it was actually the other way for me. I think I was attracted to the video work. I was like: yeah, I want to be a star, put me on camera. And then I got thoroughly beaten, and I was like: hmmm, I guess I'm going to have to do some work if I don't want this to happen all the time.

 So videos have kind of been a motivation for me to train, more than the other way around. I had desire before [to train], but I wasn't making it a priority. And having the videos as a thing that's like, oh you have this thing coming up on this date, makes me more accountable to coming to practices. 

Hanz:
 That is a good motivation: oh I have a competitive match coming up, on this date, vs this person -- 

Ursa:
 I don't want to look like a fool. I don't want to submit to these body scissors, so I better learn how to get out of them. When is that coming out, by the way [Ursa vs Hanz]? I'm curious to see it. And VeVe wasn't around for it.

 VeVe:
 No, I was away on tour, but I've heard a bit.

 Ursa:
 I feel like for a novice I did pretty well.

 Hanz:
 You really did, actually. It was a tough match.

 Ursa: 
 You came out hard, too.

 VeVe:
 He was feeling threatened.

 Ursa:
 Yeah, apparently. It was not just aggressive cuddling.

 Hanz:
 It's a little different from those rare times when I'm actually at practice. It's a different sort of energy, so...

 Ursa:
 The question is: what was the motivation to start videoing? I've always been interested in fetish work, to be honest, and it's something that always sounded fun to me, but I do have hang-ups, like any body else, or any body with my upbringing maybe. And this seemed like a really fun and safe way to get into it.

 But I don't know if there was a moment. I do remember I was like: oh tell me more. We had brunch, we met for brunch at a very busy restaurant-bar. We discussed fetish work. And I was like: ok, I really still don't understand this, but I'm not going to understand it unless I try it. So... This wrestling stuff has definitely been a challenge for me, and I like challenges. And so, this feels scary to me, so I think I need to do it.

 Hanz: 
 Rising to the challenge.

 Ursa:
 Yeah.

 VeVe: 
We had thing about just getting started: doing competitive matches vs doing domination or fantasy stuff. This is something I'm still going back and forth on, as we often get new people getting involved. I'm like: what's the best way to start people out? And I imagine it does vary for different people, like [for example,] Oh, I'm super comfortable as a physical person jumping in, or I'm super comfortable as an actress, or whatever.

 But how was that for you, being like: here's a competitive match where you're going to fight somebody. Or: here's a scenario or a role, or here's some body to dominate?

 Ursa:
 Yeah. So, for me, knowing so little about wrestling when I started, I was like: I don't know how to dominate someone with wrestling. I don't know what a submission is, I don't know what looks convincing and what doesn't. So, competitive was a better way for me to start, because then you just go and do what you can.

 If you're dominating, you're more in charge, the focus is on you. You have to know what you're doing a little bit. And I wasn't ready to do that in a wrestling context. So, competitive was the better way for me to enter. Until I knew a little bit more of what I'm doing. Honestly, and to know what bodies can take. Doing a little research and development.

 VeVe:
I know when I started out, I thought that we were going to be like all really known for being super real and competitive all the time. And that was one of the first conceptual organizing principles for us. But as soon as we started doing that and people started to see and notice even a little bit, fans write in and suggestions come in, and it turns out that competitive was not the only thing that people wanted. So it was a great way to start out and to learn a foundation of moves and skills and learn that they can be applied in so many ways.

 Ursa:
 I'm kind of at a 180 now in that I'm like: competitive, that sounds hard! And a little more nerve-wracking, because you do have skin in the game, you have to prove yourself, or take a little bit of an ego bashing, or a physical bashing that goes with the ego bashing.

 So, the more I know now, I'm like: yeah, let me dominate that person, that sounds great! I really actually want to do more scenario customs with more plot, and femme fatale, and assassins, and I want my fingers in that. That sounds so fun to me. If anyone's listening who wants them, let me know...

 Hanz:
It's good you kind of start out with a base thing, the one thing, and slowly start branching out into other styles or other things. It's always kind of fun to see people's personalities develop that way too. It's like: oh, it started with competitive wrestling, and bondage wrestling...

and, to the point where it's like: there's an artwork of me and you [VeVe] that somebody made... it's like a poster. And it's really cool. Wow, somebody drew this and made this picture of us from, you know, that they took from a video still from the end of one of our bondage wrestling matches.

 Ursa:
 I love fan art.

 Hanz:
 It's like influencing people. Influencing other people's creativity... 

Ursa:
 Or inspiring people, even.

Ideas and Inspiration

 Hanz:
 It's pretty cool to think about that, the stuff that goes out there and inspires other people to create things.

 VeVe:
 I've had a very interesting that that happens with people sending in custom video requests. And sometimes then you make the video and, if they agree it's ok, we'll put that out to the public, and other people will see that and send in custom requests based on the other person's requests, and they'll almost get into a dialogue, tweaking the scenario... among multiple people.

