Q & A: SARA JAY
RIDING HIGH DOWN UNDER
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by S. Mata Sara Jay is in the Winner's Circle at Last It's one thing to follow your dreams and succeed when doors are opened for you and everyone seems to be cheering you on. It's another thing entirely to find success when no one seems to have faith in you. Such lack of support might even seem understandable if you lacked the ability to succeed. But it's especially maddening to be casually dismissed simply because of your age, your size, and your gender. At the onset of her career, Australia's Sara Jay was a mere 15 years old and just five feet tall; furthermore, she's female. Her passion was for professional wrestling, but she quickly discovered that many promoters didn't think there was a place for women in the ring. What's more, even many of those who did book the ladies nonetheless rejected her on the grounds that no one of her smaller stature... much less a wet-behind-the-ears teenager... could possibly be a successful wrestler. And so, she had to prove herself the hard way: one match at a time, against any opponent she could get for any promotion that would have her. And slowly, her success began to open the eyes of the Australian wrestling community. For this tiny teenaged girl wasn't just making a good accounting of herself... she was winning matches! It was a long, arduous trek to acceptance in the sport. But Sara Jay knows a thing or two about patience. She is also an accomplished equestrian, and she realized that there are parallels between the two sports. Training a horse... a proud and feisty animal... requires time and firm persistence. And having mastered the art of taming a beast, she was well-suited to rein in and saddle truculent promoters! But for all of her determination and natural athletic abilities, she also knew that she needed to learn as much about wrestling as she possibly could. Luckily, she studied under Peter Ball and George "The Hitman" Julio, and they not only taught her a wide array of ring skills, but also drilled into her head the value of focused training in the gym. "I mostly do weight training and cardio. When I'm wrestling training, I like to run through my bumps and chain work, and then try out any new spots, moves or holds. I have in mind." "I've been trained fairly 'Old School', but because I'm very short and small, I also do a lot of high flying moves. I like to intertwine both Old School with a lot of newer wrestling techniques." Her hybrid style has paid off with her expert applications of such moves as the Hurricarana, X-Factor, and good old fashioned clotheslines. In the five years since her ring debut, she has silenced her detractors solely by virtue of her performance in the squared circle. She has truly become a national star in the sport, having worked all across Australia, and is credited with being the most widely-traveled woman in the sport today. And her success has been rewarded with gold, such as the MIW Women's Championship (twice), the WCWA Junior Women's title, and the first-ever NAW Women's crown. In fact, she counts winning the NAW belt as her most memorable moment to date, as she had to triumph in a women's rumble match to win it. On the other side of the coin, dropping the MIW belt one time was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, since the opponent who defeated her for the women's title was a man! Of course, one doesn't achieve such success without taking their fair share of bumps and bruises. And given the fact that Sara Jay has faced many of Australia's best women (and even some men!), she's earned perhaps more than her share. "I've been injured many times, and I've had plenty of black eyes to boot! But its never been enough to make me want to quit... I still love this sport too much, and I've still got so much more to learn!" Her reward for such hard work and well-earned success has been a large and loyal fan base. Wherever she travels, she receives letters, photographs, and even presents from the fans. That's just one of the benefits of being a wrestler, she says. She also loves the travel, as well as the excitement at the shows. The passion she has felt for wrestling since she was a child has not been dimmed by proximity; if anything, it's burning even brighter within her! She's also conscious of the fact that she serves as a role model, and it's a responsibility she takes very seriously. "I hope that I can help to inspire other young women to follow their dreams. If I can do it, then anyone can! Follow your dreams." Now, having established herself as a major star at home, she's looking abroad for new challenges. She'd certainly like to visit Japan, but she's also hoping to have opportunities to visit Europe and North America as well before too long. And the notion of having to prove all over again that a 5 foot tall woman can be a tiger in the ring isn't daunting at all... she's actually looking forward to being able to prove herself for new audiences. "I'll face any woman anywhere," she says with a confident smile. For all of her success, she doesn't have the rampant ego one might expect. Indeed, she seems to still think of herself as just an everyday, ordinary Aussie girl. "I'm living proof that anyone can wrestle, aren't I?" You certainly are... provided just "anyone" has the fire, the determination, and the singular ability of a Sara Jay. A pretty tall order to fill, to be sure. As for Sara Jay herself, she continues to push herself, and continues to defy expectations. From Brisbane to Melbourne, Sydney to Perth, and all point in between, this woman is truly standing tall. pics courtesy of Sara Jay |
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