Mixed wrestling: my first experiences
By Hubert Z.
How I was challenged by my two "little" nieces

How did I become interested in mixed and female wrestling? I guess
because of personal experience. At the age of ten I seriously wrestled
with girls for the first time. Once a year, during the summer, we visited
the family of my father's sister, who lived in Belgium and had married a
brawny, giant-like husband, 6 feet and a couple of inches tall. On those
occasions, I used to meet with my two nieces, Mirjam and Eefje ("Little
Eve"), Mirjam being one, Eefje three years younger than I was. I had
little wrestling experience, had beaten some of my classmates (boys
only), but in terms of strength I ranked myself as somewhat below
average. I was convinced, however, that it was quite impossible for a
girl to beat a boy of her own age or older. Thus, when (on a Sunday
afternoon) my "little" niece Mirjam challenged me, I eagerly accepted the
opportunity to demonstrate the superiority of boys over girls in
wrestling. She did look sturdy, but I was taller. Yet, she was eager and
fast. To my great astonishment, she wrestled me to the ground and pinned
me, apparently without much effort. I still remember how I used all my
strength in a desperate effort to push her off, but in vain. We wrestled
three or four times on a row, but each time she came out victoriously.

Subsequently, I was put up against Eefje who, although rather tall for
her age, seemed an easy prey. And indeed, I won our first match, but to
my bewilderment she pinned me in the second. Somehow she managed to flung
her arms around me from behind, pulled me to the ground and threw herself
upon me in a straddling position, holding my right arm between her legs
and my left arm with both her hands. Although we fell more or less by
accident into this position, it must have looked very professionally. I
desperately waved my legs to push her off and tried to free my arms, but
all of no avail. Moreover, she refused to let go on her own accord and I
really had to "give". But as I begged her to let go, I heard the voice of
my aunt calling us in. I turned my head in her direction and realized she
had caught a glimpse (and more than just a glimpse) of me being defeated
and held down by her youngest daughter. I was amazed and felt rather
ashamed as well, but also relieved that none of my classmates had
witnessed my defeat. I intended to straighten things out as soon as
possible.

The year after, in 1971, when I was eleven, Mirjam ten and Eefje eight,
it was my turn to challenge them. I had grown stronger and taller, but so
had they. And again, Mirjam proved more experienced, and I guess more
eager and also stronger, than I was. We only fought twice, but I lost
both matches. I remember how I stared at the blue sky, with little dots
of cloud on it, while she laughed, firmly on top of me, and Eefje
counted. Then it was Eefje's turn. Mirjam suggested that we should start
off sitting with our backs against each other and I accepted. But that
immediately proved a terrible mistake. Because now the fact that Eefje
was smaller (and therefore swifter) clearly proved to be in her
advantage. Moreover, I had never wrestled in this manner and after Mirjam
had counted "one, two, thee" I was completely taken by surprise as Eefje
rose to her feet in no time, threw herself upon me like a bird of prey,
headlocked me and pinned me in what seemed less than a second. Also
during our second bout she took the initiative and decided the match
before I had hardly been able to make a move. Thus, she also won both her
matches. And this time, there was a witness too, a younger girl living
next door, who was somewhat surprised at seeing her friends being able to
beat an older cousin so convincingly. But she did not take part in the
wrestling herself. As for me, I had now fully accepted the idea that,
although girls in general are weak, there were two exceptions to that
rule. Also I realized that, if they could beat me, they could beat a lot
of others as well. Nothing to be ashamed of.

