Ina is one of the best Competitive Women Wrestlers I know, born in Pusan Korea and raised here in the US. Few know her, but those who do know about her skill and power can attest to the fact that once on the Mat she is very dangerous.
The following is how I met and learned to Wrestle by this woman. I had transfer to a State University in Texas and was in my Junior year. During one weekend while I was checking out the gym, I came across the wrestling room. Inside was a Oriental girl who was about 5’6” 130 and 24 years old. she had Black shoulder length hair and was a model once in a while for local stores to pay for college She told me later that it was difficult to get dates because men would not go near her, it was because she was so beautiful. She was wearing a one piece black leotard and black and white small top wrestling shoes. I said hello and she did the same, I started to make small talk telling her I was new and just looking around. She told me she was waiting for her sister who was late. I asked why in the wrestling room , she said “Because I wrestle silly”. I laughed feeling quite stupid and yet very interested. She said her sister was always late, and she asked if I wrestled? I looked away and said yes. I was so excited and the thought of me controlling her on the mat was to good to be true. You see like many males my ego at the time was as high as the moon, and I thought that she had no chance against this American Male. She said Great lets go! I said you mean PIN? she said oh no…better, Submission!. she explained the rules of submission and how you may give but only by 3 taps or say I give.
I took off my shirt and my shoes and socks she took off her shoes also to make it fair. To this day I only wrestle in bare feet. Her Body was not muscular like a body builder but firm and tight. she put her hair up, and she said Ready? I started to smile but then her smile turned to this very determined look, I reached out for her arms and she locked me up and placed me in a front standing face lock. Her left arm was around my neck and she applied very strong pressure which was a choking, which started my ears to burn and felt like my head was going to pop. She then reached down and grabbed my shorts on the left side and in one quick move I found myself, this over 6 foot man being picked up and thrown over and landing on my back hard on the mat. She then did a cross body pin and grabbed my left leg and hooking it with her right arm lifted it up and bent it toward my head which caused the splits from hell, I yelled “NO”!! Using her right leg and foot moved my right leg out away from my body, by hooking my leg, which also was the second part of my splits from Hell!! I yelled NO!!, please NO!!, and she whispered in my right ear…”Tap 3 times or say I Give”… I yelled and tapped at the same time, she let go and rolled off. I just laid there on the mat both of my legs in great pain from the stretch. After I recovered somewhat I sat up and looked at her standing in her corner of the mat, ready. I knew I was not. Just then her sister walked in and Ina began speaking in Korean and I can tell you it was not nice.
She introduced me to her sister who was about the same height and weight. She wore a two piece workout suit. I could tell her sister was not happy I was there, so I said I would be going and thanked her for the lesson. Ina asked me for my number but did not give me hers, I left walking very slowly and still in pain and my Ego was as bruised as it ever had been. I had just lost to a shorter Korean chick….I could not get over it.
Ina called a few days later, and we met again in the wrestling room, this time she was wearing her sister black two piece workout suit. I walked slowly up to her and she smiled at me and was glad to see me. I felt like crawling under the mat for some of the things I had thought about doing to her, but that smile made some of the hurt go away. She asked me if I would like her to train me? Now this was 1982 and mixed wrestling was so far back in the closet that you couldn’t find it. I said are you kidding you train me? …LOL!! She then said Sure if your good enough, I said you mean man enough?, she said no its not the sex of a wrestler its the skill, and competitiveness and the joy of just wrestling. MY GOD!!! I wanted to marry her right then and there. So it began and in the coming months we started training and she showed me all the holds she knew and I loss again and again and again. Its was so bad, just when I thought I was going to take her she would just move to a different position and she was free.
We also started dating and we shared many things in those months, and we would sit around and read wrestling magazines, watch FAKE videos and goof on them which to this day I do, and I hate fake videos. I was always surprised at how honest and open she was about wrestling to not only her family, friends but also strangers, which I admit to not saying a word to anyone for months. One thing that was very important was that while on the mat we were all business, we did have an intimate relationship off the mat, and we kept it that way….. OFF the mat.
One day after about 6 months of training, she was late and I was worried, then she arrived with another girl a Texas Blond who was my size and very rugged looking, her name was Tina she was 6’1 190 and strong. Ina introduced us and she turned to me and said this is your graduation present. I looked at Tina who took off her warm up suit down to a Black Bikini. Tina was tan all over and her hair was down to the small of her back. Tina was a local mud and oil wrestler and friend of Ian’s who I found out later was paying this girl to wrestle me.
Ina could tell I was nervous and she said, she is tough and strong, but your good, I taught you and now your going to make me proud. She then smiled and kissed me on my tight lips. By then my Male Ego had long since retired, so all I could rely on was my taught skills.
We started and to this day I am still a slow starter, and she simply walked up and placed me in a headlock, I just stood there and let her. I could hear Ina say..just don’t stand there do something!! I finally snapped out of it but at that second I was hipped tossed to the mat. She then went for a scissors around my head but I was able to get my arm between her legs to block, just as Ina had taught. I broke out of the hold and we started again, this time I grabbed her first and snapped mare her to the mat to the sitting position, where I placed a sitting full nelson on her, and a scissors…it felt so good to be in control for once..these mats had only witnessed me on the defensive. I then Squeezed her has hard as I could and broke my full nelson and turned it into a choke hold. She patted my legs 3 times. I jumped up and didn’t know what to do..I just stood there realizing I had just won ran over to Ina and gave her a big hug…and she said not while your on the mats babes….I laugh, I went on to win 5 to 1, only to lose when she got me in a chinlock and I submitted one.
After Ina and I went out for dinner, then home to my place to recount the match over and over. We continued to wrestle for the next year, but in the spring of 84 she transfer to med school back east. We talk from time to time, she is married to a Korean guy as per family wishes, and is retired because of husbands wishes.
Since then I have wrestled many women, some stronger than her, but none more who has the genuine love of wrestling and the pure sense of competition in Mixed wrestling.
Ina never made it seem wrong or perverted, she enjoyed the win or the lost and taught me that just having the chance to wrestle be it a man or woman, should be something enjoyed.
Each time I wrestle I hear her voice in my corner telling me what to do and what a dope I am for the hold my opponent has on me, but the thing I hear the most is she saying: HAVE FUN, DO YOUR BEST, MAKE IT SAFE, and yes that was a girl that just beat you…LOL!!!
Ina still follows my career in wrestling and I talked to her just yesterday, she is fine and so is her family she told me to tell you all to be good to each other and keep bringing wrestling what ever style to the forefront.
Thanks Jackpin 🙂
courtesy of Jackpin
