Etsuko Mita

Etsuko Mita
Date of Birth: May 28, 1969
Career Title History
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 165lbs
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Birthdate: May 28, 1969
Pro Wrestling Debut: August 5, 1987
Signature Moves: Death Valley Driver, Powerbomb, Double Chop

June 14 1989 - Won the All Japan Tag Team Wrestling titles with Toshiyo Yamada. Vacated due to injury in early 1990.
November 14 1990 - Won the All Japan Tag Team Wrestling titles with Mima Shimoda. Lost the titles on April 21, 1991 to Esther & Cynthia Moreno.
March 27 1994 - Won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles with Mima Shimoda, defeating Mayumi Ozaki and Cuty Suzuki on January 8, 1995.
June 18 1997 - Won the WWWA Tag Team titles with Mima Shimoda from Tomoko Watanabe and Kumiko Maekawa. Vacated the belts on September 1, 1997 when they left AJW.
July 10 1999 - With Mima Shimoda, won the WWWA Tag Team titles from ZAP I and ZAP T. Lost them on December 8 1999 to Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa.
December 3 2000 - With Mima Shimoda, won the Twin Star of ARSION from GAMI & Rie Tamada. Lost the titles on July 29 2001 to Mariko Yoshida and Lioness Asuka.
January 4 2001 - With Mima Shimoda, won the WWWA Tag Team titles from Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi. Lost the titles on July 27 2001 to Nanae Takahashi and Tomoko Watanabe.
November 29 2002 - With Mima Shimoda, won the WWWA Tag Team titles from Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi. Titles vacated.

Faby Apache

Wrestler Name: Faby Apache
Real name:  Fabiola Balbuena Torres
Name history:  Lady Venum (Wrestling Debut: - 03/98), Faby Apache (03/98 - )
Family:  Gran Apache (father), Mari Apache (sister), Lady Apache (step-mother), Billy Boy (husband)
Trained by: Gran Apache, Aja Kong, Mariko Yoshida
Born:  December 26th, 1980 in Mexico City
Wrestling Debut: January 20th, 1998 at Deportivo Azcapotzalco in Mexico City
Height:  5'3"/160 cms
Weight:  139 lbs/63 kg
Signature wrestling moves: Moonsault, Sitdown Power Bomb, Tornillo Suicida (side to side (corkscrew) twisting plancha)
Titles: Sky High of ARSION, AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles (with Gran Apache)

Faby Apache on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/faby_apache

Budgeting for Booze

Slowly and surely, the engine of Women's Studies is starting to burn faster and cleaner. Full-fledged pre-production is starting to rev up. If all stays on course, we should be making some major announcements soon.

There's been a shifting of focus here at Ningen Manga HQ from the business/legal aspects of production to more practical filmmaking concerns. I for one am happy that we're finding the ability to move into this direction. To me, the place where business and actual production start to marry is in the budget.

In independent film, the usual response when asked about budget is "What budget?" Trust me, I understand that sentiment. I've worked on and produced my fair share of "no-budget" films. However, with a feature, a budget starts to become a necessary evil. Really, there's nothing evil about it. It's just that most filmmakers hate dealing with budgets, present company included. Still, though it's usually a producer's job to keep track of the budget, the director is almost universally the one to get blamed if a film goes over budget. Therefore, it's a good idea for a director to know how to deal with them.

It could be said that film is recorded theatre. At it's most basic level, theatre is composed of four elements, actors, ideas, a place to perform, and audience. If you have these things, you can create theatre. Film can be similarly broken down, and when you're looking at budget it's good to consider four basic groups: personnel, equipment, locations, and script. Basically, to create a budget, you split these four groups down into smaller and smaller sub groups, all along the way figuring out a) what things are going to cost and b) how long you're going to need to use it.

I'll run through a quick, vague example.

Since I wrote the script, that one's pretty easy. Cost of script: $0. Wow, isn't making a budget easy?

Equipment. Let's see. I'll need a camera to shoot it on. And I'll need some stuff to record sound on. You know, microphones, maybe a mixer, definitely a boom pole. Editing equipment! I need that too.

Wait, let's just focus on one thing. How about that camera? We'll need lenses. And a tri-pod. Ooo, and I want a crane shot so we'll need a crane. Oh my god, I almost forgot media to record to! Does this camera use tapes or some weird new digital capture thingy? How much are those again? Hey, we're going to need cables and stuff to plug all this shit in. Wait, there's outdoor shots so we're going to need batteries, maybe even a generator. Oh shit, we'll need lights so we can see what we're shooting. And a gel kit for the lights to add color, also a dimmer board so we can control the lights. Gaffer tape! I always forget gaffer tape

Does anybody know how much all this stuff costs? What? I have to look it up myself? Shit. Well, I better get this list organized then.