 Ursa:
 Oh, they don't know it, but they're part of the story. Oh, interesting.

 VeVe:
And sometimes the character created by one person gets put into someone else's thing, same costume or this story, this character persona situation, is going to morph again over here. I don't think any of the guys have necessarily realized, but I'm sure if they ever met up, they could write wonderful collaborative fiction together.

 Ursa:
 Man, I have so many idea. If I had a camera man and a co-star at the ready, man, you would see some crazy stuff, world. I've got ideas for days.

 Hanz: 
That could probably be arranged.

 VeVe: 
 I think you've kind of got that. Ursa: I have lots of ideas.

 Hanz:
 You should make some of them. Put them out there, see what comes back. Ursa: I'm always curious how things will be received, too.

 VeVe:
 You could find out that people might start feedbacking. Just put out one kernel and see what -- 

Ursa:
 Ok, this would take more people, but, on the train on the way here -- do you want to hear my idea? So, this was a silly one that I would call "Ursa-locks and the Three Chairs." In which I would be a Goldilocks character and try three different men's faces to sit on, to find the one that's just right. 

Hanz:
 Wow.

 Ursa:
 It'd be so cute, right? These are the kinds of things I think of on the train. One would be too pointy, maybe. One would be too... flat? One would be just right, and I'd spend the most time there until maybe I broke it... I don't know...

 Hanz:
 .. broke their face...

 Ursa:
 ...Yeah... We talked about having a very proper tea party, but having faces to sit on, instead of chairs. 

VeVe:
 I really want to do that.

 Ursa:
 It would be so cute. I have such cute tea dresses. I want that to happen. ... I've also been seeing other people doing some giantess stuff and some remote controlling stuff. The mesmerizing sort of things. And that stuff looks really fun.

 VeVe: 
And some of that you can do without any camera person... POV.

Fielding a Question

 Ursa:
 Do we have any Twitter questions?

 VeVe:
 I know we have the question as to whether you've done any arm wrestling.

 Ursa:
 I have done some armwrestling. Lana Luxor and I did a 5-minute armwrestling video. And, friend, she is so F-ing strong. She's got built arms. It was a battle. So I did some armwrestling with her. I had a double-session with Sweetie and a very large man, and I don't think we did armwrestling, but we did tried to hang off of his arms, which was fun, and double bearhugged him.. I've done a lot more bearhugs as far as feats of strength go. I've been doing a lot of bearhugging, which is fun. Hanz and I have an unnamed date for a bearhug-off. Less armwrestling, though, I'm curious, now that I've been training a little more. How strong I am...

 VeVe:
 You've shot with Amazon Annie, who is a bit of an armwrestling champ. But you didn't take her own...

 Ursa:
 I did a lift and carry with her, where she lifted me, which was so fun. And impressive. She was dressed as either superwoman or wonder woman, and she had these 4 inch heels, I was like: I can't get up there, you are too tall now. So she took them off.

 [Regarding questions], you can always find me on the Doom Maidens website and e-mail me questions. And maybe we will talk about them on a separate podcast.

 VeVe: 
 Well, we've discussed your entry onto the wrestling scene and tonight your entry onto the podcast as well. Welcome Ursa.

 Ursa:
 Thank you. Everyone I've worked with has been so nice, and it's been really nice coming into this very accepting, and warm, encouraging environment. Except for Hanz. ha ha.

 Hanz:
 I do get a lot of smack talk.

 VeVe: 
 It's not all from Lana, either.

 Hanz:
 It's not all from Lana. But she is relentless.

 Ursa:
 Yeah, I heard that you have to do more squats now, something about Queen Beth.

 VeVe: 
I heard she sent you some intimidation photos.

 Hanz:
 She sent me a photo of her from Monday, of her posing over the final score. Kind of a calling-out. 

Ursa:
 I'd watch that match. Queen Beth vs Hanz. But the Monday matches, whew [Sweetie, Lana, Taylor, Queen Beth]. I was tired after it, and I didn't even wrestle. 

VeVe: 
All right, we're going to sign off. Hope you enjoyed.

 Ursa: 
Thanks for tuning in.

Blog Revival! New wrestlers, 2018 updates, a webcast panel?

Hello Blog!  Hello Readers!  It has been WAY too long!

I see here that my last update was regarding our November 2017 Live Filming Event.  And here, now, today, it is mid-May 2018.  That is too long a stretch without a blog entry.  And yet there are many reasons for this absence from the blog-o-sphere:

I have been buried under unending tons of video footage, I moved to a new house, I have been slammed with home renovations for the past 5 months, I've been playing catch up with making video release pages for the Doom Maidens website, I've been making a further commute to our big studio, and I've been working a good bit with the newcomer wrestlers.  And, so, my attentions have been elsewhere!  Alas, the poor blog had been utterly forgotten.

Until now!

