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SINGAPORE: Wrestling, one of the traditional events from the ancient Olympic Games, remains one of the most misunderstood sports.
Mention "wrestling" and images of 'The Undertaker' or 'The Rock' from the World Wrestling Entertainment are likely to be the first to flood your memory.
"These are usually the first few questions that I receive from politicians and media," laughed Brent Sheldrake, Managing Director of the Wrestling Federation of Singapore when discussing the common impression people have of wrestling.
"I have to convince them that we are not the WWE. It's definitely not. That's entertainment and we are not trying to portray that," stressed the New Zealander.
Start clean this August by catching the true wrestling moves that will be on display at the Youth Olympic Games that has wrestling down as one of the 26 sports to be contested at the inaugural games.
Because it is a sport and not WWE, the action takes place on mats instead of a ring minus the extravagant pyrotechnics or scantily-clad ladies. There might be some spandex but that'll be worn by the wrestlers, but without capes and other outlandish gear.
Most importantly, there isn't room for trash-talking or taunting.
Respect for your opponent is one of the first lessons that all young wrestlers learn.
"Kids shake hands from the start. If someone dominates you, there is an element of respect that you have to respect because you are fighting in the same weight category," explained Sheldrake.
The 46kg to 96kg weight classification helps to level the playing field by reducing the size and strength disadvantages while limiting the chance of serious injury.
Setting eyes of 14-year-old Kester Leung, it seemed that the bespectacled kid with a skinny build had accidentally taken a wrong turn and ended up on the wrestling mat.
"It doesn't matter if you are big or small. A smaller wrestler can still bring down an athlete with longer limbs because of his increased agility," explained Sheldrake.
Kester proved that the moment he went into wrestling mode, transforming into a bundle of energy and repeatedly trying out moves to out-maneuver his teammates.
It was only in 2009 when the Singapore Wrestling Federation started venturing into schools to promote wrestling, that Kester took up the sport.
"They came to our school and introduced the sport to us and I decided to give it a try," said Kester who is the only representative from his school.
"One by one, they stopped coming from training and started making excuses for their absences. In the end, I was the only one remaining," said the Secondary Two student from Monfort Secondary.
The exodus was the result of wrestling's stereotyped image – violent and dangerous – reason enough for parents to discourage their kids from taking up the sport.
Kester's parents weren't any different in their perspective on wrestling but softened their stance on realizing their son's passion for wrestling.
"I told them I enjoyed the sport and even though they think that it can be dangerous, they supported my choice," said Kester.
"It is a fun sport and I do not need to worry about suffering serious injury because I am competing with people who are in the same weight category as me," added the boy who has no background in defensive arts.
Still, would training in judo, jujitsu or muay thai be useful for a wrestler?
"It's an advantage. Wrestling is similar to judo since both are classified as grappling sports and they use some of the same techniques," said Sheldrake.
"As for muay thai, it doesn't really help in terms of techniques as they are different. However, it is very useful when it comes to one-to-one close combat."
Despite being one of the youngest National Sports Association in Singapore, that hasn't stopped Sheldrake and his team from being confident of producing a wrestling champion, and to top that off, the prospects are set on 'the fairer sex'.
"I project that Singapore's first champion wrestler will be a girl," said the Managing Director of the Wrestling Federation of Singapore.
Although he hasn't set any specific timeline, he's hopeful of a good performance at the Commonwealth Games taking place in Doha at the end of the year.
The girl in the picture is a 16-year-old who first started out as a dancer.
Meet Natasha Puteri Erna anywhere but at a sports hall, and you'd not imagine the lanky lass who's as girly as the next giggly teen in pink is equally adept in wrestling and judo, which she switched to after dance.
"I was a former dancer but I decided to take up judo when I was in my secondary school," recounted the bubbly Natasha as she recalled how she was 'tricked' into trying out wrestling by her coach.
"One day, my coach told me to try out wrestling as he wanted to expose me to sports that are similar to judo. I was a bit hesitant because I felt that judo and wrestling are quite different sports but he kept telling me that it's the same," mused the two-time national judo champion.
"And the truth is that it's not the same!" she replied in mock agony before breaking out into a warm smile.
Still, after setting aside 'Judogi' and 'Kata', Natasha went on to emerge fourth in the Girls 60kg category during the recent Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championship and is widely tipped to represent Singapore at the upcoming Youth Olympic Games.
"I know there's still a lot of room for improvement and I will be working very hard to achieve it," was the modest reply from the Secondary Four student from Assumption English School.
One area she will definitely be working on will be the scoring system.
"Even till now, there are times when I'm still unsure about the scoring system," said the newbie who has improved leap and bounds to become Singapore's wrestling brightest star.
"In my first competition, I was giving away points for reasons which I do not know why. It's the same when I was awarded the points. I do not even know why I deserve the points," she recalled in bemusement.
Despite being the best, Natasha believes that what she sorely needs is, competition.
"It can be quite difficult when it comes to training due to the lack of female sparring partners," said the teen who compensates by training with Melvynna Tambunan from the senior team.
"That is also not the ideal preparation as we are in different weight categories. She is lighter and faster than me so in the end I can only train my agility. Furthermore, she is also working and can't be available for training all the time," said Natasha.
This little setback is just one the Singapore Wrestling Federation has its sights on to overcome through a blueprint to increase participation among Singapore kids.
"We are getting it into schools for kids to try out. In the process, we try to create a massive base where we can then trim it out for the best talent," said Sheldrake.
As for the current group of young wrestlers, Sheldrake is proud but cautious.
Some of the wrestlers have only started training for 12 weeks, a stark contrast to competitors in countries such as Australia who have been training for 12 years.
There is plenty of catching up to do, Sheldrake acknowledges and much depends on changing the mindset parents have about wrestling.
"Like any other sports, kids can also learn lessons such as respect, discipline and time management from wrestling which they can't get from the books." - CNA
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