CAMERA DEPT.
Camera
Lens kit
Tri-Pod
Crane
Media (tapes or digital capture)
*Incidentals

LIGHTING
Basic lighting kit
Specialty lights
Gel Kit
Dimmer Board
*Incidentals

ELECTRIC
Cables
Generator
Batteries
Gaffer tape
*Incidentals

(*Always have a little extra money ready for shit you've forgotten about. Trust me. You've forgotten something.)

Now, I took equipment and broke it down into three basic categories: Camera, Sound, and Editing. Then I broke Camera Dept. down into three more categories: Camera, Lighting, and Electric. From there, I listed things that would be needed that will probably cost money. Each of those items could be broken down even further if I wanted. For example, I could list off each cable type and how many I'll need. Does that seem anal retentive? Take a look at a budget for a big Hollywood film. (Actually don't, there's probably some pretty interesting bookkeeping going on with some of these films, though I'm sure very penny spent on every cable is accounted for somewhere.)

To figure out what things cost, you have to do the research. You're either going to rent or buy. If you're buying, you budget in only the purchase cost. If you're renting, you need to know the rental cost (either per day or per hour) and how long you're going to need it for?

How do figure out how long you'll need it for? Funny you should ask since that's just the cluster-fuckery of shite I'm currently buried in.

It's in that script. You know, the only thing that costs $0. First you have to break it down. (See this blog.)

Once the script is broken down, you and your DP decide exactly what the specific needs for an individual scene may be. For example, you may decide that you need to shoot three days in one location, but only need the crane for one. However, you need the tri-pod for two and the dolly for two, but on two different days. Wait though, that's scheduling, not budgeting . . . though it is sort of is budgeting too. Isn't it?

Booze. We budgeted for booze, right?

Michiko Omukai

Wrestler Name: Michiko Omukai
Born: May 30th, 1975
Hometown: Iwate-ken Kuji Shi, Japan
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Weight: 143 lbs. (65kg)
Pro Wrestling Debut: January 11th 1992 versus Shiho Nakamigawa at Ibaraki
Wrestling Promotions: Freelance - runs M's Style, was ARSION - License No. 5
Finishing Moves: Shining Wizard, Tiger Suplex, B3 Bomb, Rolling Savate, Crucifix Armbar, Diving Enzui Knee Drop
Nicknames Beauty Venus, Chama

Manami Toyota ,Part 3

Toyota soon recovered from the loss. In 1995, she won the AJW Grand Prix tournament, securing her position as the number one contender for the WWWA Championship. Before she received her title opportunity, she faced the legendary Akira Hokuto at AJW's Destiny show on September 2, 1995. On December 4, she finally received her title shot, and defeated then-champion Dynamite Kansai to become a two-time world champion.

Over the next 12 months Toyota made three successful defenses of her WWWA title. In December of 1996 she came up against long term rival Kyoko Inoue and lost in a match that saw the All Pacific and IWA Women's World titles unified with the WWWA Title.

On January 20, 1997, Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa beat Manami Toyata & Mima Shimoda to win the WWWA Tag Team wrestling titles.
January 23 1998, Manami Toyata & Kaoru Ito defeated Hikari Fukuoka & Devil Masami for the JWP Tag Team wrestling titles.
On February 11, 1998, Hikari Fukuoka & Tomoko Kuzumilost defeated Manami Toyata & Kaoru Ito for the JWP Tag Team wrestling titles.
January 4 2000, Manami Toyata defeated Yumiko Hotta to win the WWWA Singles Wrestling title.
On September 17 2000, Kaoru Ito defeated Manami Toyata for the WWWA Singles Wrestling title.
February 24 2002, Manami Toyata defeated Kaoru Ito for the WWWA Singles Wrestling title.
On May 5 2002 - WEW, Manami Toyata defeated Kumiko Maekawa to retain the WWWA Singles Wrestling title.
July 6 2002, Kaoru Ito defeated Manami Toyata to capture the WWWA Singles Wrestling title.
In July 2002, Manami Toyota Left AJW due to problems with the promotion.
July 4, 2002, Manami Toyota showed up to start trouble with Toshiyo Yamda.
On July 14, 2002, Manami Toyata & Aja Kong defeated Power Team.
October 20, 2002, Manami Toyata defeated Chikayo Nagashima to win the AAAW Singles wrestling title.
On November 17, 2002, Toshiyo Yamda/Dynamite Kansai/Chigusa Nagayo beat Manami Toyota/Aja Kong/Lioness Asuka.
November 24, 2002, Manami Toyata/Devil Masami/Aja Kong beat Toshiyo Yamada/Suger Satoh/Meiko Satomura.
On January 12, 2003, Manami Toyota defeated Toshiyo Yamada to retain the AAAW Singles wrestling title in Kourakuen Hall.
November 30, 2003, Dynamite Kansai defeated Manami Toyota for the AAAW wrestling Singles title.
On September 20, 2004, Manami Toyota & Amano defeated Aja Kong & Amazing Kong for the AAAW Tag Team wrestling titles.
April 3, 2005, Toshie Uematsu & Ran Yu Yu defeated Manami Toyota & Carlos Amano for the AAAW Tag Team wrestling titles.
Manami Toyota became free agent after GAEA's final show on April 10, 2005.