A blog revival?  For real?  I mean, for real?  Why now?  Well, I'll tell you why now.  It has to do with our newcomer wrestlers.

We have a lovely group of new local wrestlers in our crew here in New York City.  Two of our rookies, in particular, who have been very active and energetic and dedicated have been Lana Luxor and Ursa Fierce.  Both of these ladies went from 0 to 60 with the wrestling-doings, jumping into the deep end "officially" only about a year ago, and quickly developing as they find their footing in the wrestling realm.

Ursa & Lana (on bottom), being hazed during our Christmas celebration.

They inspired my blog revival because I was hoping to inspire them to start blogging on their own.

 Lana has been able to travel and tour a bit in the last year's time, and so she's been able to meet new people around the country: producers, fans, other wrestlers.

A relatively quick intro to the realm.  And, consequently, a great way to start getting to know people and to be known in turn.  She's gotten quite a crash course, and she's handling it very well!  But is there a good way for her to share her thoughts and experiences from this first, formative year?

Ursa, however, has not been able to travel at all, and she's only been able to work with us here locally in NYC.  I've had the chance to observe her develop as a wrestler, but, due to my current workload (everything), I haven't been able to document this development as much as I would like, or as much as I had been able to do with other newcomers in the past.

Ursa's got a great attitude and is making much progress, but how, I wondered, could she become more known to people?

Oh, right: blogging!

Or vlogging, or podcasting, or webcasting.  But more on that in a bit.

When I first started blogging, it was like blogging was the thing to do.  VeVe maintained a blog, Hanz maintained a blog, Amazon Annie had one, and other ladies did as well.  I had this blog and then my bondage wrestling blog, among others beforehand. Web journaling was a thing for a while.

But blogging does require a lot of time and dedication.  Composing blog entries can be time consuming.  You don't realize this much when it's just something you do.  BUT when you add Twitter into the mix, the blog starts to move toward the back burner.  The wonderful "micro-blog" of Twitter lets you make quickie updates on the fly, which frees up more time for doing other things.  Time that might be otherwise consumed by composing a more standard blog entry.

So, as micro blogs like Twitter free up time -- people can shoot out quick updates and then move on -- that time quickly gets consumed with more doings.  More filming, more image-making work, more real-time conversing.  Less time composing a "static" long-form blog entry.  Less time, less, and less, and then the blog is totally, yet innocently, forgotten.

My blogging colleagues don't maintain their blogs.  They are just too busy.  But when they DID maintain their blogs, they wrote quite a lot.  And people liked to read those blogs.

But maybe our newcomers would like to give blogging a try.  Long-form blogging is a great chance to get to know a person a bit more personally than short-form "micro-blog" Twitter status updates.  Tweets alone are so short, brief, sometimes vague.  Even with the increased character limit on Twitter, a Tweet cannot compare to a long-form journal entry when it comes to familiarizing oneself with a person.

Don't get me wrong, I love Twitter.  Love, love, love it.  But I think Twitter really works best for people who are already known in some way.  People who have a body of work somewhere else, besides Twitter.  A newcomer with only a Twitter presence as fan-outreach -- I'm not sure that will do it when it comes to the "getting to know you" aspect.

So, to blog?!

Or webcast / podcast / vlog?

Frankly, I personally think blogging is the "easiest" and most accessible.  However, granted, if you are not a natural writer, composing a journal entry can be daunting.  If you prefer to speak, rather than write, a vlog (video blog) might be the way.  Or a podcast (audio only, like a radio show).  But, due to the current nature of the internet, I think audiences have an easier time accessing text content, compared with video or audio.  Also, creating text blogs doesn't require equipment other than the computer; meanwhile, vlogs and podcasts require additional video and audio recording equipment.

Granted, I know a lot of people use their phones to record video and audio, but then that video and audio needs to be uploaded somewhere, stored, and distributed.  And I still think text is easier to share, at this current time.

ANYWAY.

I'd love it if the rookie ladies could blog a bit!

That said, we are also talking about having them come on for a podcast, since it seems they may prefer to speak rather than type.  The podcast would be audio only, and then I would like to transcribe it to text form afterwards.

And Hanz is interested in reviving his blog too, as we speak of all of this.  He is a big fan of podcasting, and he's experienced in that arena.  So, maybe he blogs, maybe he podcasts.   But something will happen.

Mark my words, readers, I will keep on it!  ... and as for me, I will keep up my blog revival as well.  Time management, let's do it!  And now, off I go, to go back to real-time chatting for scheduling and coordinating and planning.  Here's to more long-form storytelling to come...

New Wrestler Interviews: Aralia and Cat Wily, with Hanz

Last night after wrestling practice, Hanz Vanderkill conducted a wonder little introductory interview of our two new local wrestlers, Aralia and Cat Wily.

This is a charming little Q&A session where the ladies show their personalities and talk a little bit about how they got interested in wrestling, their favorite moves, and their beginning thoughts.