During the following year I grew considerably stronger. I was an early
adolescent, grew faster than most of my classmates and started to develop
some muscle. Thus, when my nieces and I met again during the summer, the
roles had changed somewhat. Although Mirjam managed to pin me twice, I
was victorious this time, beating her three times against two. My victory
over her older and bigger sister did not intimidate Eefje at all,
however. On the contrary, it seemed only to stimulate her eagerness and
competitiveness. I easily won our first bout and I came very close to
mastering her more than once during the second, but she managed to hold
her own and all of a sudden I felt her arm rather tightly around my neck.
In fact, she came close to strangling me. Somehow, I could not get hold
of her. Eventually, she pushed me towards the sand; I fell on my back and
had to beg her to let me go. She really hurt my neck and almost had me
crying. Victorious Eefje wanted to leave the floor, but I insisted on a
decisive match. Mirjam suggested that we should start off on our knees,
which I had never done before. Once again, I soon regretted my
willingness to accept her proposal. For some reason, this position was
greatly to Eefje's advantage and she managed to wrestle me into a hold
quite easily this time. I felt frustrated and bruised.

Next year, during the summer of 1973, I was at my physical peak. I had
become stronger than most of my classmates. We went to Belgium again, and
Mirjam and I went out to have our yearly match, on a sandy area behind
their house. Unfortunately, Eefje was not present this time. I managed to
win all our bouts except one and was of the impression that now my
superiority had been established beyond dispute.

In 1974 we did not visit Belgium at all, but in 1975 we went on our
yearly trip again. My length had not increased very much and I had
noticed that a considerable number of classmates had caught up with me or
had even got abreast of me. My nieces also had changed significantly.
Although I was still taller, they both had grown rather sturdy,
especially Mirjam, who seemed to stare at me with large, cheeky eyes. But
I did not allow myself to be intimidated by them. At a certain point, the
three of us went for a stroll and eventually, we reached the sandy area
where we had always done our fighting. Without exchanging a single word,
Mirjam and I took up our positions. The battle started. I immediately was
impressed by her physical strength, but I was determined to beat her and
to give it all I had. And during the first match I almost did beat her.
All of a sudden, however, just as I was about to pin her down, she
managed to turn the tide. I fought desperately, but slowly and
relentlessly, she wrestled me into a hold. I did not give up, however,
and after three bouts of very intensive fighting, I was leading two to
one. I was, however, completely exhausted by that time, while she all of
a sudden realized how she had to deal with me and how she could turn my
length advantage into a disadvantage. She literally dived for my knees,
lifted me up, I lost my balance, and in less than a second she was on top
of me. Three times on a row she managed to repeat her trick, to which I
simply had no answer. Within no time she was leading four to two!

Now it was Eefje's turn to step forward. She had seen how Mirjam had
handled me and decided to give it a try herself. She managed to push me
down and after a rather fierce ground battle that went on for minutes,
she finally landed on top of me and fixed my arms. While looking up to
her, I realized I had spent all my breath and energy in fighting Mirjam.
And during the final and decisive bout, I simply was not able to resist
her any longer. Somehow, she managed to bend my arms in such a manner
that she made me feel like a package. Mirjam enthusiastically encouraged
her sister in a harsh, loud voice. She literally tied me down. If felt
like Alice or Gulliver, suddenly becoming very small and fragile. I felt
exhausted, out of breath, sick, embarrassed. I wanted to get away. I
realized they had caught up with me.

In 1976, our yearly match was a complete disaster, from my point of view.
I had changed into a rather introvert, sullen and skinny adolescent. Due
to a recent illness, I had lost even more weight. Both my nieces however
had become noticeably big, strong and active. We were more or less of the
same height now, but especially Mirjam was much heavier than I was. I
simply was no match for her. It was an extremely one-sided encounter. She
humiliated me and at one time she even heaved me upon her shoulder. When
sitting on top of me she seemed to expand into gigantic dimensions. I was
helpless and defenseless, notably during the final, most humiliating bout
in which she used my own arms to tie me up. Eefje had become a very
skilled wrestler as well. Apparently, they had practiced a lot. Unlike
Mirjam, who had relied on her strength and weight, she relied on her
agility and skill. We fought three matches. During the first one we
started from a normal position, during the second and third we started on
our knees. But I was simply overclassed. During the final bout, I felt
dizzy and ill and would not have been a match for anyone. I had not been
able to defeat either one of them once. After the matches I had to lie
quietly on my back for a minute or so to recover.

To be continued ...