http,//angela.milkcafe.to/

Manami Toyota - Part 2

However, the feud between Manami and Toshiyo Yamada was not yet over.
It reached it's climax on August 15th, 1992 at Korakuen Hall in a Hair vs. Hair match. The bout was a very dramatic one, but what made the event was what occurred after the match. Manami, even though she had won the match, did not want Toshiyo to get her head shaved, and had to be forcefully restrained by four preliminary girls, who eventually forced her back to the mat. In respect of the match conditions Toshiyo wanted her head shaved and went ahead with the stipulation.

Soon after this match the two women once again teamed up to win their first World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship in March 1992, defeating "Jungle Jack" (Aja Kong and Bison Kimura) in Tokyo. At AJW’s Dreamrush shown on November 26th, Manami and Toshiyo defended their WWWA Tag Team wrestling titles against Dynamite Kansai and Mayumi Ozaki in a legendary two out of three falls match, which is considered one of the best wrestling matches ever.

In April of 1992 Manami furthered her singles career by defeating Kyoko Inoue on April 25th in Yokohama for the IWA World Women's Championship. Toyota defended that title eight times over the course of the next three years, before losing it to Reggie Bennett in Niigata Prefecture, Japan on May 15th, 1995.

At Dreamslam II, on April 11th, 1993 Manami and Toshiyo fought a rematch against JWP Project's Kansai and Ozaki in yet another highly-rated two out of three falls encounter. This time, however, Manami and Toshiyo were on the losing side, and Kansai and Ozaki got their revenge. The feud concluded at AJW’s St. Battle Final event, on December 6th, 1993, when Manami and Toshiyo regained their tag titles.

On August 24th, 1994 Manami once again squared off against Kyoko Inoue, and defeated her to unify the IWA and All Pacific Singles Championships. Manami’s run with the two titles was not to last very long, because on October 9th, 1994, Inoue gained a measure of revenge against Manami, when Kyoko and her partner Takako Inoue (no relation) won the WWWA Tag Team Championship from Manami and Toshiyo. Manami then vacated her All Pacific Championship, prior to her first WWWA Heavyweight Championship match against the monstrous Aja Kong at AJW’s Queendom III show, on March 26th, 1995. The match saw Manami reach the summit of AJW when she won and became the 39th WWWA Champion.

On May 7th, Manami defended her crown against arch-rival Kyoko Inoue at the Korakuen Hall, where the two fought to a 60 minute time limit draw. Despite piledrivers on the floor, German suplexes off the top rope, and multiple finishers, neither combatant was able to secure outright victory. Nonetheless, Manami retained, and the match was voted Match of the Year for 1995 in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The following month, Manami lost the WWWA Championship to former champion Aja Kong, on June 27.

Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue (May 7, 1995)

Manami Toyota ,Part 1

Height, 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight, 150 lb. (68 kg)
Birthday, March 2, 1971
Hometown, Masuda, Shimane, Japan
Trained By, Jaguar Yokota
Professional Debut, August 5, 1987, vs. Sachiko Nakamura
Real name , Toyota Manami

Manami Toyota is a japanese professional wrestler best known for her work with the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) wrestling promotion. Following AJW's closure she has continued to work in other joshi promotions such as GAEA and NEO. Toyota is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Manami Toyota made her professional wrestling debut on August 5, 1987, in a singles match against Sachiko Nakamura. Her big break came in her second year, on the first Wrestlemarinpiad show from Yokohama Arena, on May 6, 1989. Teamed with Mima Shimoda, she defeated Etsuko Mita and Toshiyo Yamada in a lightning-paced match that nearly stole the card from the more established veterans. The bout had all the basic ingredients that made Toyota a star, including flashy moves, fast and frequent tags, double-team moves, and a long series of dramatic near falls. When the bout was released as part of a four-hour commercial tape, Toyota became recognized as a wrestler to watch.

Toyota won her first title on November 18, 1989 in Matsuda, when she defeated Mika Takahashi for the AJW Championship. She defended the title three times, including one defense against her future rival Kyoko Inoue (on August 1, 1990), before vacating it on September 1, 1990. The following month (October 7 in Tokyo) she challenged Bison Kimura for the All Pacific Championship and emerged victorious. However she only managed to defend the title once before losing to Suzuka Minami on March 17, 1991.