Thanks so much to Aralia and Cat for sticking around afterwards for this brief little chat, and thanks too to Hanz for being a nice host!  We look forward to seeing Aralia and Cat strut their stuff on the mats in this coming season!

Wrestling Webcast Doings, Topics, Planning!

As some readers may already know, we've been having a lot of fun exploring possibilities with our new Wrestling Webcast, hosted by VeVe Lane and Hanz Vanderkill!

The webcast is a live broadcast from our studio, streamed via our interview collection youtube channel called DoomMenagerie (www.youtube.com/doommenagerie).  Though the interview channel has been around since this past summer (Ashley Wildcat and Tae were are first official interviewees, in July 2015), the live streaming broadcasts only started in December 2015.  We've had 4 official broadcasts, and we've had tele-commuting guests including Miss Scorpion, Keri Spectrum, Minxy Li, Anastaxia, Amethyst Hammerfist, Ashley Wildcat, and Sarah Brooke.  Wow!

But what's a tele-commuting guest?

Thanks to certain accessible technology, we are able to have guests join our webcast via their own web cams.  We can have multiple people join in on the same broadcast (I think to a max of 10 separate guest feeds), and their individual live video feeds all show up in small boxes at the bottom of the live show.  So it's like a picture-in-picture, and you can actually see everyone reacting at the same time.  And here's my favorite part of this: During the discussion, whenever someone speaks or makes a definitive movement, the program will automatically auto-toggle to show that person's image on the big screen.  It's like having someone in the control room who is making the choice to cut between cameras on a live show.  I think that creates a really cool effect.

But, in addition to this "auto-toggle," we can also control which guest's feed goes onto the big screen; this way if someone is presenting something, they don't have to risk the camera cutting away if one of the silent guests makes a little sound or movement.  And also, another thing that I really like: any of the guests or the host can choose to share their screen, meaning they can broadcast any windows they have open on their computer.  Handy for sharing pictures in a presentation.

We've also had some interesting developments with our tele-guests, including the fun antics of "virtual arm wrestling" and "virtual head scissors" contests.  To fully understand what that entails, I recommend checking out the little excerpt we have up from the US vs UK show.

Topics, Plans, and Format

My original plan was that there would be a certain "hot button" topic to discuss with each episode.  Original topics that VeVe and I had discussed including were things like differences in mixed vs F/F matches, "dangerous" moves and holds, the definition of "competitive," differences/similarities in various wrestling communities around the world, preferences between fantasy and competitive, and such!  Then, once guests were assembled, we would chat about a selected topic in a "panel discussion" style.  However, we're not quite at the stage where we are following a formal panel style!

In fact, things have been rather informal for the first few episodes, even with our large number of guests (shows #2 and #4 each had 4 tele-guests).  So, I am working now to bring in more formal format, to steer the show more toward specific topic discussion.  I have several ideas and techniques in mind for that, the most prominent of them being taking on a "discussion moderator" role myself, and thereby freeing up VeVe and Hanz to be more like guests themselves.  As it has been, VeVe and Hanz (VeVe in particular) have been trying to act as both moderators and contributors simultaneously, which has hindered their abilities to fully fulfill  both of those roles.  It's hard for them to keep order if they are also trying to play the game as well.  So, I think this is where I can step in, freeing them to concentrate primarily on answering questions, engaging in peer-to-peer interactions, and sharing their thoughts.

Audience Interaction

Our youtube live stream also allows for a "chat" option, wherein real-time viewers can type questions/comments/whatever into a chat room column that runs along the side of the broadcast screen on the youtube site.  This is really neat, but it does have some limitations:

1. There is a 10-15 second delay between the broadcast and the streaming display on youtube.  So, if guests mention a certain something in their talking, that won't be seen/heard by the live viewers until 10-15 seconds after the fact.  Then, by the time viewers choose to respond or comment in the chat area, the discussion topic may have shifted such that the viewer's comments cannot easily be addressed any more without a jarring shift in the discussion.

2. In order for guests or hosts to even see the viewers' chat comments, the guests and hosts need to open an additional window to view the youtube site's stream.

So, the guests and hosts would have their Hang Out window open, where they are actually seeing each other and broadcasting in real time, but then they would ALSO have to open another window/tab for the youtube stream display, where they would then see themselves being broadcast with a 10-15 second delay.

This can result in a lot of juggling.

So, between the delay and the need for multiple windows/tabs, it is difficult to interact effectively with viewers during the main body of the broadcast, unless a lot of attention is devoted to doing so.  Not much of a problem if it is a one-person broadcast, but once you bring in tele-guests, it becomes a tricky feat.  Not impossible, but indeed tricky.

I hope that made sense.

However, we do love interacting with the viewers, and we do enjoy input from the audience.  So, we are going to be making a special "Audience Q&A" segment for the last 10 minutes (or so) of each broadcast in order to focus on the youtube display's chat area.

