Hometown crowds

Kokawa!

So for ten cents we went to see the WRASTLIN! Me and my two friends (with the same name) stood around in the crowds for about twenty minutes while competitive manliness was going on. There were drums and bookies and guys in loin cloths that at times seemed to be competitively hugging. There was also a ref that watched the bout and declared a winner at the end.  I am not entirely sure of the rules. It seemed to be a cross between greco-roman wrestling and sumo wrestling. If one competitor gets pushed around too much or into the crowd, he loses. If any part of your body touches the ground except your hand or your feet, you lose. Although, it seems that it was up to the ref's discression as well.  Anyways, it was fun and only ten cents a person. The crowds filled the courtyard and they were really into it. 

This Match was very interesting. It seemed the guy in black was going to win until the guy without a shirt sort of ducked and spun out from underneath him as they both fell to the ground. The shirtless guy somehow ended up on top. He won the match and the crowd cheered his quite exquisite move.

There were champions from far away that came for what appeared to be headline bouts. As opposed to local boys and men competing. The crowd seemed to know all the rules and cheer and jeered at appropriate times. Towards the end there was hardly room to stand, you can see the people climbing on top of the buildings for a seat. Luck for me and my friends, we are tall and able to see over the other spectators.

This guy sans shirt almost lost to an amateur, he seemed angry about it afterwards. Perhaps if he had taken it seriously the whole time instead of trying to be too cool for school, he could have finished him earlier. 

There was an admissions fee so many who wanted to see but could not afford to get in. There we "security" men all around with whips and stuff to beat people entered without paying. It was weird actually going through the pay entrance. There were people crowding the door for some reason, dozens of them. I got to the door and gave the guy the money, he opened the door, and about ten people tried to squeeze in the door with me. However, the bouncers inside wouldn't let them in and they wouldn't let me through. It was quite the predicament. We had to fight our way into the 'stadium'.

You can see those without tickets trying to watch the proceedings. Not pictured is the three dudes with whips and clubs that were ready to whack anyone that came over the wall. Also, there were thorny branches at the base of the wall. 

It was funny the number of people we knew, they kept coming up to us and greeting us and asking us what we were doing there. I guess white people weren't expected to go to the events. I'd go again.