Parallel to this success ran Toyota’s famous feud with future tag-team partner Toshiyo Yamada. Initially, following Toyota’s success teaming up with Shimoda, the AJW braintrust felt they could well be the new Beauty Pair or Crush Gals, but that was not to be. Toyota's real chemistry came not with Shimoda but with Yamada, whose style was unlike Toyota's and provided more of a contrast. Yamada was a slightly built, short-haired, kicking specialist, who idolized both Chigusa Nagayo and Akira Maeda. Unlike other wrestlers who rely on kicks and submissions, Yamada could also work the rapid-paced matches, and was accomplished at building to near-falls with repeated kick-outs at the last possible moment.

To begin with, however, Toyota and Yamada were opponents rather than partners. Between 1989 and 1991 they wrestled many times, producing bouts that rivaled the quality of the main events that AJW's champions were presenting. At the start of 1992, the two won their first tag team championship when they defeated KAORU and Lady Apache in Tokyo on January 19 for the UWA titles.

technorati tags:pro wrestling rumors pro wrestling news, pro wrestling, pro wrestling history, all japan pro wrestling, women pro wrestling ,wrestling rumors,wrestling pictures,professional wrestling,wrestling wrestler,wrestling wrestlers,wrestling news,wrestling,japanese wrestling

Ayako Hamada

Ayako Hamada
Full Name: Ayako Valentina Hamada Villarreal
The daughter of Gran Hamada, and sister of Xochitl Hamada.
Height: 5' 4" (162cm)
Weight: 136.4lbs (62kg)
Measurements: (CM) 97-74-94
Trained by: Gran Hamada, Gran Apache, Aja Kong, Mariko Yoshida
Debut: August 9 1998, vs. Candy Okutsu
Date of Birth: February 14 1981
Nickname: Super Estrella
Hometown: Mexico City
Promotions: ARSION (1998-2001), (Free 2001-)
Signature moves Top-rope Hama-Chan (Diamond) Cutter, La Ayakita, La Ayakita II, Super Quebrada
Career Title History
Twinstar of ARSION (2, w/ Mika Akino/AKINO, w/ Michiko Omukai), Sky High of ARSION, P*MIX Tag Team Wrestling Titles (w/ Gran Hamada), QUEEN of ARSION, UWA World Women's Wrestling Title, WWA World Women's Wrestling Championship, GAEA: AAAW Tag Team Wrestling Titles (w/ Meiko Satomura), WWWA World Singles Title (2), IWRG Women's Wrestling Title, GAEA: AAAW Title

Takako Inoue

Takako Inoue (no relation to Kyoko Inoue)
Height: 5' 4" (163cm)
Weight: 138.6lbs (63kg)
Date of Birth: November 7, 1969
Debut: October 10 1988 vs. Kyoko Inoue
Promotions: AJW (1988-1999), Free (1999-)

Before joining All Japan Women, Takako Inoue was, not surprisingly, a magazine model.
She joined All Japan Women in late 1987, and had her first match on October 10, 1988 against Kyoko Inoue (no relation), who was also debuting. She began getting her first push by early 1991, when she won her first title, the AJW Japanese title, from Kyoko Inoue on 4/29/91, losing it exactly one year later to Mariko Yoshida. Her first regular tag team partner was Mariko Yoshida, and the two held the AJW Japanese Tag Team titles twice totalling the better part of sixteen months from 8/91 to 12/92, dropping them briefly during that run to Sakie Hasegawa and Debbie Malenko. After her second Japanese Tag Title run ended, Takako didn't have a lot to do other than act as a placeholder for the occasionally-defended UWA Women's Tag titles with Yumiko Hotta.

She began getting serious main-event exposure in October 1994, when Takako formed a team with Kyoko Inoue, calling themselves the "Double Inoues". They won the WWWA World Tag Team titles from Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada on 10/9/94, ending Toyota and Yamada's almost 2 1/2 year domination of the titles. They defended the titles once, and then vacated them because they were the 99th WWWA tag champs and they wanted to be the 100th. A one-night tournament was held on 3/21/95, and the Inoues won three matches to regain the titles. The Inoues would go on to have their own stranglehold on the tag titles, becoming the new dominant tag team in AJW for the next eighteen months, holding the WWWA tag titles three times. Their primary rivals during most of their reign was the team of Manami Toyota and Sakie Hasegawa (or her masked alter ego, Blizzard Yuki), which produced some outstanding matches, including the one-night tournament final. After losing the titles to Manami Toyota and Mima Shimoda in June of 1996, the Inoues split up, as Kyoko began getting a serious push at the WWWA title.