Upcoming and Next Broadcast

One fan last time had asked if we could publish a schedule of upcoming topics and dates for the shows.  Frankly, I think that would be a wonderful thing to do.  However, I don't know that it is very possible at this time.

As it is right now, the broadcasts tend to be rather spur-of-the-moment, despite being somewhat regular in their bi-weekly re-occurrances.  Though I myself usually have time to think on and brainstorm about the topics, VeVe and Hanz unfortunately don't have much time to pre-plan beforehand.  I usually end up pitching a number of topics leading up to the webcast day, and as time ticks down, VeVe will grab on to a topic that strikes her a few days beforehand.  Guests are often assembled as soon as possible after that, and off we go!

Kind of seat-of-the-pants, but the spontaneity of it has been interesting.  And speaking of selecting topics, we've locked in on our topic for tomorrow's broadcast (Sunday, January 24):

Wrestling Parties and Live Events

The topic of wrestling parties has been swirling around recently on places I frequent on the web.  I've been trying to get this topic into the rotation from the start, and we've finally settled on giving it a go.  In addition to commenters VeVe and Hanz, we will also be joined by tele-guest Minxy Li, who will contribute her insight and perspective from the London wrestling scene.

VeVe, Hanz, and I have a fair amount of experience with wrestling parties.  In particular, VeVe and I ran a successful party in NYC for several years, and we've attended and hosted parties in other areas, such as Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Ohio, and Toronto.  In fact, we both first met Hanz at a live event we had here in NYC about a decade ago.

But anyway, that's on the agenda for tomorrow!  Info on that broadcast:

Sunday, January 24.
@ 12 noon Eastern (5 pm GMT)
At: http://www.youtube.com/doommenagerie

If you have any questions, suggestions, etc for this particular broadcast and topic, drop me an e-mail here:  orders@doommaidens.com

.........or Tweet to us on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/doommaidens

And with that, I'll send this post up and off.  We're having a huge snow day here in New York City today, and there studio is begging for a good round of cleaning.  And so, away we go!

Beach Wrestling Today: Report!

So, we finally got to get in our first official beach wrestling adventure this summer!

As I mentioned in my last entry, our beach wrestling attempt last week was foiled by an off-putting weather forecast, and so the beach visit only resulted in scouting and solo filming.  But today, we had no weather fears to worry about!

So, early this morning, VeVe, Hanz, and I ventured out to the Rockaway beach for some wrestling action in the sand, sun, and surf.  Sadly, Amazon Annie and Azy couldn't join us, but hopefully we can get them involved on the next go-around.

VeVe had last attempted a little beach wrestling last August, but I don't think Hanz had ever wrestled on sand and surf before.  I don't know if he knew what to expect, but he got a pretty good taste of it this morning.  Actually, I think both VeVe and Hanz got a good literal taste of the ocean with this morning's bout!

I bought the competitors down to the water's edge, and we set up a fight area just inside the surf line, so that the water would wash in and out during the match.  So, as the tide rolled, the competitors would be alternatingly surrounded by wet sand and several inches of water.  And, of course, the sand and rolling waters proved a to be quite key aspect in this entire endeavor...

VeVe and Hanz started off with a pure submission wrestling bout, a regular competitive bout with all submissions being legal.  I kind of hoped they'd do a little more with takedowns, since I know what "difficulties" surf wrestling can provide to participants - takedown, stand up, takedown, stand up is a more forgiving method of handling this environment - but these two were just bound to discover the beach's joys all on their own.

So off they went!  And as soon as they hit the ground and started to work, they both discovered how immobilizing the wet sand can be: you get pressed into it and get stuck, it scratches you when you try to scoot around on the ground, it makes you fend off the environment just as much as you're fending off your opponent.  And then there's the challenge of the rolling waters!  Opponent on top of you and pressing you into the sand?  So you're stuck in the mud and.... here comes a wave!  Get rolled over and "face plant" right into the water.  Gasp for breath just as the tide rolls back in, and here's some tasty salt water.  It's a huge challenge to beach wrestle on the ground!

But despite the environmental challenges, VeVe and Hanz fought on!  In fact, they fought for about 11 long minutes before the first submission was eventually gained.

After a little interview to give their first impressions and comments, the competitors steeled themselves for the next round, which had quite the potential to be an even greater challenge: pins only!

So, they no longer had to worry about sticking their necks into choke holds, but now they faced the possibility of being pinned down into the rushing waters...

And, oh yes, this round was the hardest.  Especially for little VeVe.

With her ability to slide and slip around her opponent's body greatly reduced by the sand-burn traction, VeVe found Hanz's size advantage to be quite the foil.  But despite being stuck, sunken into sand, and water logged, VeVe fought on with amazing perseverance.  

And, by the way, any standard belly-down pin defense would often result in water in the face... and, of course, don't forget the opponent on top of you.

But despite fatigue, sand burn, and salt in the eyes they fought on! 

