boom! With a loud bang, Laurance Roman sent his opponent neatly onto the boards. The whole competition ring vibrates. It’s training time at the Sport Center Dresden on the outskirts of Albertstadt. And since the wrestlers want to offer something to the audience at their shows, the training really gets down to business. Only in June did the three wrestling fans Axel Tischer, Franz Engel and Mario Neumann Dresden wrestling school founded. Laurance Roman, whose real name is Laurenz Domschke, is a coach. Domschke, Engel and Tischer are active wrestlers and can be seen at shows.
Girls and boys from 14 years can train
The wrestling school should provide a basis for the scene in the region and train young people, says Domschke. School motto: “That’s awesome wrestling”. Interested girls and boys from the age of 14 as well as sporty women and men are welcome to try out. But nobody has to worry about too many bruises or even cracked ribs, the wrestlers assure. Training for beginners is all about the correct rolling and coordination exercises. It takes a lot of practice before the fighters smash themselves onto the boards.
US career wrestler trains in Dresden
The wrestling school in Dresden can come up with a well-known name in the scene. Axel Tischer was under contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in the USA from 2015 to 2021 under his wrestling names Alexander Wolfe and Axeman – a real wrestling star.
Now the family man is back in his homeland and has settled in the countryside not far from Dresden. But retirement is out of the question. When asked, Tischer said he was still active as a wrestler and wrestling coach. He is booked at home and abroad and can continue to make a living from wrestling. His fellow campaigners, on the other hand, still have middle-class jobs.
First show in Coswig
On Saturday (July 15th) the first show of the new Dresden wrestling school will take place at the Börse event center in Coswig in the Meissen district. More than 20 fighters from Germany and abroad can be seen in action. Franz Engel, Axel Tischer and Laurance Roman from Dresden offer the mixture of martial arts and show that is so popular with the fans. Erzgebirge Nick Schreier also gets into the ring. He trains in Dresden and is considered a young talent.
30 fighters active in wrestling school
Almost 30 wrestlers are now training in the Sport Center Dresden, including five young women. Five to six of the athletes can be seen regularly at wrestling shows. Training is offered four times a week, with the pros claiming the five-by-five meter wrestling ring every Wednesday evening. Beginners train on Mondays, advanced on Friday evenings. Open practice is on Sunday.
That evening, the training lasts three hours and is not only sweaty because of the summer heat. Laurance Roman is still working on his training partner and, after ten years in the ring, knows what the fans expect from a good wrestling show: You can’t always be a winner and sometimes you have to end up in an opponent’s headlock. And that is exactly what needs to be trained. Axel Tischer keeps a close eye on the boys, gives tips and even gets into the training ring himself.