Takako would also win singles titles during this time. Takako won the IWA Women's title from Reggie Bennett on 12/4/95, and would defeat Bennett again on 11/21/96 to unify the IWA title with the All-Pacific title. Takako challenged WWWA champion Kyoko Inoue on 1/20/97 in a match that would unify the three titles. Unfortunately for Takako fans, she lost. She would regain the All-Pacific title on 6/18/97, defeating Toshiyo Yamada to win the title after Kyoko had vacated the title earlier. Takako would suffer a severe eye injury about three weeks later, forcing her to miss three months and vacate the All-Pacific title. She would win the All-Pacific title back on 1/3/98 from Tomoko Watanabe before losing it to ZAP T (Tomoko Watanabe in a new masked heel gimmick) on 4/21/98 in a farce.

Takako's wrestling style is not very spectacular. She does a tope suicida from time to time, but is not given to the high-flying style used by some of the more prominent women workers such as Manami Toyota, Hikari Fukuoka, and Kaoru Maeda. She is a solid mat wrestler, using submissions effectively, and uses a variety of basic suplexes and slams with a couple of other more spectacular slams (choke slam off the top rope, arm drag off the top rope) thrown in. She also works well with youngsters, trying to make their offense credible and give and take away comebacks as needed. Takako's good looks help make her a draw for All Japan Women's arena shows and probably play some factor in the push she gets. Her looks have also resulted in several picture books. Despite her looks, she is definitely not afraid to work stiff or stretch, either in terms of being the punisher or the hapless victim. Early in her career, she had a "pretty-girl" babyface attitude. By mid-93, she was beginning to develop a little streak of insolence.

She has probably worked almost as many or more inter-promotional matches than any other worker in All Japan Women, and was among the first to work them, notably in matches against Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki of JWP Project. She has never been positioned as a top-level singles wrestler in All Japan Women, basically being the top of the pack in the midcard, moving up to the main events for tag matches. She has only had two WWWA title challenges: the aforementioned match against Kyoko Inoue and a match against Dynamite Kansai in October 1995 after Kansai had just won the WWWA title.

How the future looks for Takako is hard to say due to the mass exodus of most of their experienced talent to other promotions such as ARSION and Neo Japan. As a result, Takako is the third most senior worker in the company besides Yumiko Hotta and Manami Toyota, which one would think would lead to more WWWA title matches for her. It seems as though that she is becoming involved in an angle (the ZAPS) which could either take her up to main event status as a singles worker if she is turned full heel, or she could become saddled with a ridiculous feud if the angle is booked poorly.

http://www.otherarena.com/

technorati tags:pro wrestling rumors pro wrestling news, pro wrestling, pro wrestling history, all japan pro wrestling, women pro wrestling

Candy Okutsu

Candy Okutsu (born Tomoko Okutsu January 16, 1975 in Japan) was a female professional wrestler. She made her professional wrestling debut on August 4, 1992. She worked for the JWP Project promotion from then until 1997, when she retired due to an injury. She made her comeback on February 18, 1998 when she had joined the ARSION promotion. She became the first female version of Tiger Mask when she worked a few times as Tiger Dream. Candy Okutsu retired from professional wrestling on January 5, 2001.
Height: 5' 1" (155cm)
Weight: 132lbs (60kg)
Real Name: Tomoko Okutsu
Date of Birth: January 16 1975
Professional wrestling debut: August 4 1992, vs. Plum Mariko
Hometown: Hiroshima
Promotions: JWP (1992-1997), ARSION (1997-)
Career Title History
December 6 1993 - Won the All Japan Junior Wrestling title, beating Chaparrita ASARI, lost it on March 26 1995 to Chaparrita ASARI.
June 16 1995 - Won the JWP Junior Wrestling title, beating Hiromi Yagi and Hiromi Sugo in a three way match. Lost it on December 6 1995 to Hiromi Yagi.
July 27 1996 - Won the JWP Junior Wrestling title, beating Hiromi Yagi. Vacated the title quickly.

Won ARSION's ARS Tournament
Released a photo book called 'Athena'.

Kiyoko Ichiki

Kiyoko Ichiki
Height: 5' 1" (153cm)
Weight: 116.6lbs (53kg)
Date of Birth: February 21 1973
Pro Wrestling Debut: December 10 1994 vs. Cynthia Moreno
Promotions: IWA (1994-1996), Free (1996), GAEA (1996-1997), Big Japan (1997-)
Career Title History
Misae Genki Defeated Kiyoko Ichiki to become the first Big Japan Pro Wrestling champion on 07/02/2000 in Tokyo (Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
Kiyoko Ichiki then got the title back on 10/30/2000 in Tokyo (Tokyo Korakuen Hall) and vacated the title immediately after the match.

Live Nude Girls!

This past weekend, I was talking to some friends about Women's Studies. One of them who, yes, was male asked, "Is there going to be any T&A in this movie?" (In case you were raised on an asteroid, T&A is an acronym for "tits and ass.")