The Pins Only round lasted about 10 minutes, with only one full 3-count pin being achieved, despite all of the many attempts and body-pressing effort.  Both competitors emerged drenched, roughed-up, and covered in wet sand.  Surely, this is not an activity for the faint of heart!

Furthermore, VeVe has a low tolerance for cold, and even though she was moving about, the water was slowly freezing her into shivers.  But what a trooper!

Anyway.  VeVe and Hanz gave another brief commentary for the camera afterwards, letting us know their thoughts and opinions for this round.  We'd intended to also do a third round of takedowns only, but by this time the beach was starting to populate, and park rangers were starting to buzz about.

So that was beach wrestling for today!  Make no mistake, it is an adventure, this style of wrestling in the surf.  It can be rough, and cold, and scratchy, and certainly salty-wet.  It can be grueling, and fatiguing, and even claustrophobic.  It's a great struggle, it's very tough, and it most certainly is both a physical and mental challenge!  

I just put the full video of this together, and I'm actually taking a break right now from capturing screen stills.  I've got so much I'd like to say in the video's official description, since this video offers so much.  Competitive mixed wrestling, splendid outdoor environment, physical stress, mental anguish, an exercise in sheer will power.  Whew, ok, just thinking out loud here.  So, let me fire off this post and get back to work on the images!

Updated!

And now at 11 pm this same evening, the video has been released! 

Beach Wrestling: VeVe vs Hanz - Competitive Mixed Wrestling

Big Filming February: Lots of Guests, Lots of Footage!

Whew, here I am on a Saturday morning at the cafe, taking a break from break-neck video production velocity.  Again: whew!

This month has actually been really full of filming - and it's the shortest month of the year!  We had a lot of snow, over and over and over, but we also had a lot of visiting wrestlers and models come into town.  This generated quite a lot of video footage!  All custom request footage was processed and distributed immediately, as always, but there's quite a backlog of videos for the store right now.

I think there is only one video that hasn't been processed yet, which is the pro-style video with Candy Pain and Ginary, but there are a ton of other already-been-processed videos waiting for me to go in, take stills, select top stills, make graphics, write up descriptions, and set on the shelves.  I'm actually taking a breather from it right now.

Some of the material is so nice that I have gone in randomly and taken stills out to share around the web.  But then I wind up with 1 or 2 stills here and there in my pictures storage from various videos, and that can make the folder get a little out of control!

But anyway, enough about my image folders.  Let me give a little recap of the various filmings.

Feb 7 Mega Filming Day #1

In a previous entry, I was anticipating the first big shoot of the month, set for Friday, Feb 7:  http://wrestlingadventures.blogspot.com/2014/02/friday-filming-veve-keri-darling-indra.html

This filming day ran from about 11 am to 9 pm.  Keri, Ginary, VeVe, Indra, and I were the first on the scene, so we all filmed a bunch together.  We started off by filming the wild, grueling 2-on-1 competitive bondage wrestling match with Indra and Ginary vs VeVe.

Keri watched this crazy match from the sidelines, very thoroughly entertained.  Indra and Ginary together were an absolutely hysterical team.  Like a true comedy team... without meaning to be.  Indra of course ran her mouth, ordering Ginary around, and being incredibly, amusingly candid as all three ladies struggled, fought over the ropes, and worked non-stop for the victory.  The interactions between Indra and Ginary were so amusing, that both Keri and I had to stifle laughs... but VeVe, on the other hand, was not laughing at all!  As a matter of fact, I think she was going to cry out in frustration!  This all went on for about 40 minutes, and in an incredible display of fortitude, VeVe fought past frustration and hogtied both Indra and Ginary.  Impressive!

Following that marathon match, Keri filmed with VeVe and Ginary for her site, Spectrum Custom Requests.  I ran Keri's camera for a video with Keri and VeVe, and then VeVe ran Keri's camera for a belly punching video with Keri and Ginary while I stepped out for food.

As we moved into afternoon, Candy Pain arrived for a pro-style video with Ginary.  That was simply wild because Ginary is the most flexible wrestler I've seen.  She's a bondage model, so I can see where that helps!  Candy was able to crank some of her holds far back, further than I have ever seen her do before.  This pro-style video didn't have any tights or boots: bare legs and feet, with Ginary in bikini and Candy in a fringe leotard.

Candy left as Darling arrived.  The ladies then had the pleasure of partaking of their mini bondage tournament: the 4-Way Lingerie Bondage Wrestling match!  This was with Keri, Ginary, VeVe, and Darling.  This match marked the second 4-Way female bondage match we've tried.  The first was in May 2013, featuring VeVe, Indra, Kim, and Shauna Ryanne, where the ladies all wore tight jeans and bikini tops.

