So You want to be a Wrestler?

Pro Wrestling is a tough business, You have to deal with constant pain, low pay (for most,and constant travel. But you know that. You've read Mick Foley's autobiography and Hulk Hogan's story. You know Hogan had his legs broken at a training camp when he started. But he kept training.

Foley attended Chris Adams wrestling school, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin. And both of them went on to bigger and (much) better things.

So you know you just can't wrestle with your friends in the backyard and teach yourself to become a wrestler. You need to go to a wrestling school.

But which one?

There are at least a hundred or more wrestling schools in the United States and Canada. Some are weekend mini-camps. Others are several months long.

To get into some of the wrestling schools, you need cash and a recent physical. Others schools require you to prove you have agility and stamina before you are accepted.

So how do you go choose a wrestling school?

Personally, I think you should go to the one with the best reputation you can find, even if it means uprooting yourself and traveling 3,000 miles. If you are really serious about becoming a pro wrestler, you need the best training and mentoring available. Don't settle for a poor trainer with poor facilities, and justify it by assuming you can learn the rest once you get a job with a wrestling promotion.

You need to get the best skills possible as quickly as possible to maximize your earning potential. If you spend a few extra bucks to get into a school that will teach you skills in 6 months, instead of you having to learn them the hard way over the course of years, the cost of the school will be worth it.

But how do you find a wrestling school that is a good fit for you?

I am going to help you with that.

I will be publishing several articles on various wrestling schools I have found. No doubt, you have heard of a few of them. But you haven't heard of all of them. In fact, I was surprised by a few I discovered. Some are headed by some wrestler's with outstanding credentials. Some of them boast megastar graduates.

Here are some of the questions you should ask of any wrestling school.

Is there a place to live provided?

Is there housing nearby?

Are there separate tracks for beginners, intermediates and newbies?

Is financing or installment pricing available

Do you know active wrestlers who are happy with the promotion?

Can they help you find a job later?

If you have no amatuer background, will they help you with fundamentals.

Will they teach you interviewing, character development?

Do they teach fundamental matwork? aerils? ring pschology?

Will they help you with a promo video (match), promo pictures, resume?

Do they have weight and cardio rooms?

How many rings do they have?

Is a ring for practice accessible all the time or only some days?