It's not the first time I've been asked the question. Far from it. In fact as soon as I tell most males I'm making a film about killer feminists, the nudity question is usually the first one out of their mouths. How's that for thousands of years of evolution, ladies? The mere mention of "hot chicks with knives" sends us into a tizzy of ecstasy.

The issue of nudity in horror films is one that's been debated by fans and critics alike for years. The general consensus is that there's too much gratuitous nudity in horror. Even fans of the genre admit it's so. The problem is that for horror's target audience (18 to 35-year-old males), sometimes the fact that there's a bit of T&A is the only consolation for sitting through a particularly bad and not very scary movie. The attitude is often "Well, the effects were childish, the acting horrendous, and the story non-existent, but at least I got to see a few nice racks."

Again ladies: How far we've come.

Remember though, horror is more popular now than it ever has been. In past years, the selling point for these films were that they crossed the taboo lines set by "normal" social values. People went to see the things that they didn't see in everyday life, sex and death being the two biggest draws throughout history. Also, horror films were (and still are) targeted at teenagers, who while pretty much thinking about sex all the time, are dissuaded by just about everyone around them from doing it.

(And despite sexuality being a much larger part of mainstream American culture today than in the 1960s and 1970s, stats will support my saying that most American teenagers aren't engaging in actual sexual intercourse until the age of seventeen or beyond.)

Women's Studies deals with sexuality on a lot of different levels, from infidelity to the personal ethics of abortion to not so vague hints of lesbianism between various characters. In fact, I'd even go as far to say that sex is always just below the surface in the story. There's sex a plenty in Women's Studies, though how titillating it all may be will be up for debate. Among cast and crew the big nudity debate has revolved around the opening scene where three guys visit a strip club and get a little bit more than they bargained for.

First, a point I think is relevant: I'm making this film in America where the views on sex are much more conservative than in many other parts of the world. (Remember, we're a country founded by Puritans.) If this film was being made in Europe, where attitudes toward sex are far more liberal, there would be in all likelihood no discussion about nudity. However, many American audiences and actors aren't as comfortable with it.

Personally, I'm not prudish at all when it comes to sex and nudity on film. My philosophy towards it is that if graphic sexuality is necessary to the integrity of the scene and/or film, then it's imperative that it's there. On the flip side, where both sex and violence are concerned, in many cases I'm from the "less is more" school of thought. Sometimes, what you don't see is made sexier or more horrifying by the imagination.

The question then becomes one of when is nudity and sex is necessary and when it's simply gratuitous. In all likelihood, the answer is one dependant upon personal taste, but let's look at a few examples that illustrate different degrees anyway.

I could pick any number of films to show nudity being used gratuitously , but let's look at a scene from Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning since most Friday fans feel the entire movie is gratuitous. (I actually think there are a few admirable aspects to the film, though I'm very aware that I'm in the minority among horror fans.) In this scene, a woman is in a diner bathroom getting ready for a date. For no discernable reason, she turns to the mirror, exposes her breasts to herself and yells, "It's Showtime." While she has a fine pair of breasts, her exposing them does nothing to tell us anything deeper about her character. (At this point, we've already seen enough to tell us she's a self-centered airhead.) Nor does it move the story forward in any way. The breast flash is only there for pure titillation.

Here's one open for interpretation: In the film version of Cold Mountain, the two main characters, played by Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, have been pining for each other while Law has been off fighting in the Civil War. When they're finally reunited, director Anthony Minghella decided to give us a fairly long, explicit scene of the two making love. While I thought the sex scene was hot as hell, I also felt it was gratuitous and ill-conceived. I feel this way because throughout the film, Law and Kidman have spoken of of a deep, resounding love for each other and the emphasis on the sex seems to strip that love of some of it's power by reducing their desire to one more lustful than truly intimate. Secondly, what does Law's hand shoved up Kidman's pussy tell me about their relationship that I didn't know before?

I'm sorry, was that language a little too gratuitous?

Now, I don't think the explicit love scene between Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair is gratuitous at all. It illustrates that these two people are thrilled by the prospect of danger and control. (He's an art stealing billionaire. She's the investigator hired to figure out who's stealing priceless works of art. Oh, and they just met.) Also, it's brief and shot in a manner that makes your mind do much of the sexual heavy lifting. (Russo stands in the foreground as her dress drops to the floor with Brosnan looking on in the background. Their sex on a staircase is shown from an overhead wide shot.) One could try to argue that the scene isn't needed to tell the story. However, I feel the scene is important to the character's relationship as the story unfolds. The fact that they've slept together is what complicates their motives later in the film. (He wants to steal more art. She's supposed to stop him.)

Have I dodged the question of whether or not there will be nudity in Women's Studies? I haven't meant to. However, I will say that since the film is dealing with sexual politics, I'm vary aware of the ways I will or will not use nudity. So, rather than answer, I'll leave you with a related question to ponder:

Does it truly matter whether or not there is nudity in Women's Studies?