Riding on the high energy of the 4-way match, I then switched over to Keri's camera again and filmed videos with Keri, Darling, and VeVe for Keri's site.  Keri was also slated to film a Karate Nylons video with Thrash, but he had to call out sick, so that got rescheduled to a later date.  So, Keri was free to go, as was Ginary, and we turned then to the Superheroine cosplay pro-style match with Darling as the "Evil Ninja" and VeVe as "Cammy" from Street Fighter.


Then Hanz arrived, and we filmed a mixed domination video with him and Darling.  As I am filming, I often muse over what the title will be for the new video.  And with this one, it quickly became clear as Darling showed off her style of domination: Darling's Finest Assets.

We wrapped up the evening with a competitive mixed match between Darling and Hanz for Hanz's store, Hanz Vanderkill's Mixed Battle Theatre.  Darling has several years of jiujitsu under her belt, and she brought it to the fore to face off against Hanz's submission wrestling experience.  A very different video from the previous domination match!

Following all that, I hopped the bus home.  But the month of filming had only just begun.

Catball and Bondage Wrestling

I've got to mention that in the week prior to the Feb 7 mega shoot, we also had a filming day with Candy Pain, VeVe, and Thrash.  Candy and VeVe hit the mats for a 40-minute catball fight in their secret agent leotard and tights attire.  And following that, once the ladies got all of the hair out of their mouths, Candy faced off against her "classmate" Thrash for a competitive bondage wrestling match to see who had taken to their lessons best.



Mega Filming Day #2 and Zentai Suit Wrestling

A week after our first Mega Filming Day, we had another mega filming day!  This one was on Sunday, Feb 16.  But before that, on the Saturday, VeVe met with newcomer Raj for a Zentai suit mixed wrestling match at the small studio.  I've only taken a few stills out of that video, and it's good to write about it now, because it got a tad lost under the pile of material from the Sunday.  It'll come soon.

But as for Mega Filming Day #2.  This one was with visiting wrestler / bodybuilder Iron Liberty, who was in town from Colorado.

For this one, we needed to get to the studio 90 minutes early in the morning in order to clean it; there had been a big party there the night before, and when we walked in on Sunday morning, we found the party lights spinning, the music still on, and even some slumbering guests...  VeVe and I scrubbed the place down and collected quite a good deal of recyclable garbage, all just in time for Hanz to arrive and then Iron Liberty.

Our first item to film was a judo video featuring VeVe and 3 men: Hanz, Thrash, and newcomer Lance Kaiser.  VeVe was applying for a teaching job at a judo school, and ended up needing to "school" the male instructors in order to be taken seriously.  The combination of lighting, white judo uniforms, red mats, and black pantyhose created a nice aesthetic look here.


We also went on to film a "Strength and Muscle Comparison" with Iron Liberty and Lance.  You know, Iron Liberty is a bodybuilder and Lance is a recreational yoga guy, so...

Iron Liberty also took on VeVe in a competitive bondage wrestling match.  This was Iron's first time trying this sort of thing, but she proved to be a tenacious escapist, which gave VeVe a ton of trouble.  The final tie came after a long, frustrating struggle of about 20 minutes, and it was functional, unconventional, asymmetrical, yet tidy and got the job done.


Iron Liberty also got a chance to play a bounty hunter in a scenario-based video with Hanz.  Boots, tight jeans, debt collecting.  Bad news for Hanz.

We then filmed a competitive mixed match between Hanz and Iron Liberty, again for Hanz's store....

Oh, and that reminds me.  I also filmed a bunch of material with Hanz and Amazon Annie at the very start of the day, all for Hanz's store.  This included a competitive match between the two, as well as various scissors-off and leg strength tests.  Hanz was really getting put to the test.  And speaking of tests...

He also got his flexibility really tested too!  To wrap up the day, Hanz played jobber in a new pro-style bout against Candy Pain.  This match focused on the Boston Crab and other unhappy back-bending holds, putting Hanz into some deep back extension.  What did he do to deserve such treatment?!  He was well behaved all day!  Oh well!  That match was lovingly called simple "Back-Bending Mixed Pro-Style," but of course!

And that was that for Mega Filming Day #2.  But the following week - this very past week for me now - we got a chance to meet up with Keri and Thrash together to film the Karate Nylons video with them.  At last!  It was on Wednesday evening, and we met up in the Times Square area to use the small Manhattan studio there.  Keri got a chance to rock out the black leotard and tights.  We hope to see her in these again with us in the future.

Wow, and there you have it!  Now today is Saturday, and I don't think there are any shoots planned for the next several days.  It's a beautiful day outside today, so I appreciate not being in the filming studios while we have such a nice break in the weather.

Until next time.  Thanks for reading!

Friday Mega Filming Preview Pictures

Hooray!  The Mega filming day last Friday was a great success!  Working on releasing all videos in a timely manner.  But in the meantime, here are some pictures from the antics, featuring Ginary, VeVe, Indra, Candy Pain, Hanz, Keri, and Darling!

Videos Include:

2-on-1 Female Bondage Wrestling: Indra and Ginary vs VeVe

Darling's Finest Assets: Mixed Domination

Superheroine Pro-Style Match: VeVe and Darling

4-Way Lingerie Bondage Wrestling: VeVe, Keri, Ginray, Darling

Pro-Style: Candy Pain Dominates Ginary

Working on 'um!

Friday Filming: VeVe, Keri, Darling, Indra, Candy, Ginary, Thrash, Hanz

Wow!  That was a lot of names!

But yes, indeed, we have a MEGA filming day scheduled to take place this very Friday, Feb 7.

We've got the big studio booked for many hours - all day, actually, and into the evening.  We've got Keri Spectrum coming in from New Jersey, Darling from California, Ginary from Florida, along with local talents VeVe Lane, Indra, Candy Pain, Hanz, and Thrash.  A full house!

But I should note that not all of these people will be together at the same time, particularly where the male wrestlers are concerned.  Hanz will be coming later in the evening, and Thrash is only doing one video.  This means there will be a lot of filming that the ladies will be doing together.

I won't go into too much detail beforehand, but we're slated to film one video featuring VeVe, Keri, Ginary, and Darling all at the same time.  Indra and Ginary are slated to also film with VeVe.  Darling and VeVe have plans together.  Ginary and Candy and slated together.  And Keri is filming female footage for her own studio as well.

As, a big F v F day.  Or sometimes F v F v F v F or FF v F.  Or variations thereof!  And we're filming a variety of themes and genres of wrestling videos.

So, everyone better eat their Wheaties for a long day of action!  And I need to kick this cold I developed of the past weekend.  But I think I'll be fine.

I'm pumped to roll cameras, and I send out many thanks to VeVe for coordinating the logistics on this single-handedly.  Lots of visitors together at one time - what a nice little mini mega filming event!

Filming with Jolie of Tempest Tonight (Cancelled)

*** Update as of 5:30 pm ** Sadly, this shoot has been cancelled.  But here's the original post regardless:


After a lot of back-and-forth discussion, a catch-up meeting, and some schedule-ironing, we've finally got a shoot date with wrestler Jolie, who is currently visiting from California.

And it's tonight!  In just a few hours...

When I first learned of Jolie, she was living here in New York City.  I first saw her on film in one of VeVe's very first wrestling video experiences.  This was in the autumn of 2007, a little over 6 years ago.  This video was a catfight wrestling match, originally set up as a private commission and filmed at Tempest wrestling studio.  I didn't film this one, but we did share rights on the footage with Tempest.

This video is also what led to us giving Jolie the name "Jolie of Tempest," as we have since called her.  For the sake of the video description, we needed a better way of identifying her, since her name was a little too short to stand alone.  And so came the surname "of Tempest," which also served to indicate that she was working out of the Tempest studio at the time.

In this video, newcomer VeVe tested her own unrefined catfighting and wrestling instincts against the more experienced Jolie.  The match was heated and aggressive, with that special essence of underground fighting between two people who don't know each other at all.  Only one submission was gained during the match, which was a head scissors that Jolie scored on VeVe.  However, a tad bit of controversy arose as Jolie called an end to the match before official time was called, saying that the match had become too sweaty to continue.  In the video of the match, the footage simply fades out toward the end of the bout, with no resolution or conclusion being shown...

Would the result have been any different if the match had continued for its full time?  Was it too sweaty to gain any further submissions?  We'll never know!

Shortly afterward, Jolie moved out to California.  While out west, I believe she had a video match against Julie Squeeze for Robin's Les Femmes Fatales, perhaps in 2009.  I didn't find the Jolie vs Julie match at Robin's site, though, so I'm not entirely sure.  However, I did find Jolie vs Liz Lightspeed from 2009 at Robin's site and also at Robin's clips4sale.

Back to the Present

And here we are, just kicking off 2014, and Jolie has made a return visit to old NYC.  She's had limited time on this visit, so I don't think we will be able to film as many different videos as we would like.

After some negotiation, Jolie has agreed to take on Hanz Vanderkill in a competitive mixed match.  I'm under the impression that this would make one of the only, if not the only, mixed wrestling she has done on video.  So, we are all excited about that.

She is also up for a competitive bondage wrestling match against VeVe.  People are always excited and curious to try this particular sport, and I'm certainly pleased to support it!

I, for one, am curious to see what happens tonight.  I personally haven't seen Jolie in action since that 2007 video, but she does receive very positive current session reviews.  How does she handle on the mats?  How does she handle on camera?  We're all curious here, and I think others are curious elsewhere as well.

The big studio is booked.  The local talent is set.  The weather is clear, nice, and warm-ish.  Schedules appear to be in order.  If all goes well, filming should commence in about 3 hours from now.  Stay tuned!

*** Update as of 5:30 pm **

Sadly, Jolie had to bow out of filming for this evening for personal reasons.  She reports that she won't be able to appear in any videos.  Alas.  So close!