Yumiko Hotta

Yumiko Hotta
Height: 5' 6" (168cm)
Weight: 176lbs (80kg)
Wrestling Debut: June 5 1985 w/Megumi Nakamae vs. Kanazaki & Hisako Uno
Date of Birth: January 10 1967
Promotions: AJW (1985-)
Finishing Moves: Pyramid Driver

April 15 1987 - Won the WWWA Tag Team Wrestling titles with Akira Hokuto, defeating Judy Martin and Lei Kai. Lost the titles on April 27, 1987 to Kazue Naghori & Yumi Ogura.
July 19 1988 - Won the WWWA Tag Team Wrestling titles with Mitsuko Nishiwaki, defeating Grizzly Iwamoto and Bull Nakano. Lose titles to Calgary Typhoons, August 25, 1988.
September 5 1993 - With Takako Inoue, won the UWA Tag Team Wrestling titles defeating Akira Hokuto and Suzuka Minami. Lost the titles on March 30 1994 to Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda.
September 24 1995 - Defeated Toshiyo Yamada for the All Pacific title. Vacated title.
August 20 1997 - Defeated Kyoko Inoue for the WWWA Singles Wrestling title. Lost it to Shinobu Kandorri, March 21, 1998.
March 10 1999 - Defeated Shinobu Kandorri for the WWWA Singles Wrestling title. Lost it on July 11 1999 to Kyoko Inoue.
October 22 1999 - Defeated Kyoko Inoue for the WWWA Singles Wrestling title. Lost it on January 4 2000 to Manami Toyota.

http://sabreswritingblog.blogspot.com/

Azumi Hyuga

Azumi Hyuga
Height: 5' 3"
Weight: 128lbs
Date of Birth: January 6 1975
Real Name: Tomoko Kuzumi
Wrestling Debut: : December 4 1994 vs. Fusayo Nouchi
Promotions: JWP (1994-)
April 21 1996 - With Yuki Miyazaki, won the JWP Korakuen Tag Team Wrestling titles, defeating Rieko Amano and Tomoko Miyaguchi in a tournament final. Vacated the titles in 1997.
August 10 1996 - Defeated Rieko Amano in a tournament final to win the JWP Junior title. Lost it to Tomoko Miyaguchi on August 17, 1997.
September 20 1997 - With Kanako Motoya, won the JWP Korakuen Tag Team Wrestling titles, defeating Mayumi Ozaki and Rieko Amano in a tournament final.
February 11 1998 - With Hikari Fukuoka won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles from Manami Toyota and Kaoru Ito. Lost them on June 14 1998 to Devil Masami and Cuty Suzuki.
July 31 1998 - With Hikari Fukuoka won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles from Devil Masami and Cuty Suzuki. Lost them to Commando Bolshoi and Rieko Amano, January 15 1999.
February 28 1999 - Defeated Hikari Fukuoka for the JWP Open Weight title. Lost the title on December 23 1999 to Ran YuYu.
February 11 2000 - Defeated Kumiko Maekawa for the All Pacific title. Lost the title on July 15 2000 to Tomoko Watanabe.
June 18 2000 - With Commando Bolshoi, won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles from ZAP I and ZAP T. Current holders.
February 18 2001 - Defeated Commando Bolshoi for the JWP Open Weight title.
August 31 2001 - With Kayoko Haruyama won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles from Ran YuYu and Misae Genki.
July 20 2002 - With Ran YuYu won the JWP Tag Team Wrestling titles from GAMI and PIKO.

JWP named the Hikari Fukuoka & Tomoko Kuzumi vs. Rieko Amano & Tomoko Miyaguchi match on October 21 as their 1998 match of the year.
1998 JWP MVP.
Changed her name from Tomoko Kuzumi to Azumi Hyuga in early 1999.

Documentary captures drama, intensity of female wrestling - Feature

Documentary captures drama, intensity of female wrestling - Feature:

"In 'Gaea Girls' (2000), a Japanese wrestling film, the heroes of the ring are not men, but women, and while they sport some pretty fabulous leotards, their moves are a world away from the posturing and theatrics we see in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

'Gaea Girls' follows the sport of women's wrestling in Japan, an intense affair that is both terrifying and fascinating to watch. In the ring, there is the obligatory smoke and flashing lights, the pounding pump-up music and stage names, but it is outside of the ring, at the training base, that most of the drama and excitement actually occurs.

The Gaea Japan training complex sits along a dusty road surrounded by empty farm fields, and is home to a dozen or so girls who cry, sweat and bleed in hopes of graduating to the professional circuit of wrestling.

Unlike most documentaries, the film lacks more than a few individual interviews with its cast, and it provides little context or background for those not familiar with the history of Japanese women's wrestling, or wrestling period. The viewer is thrown into this world of banshee-esque shrieking and flailing limbs, flying drop-kicks and hair-pulling. "

Sakura Hirota

Sakura Hirota
Height: 5' 3" (158cm)
Weight: 143lbs (65kg)
Debut: August 12 1996, Tokyo, w/Chigusa Nagayo vs. Aja Kong & Yoshiko Tamura
Date of Birth: April 12 1978
Promotions: GAEA (1995-)
Worked for Chigusa Nagayo's GAEA promotion.
Debuted on August 12 1996.

Kayoko Haruyama - Japanese Women Wrestling

Kayoko Haruyama

Height: 5' 3" (160cm)
Weight: 151.8lbs (69kg)
Born: May 3rd, 1979
Professional wrestling debut: January 23rd 1998 against Erika Watanabe
Promotions: JWP (1998-)
Kayoko defeated Tsubasa Kuragaki to win the vacant JWP Junior title on Mat 12th, 1999.
She lost it on September 3rd, 2000 to Tsubasa Kuragaki.
On August 31st, 2001, she and Azumi Hyuga won the JWP Tag Team titles from Ran YuYu and Misae Genki.
She would be one half of the JWP Tag Team Champions several times, with Kaori Yoneyama, Tojuki Leon, Tsubasa Kuragaki, Emi Sakura and Tsubasa Kuragaki.

The Top Ten Moves of Kayoko Haruyama posted by TheSuicidalDragon...

Ayako Hamada

Ayako Hamada
Full Name: Ayako Valentina Hamada Villarreal
Height: 5' 4" (162cm)
Weight: 136.4lbs (62kg)
Measurements: (CM) 97-74-94
Debut: August 9 1998, vs. Candy Okutsu
Date of Birth: February 14 1981
Nickname: Super Estrella
Hometown: Mexico City
Promotions: ARSION (1998-2001), (Free 2001-)

June 30 1999 - With Mika Akino, won the Twin Star of ARSION from Hiromi Yagi and Rie Tamada. Lost it on February 18 2000 to Mariko Yoshida and Aja Kong.
August 12 2000 - Won the Sky High of ARSION title from Mari Apache, title vacated.
December 3 2000 - Won the Queen of ARSION from Aja Kong. Lost it on October 25 2001 to Lioness Asuka.
October 1 2000 - With Michiko Ohmukai won the Twin Star of ARSION from Lioness Asuka and Mariko Yoshida. Titles vacated.
October 20 2002 - With Meiko Satomura won the AAAW Tag Team titles from KAORU & Mayumi Ozaki. Lost the titles to Aja Kong & Devil Masami, February 11 2003.
May 11 2003 - Won WWWA title from Momoe Nakanishi. Lost on January 4 2004 to Amazing Kong.
January 3 2004 - With Nanae Takahashi won the WWWA tag team titles from Kyoko and Takako Inoue.

The daughter of Gran Hamada, and sister of Xochitl Hamada.

NEW Blog! http://femalefitnessfigurebodybuilders.blogspot.com/

The Cost of Total Isolation.....

It has often been hypothesized that the fluttering of a butterfly's wings in the pacific can cause a hurricane over the Atlantic, this theory was very beautifully demonstrated last night.

About two weeks ago I popped over to number 7 Cautley Ave to see Rags on a Saturday afternoon. We chatted in-between him working and I sat there on the sofa trying to amuse myself. I picked up his ipod and put the rather cool looking black Schenhieser headphones on. I found a mess'eh d'n'b track and lightly pressed play. I was amazed at the sound quality and total sound insulation that they offered. I tried a second and a third track and was utterly taken with the new dimension that they offered. I thought nothing more of it and left thinking to myself - I must get a pair of those headphones.

I arrived with about 2.5 hours to spare at LHR terminal 4, checked in and promptly made my way to the Dixons and searched for the 'wall of sound'. I couldn't find the ones I wanted to left and went to have some dinner. After, and on my way to the gate, I popped in HMV, not sure why but I must have been subconsciously still unhappy with the aural stimulation. And there they were, the little black headphones made by Schenhiezer, I grabbed them, paid and glanced up at my gate. The queue was massive so I sat back and got ready for the wall of sound.

Bliss, bass and the 4th dimension.


At last I had found it, total isolation. The impression of having four ears and being sat on a bass bin is really quite disarming, those headphones rocked. I listened to a few of the darkest, most industrial d'n'b tunes and waited for the queue to slowly pass through the gate. I was travelling business and waited for the Fast Track to calm down. With one person left I rocked up and presented my boarding card..........I didn't hear it but the machine made a bleep or a booop or something because the lady looked up and said something. I took out one ear piece and this is what I heard.

'Sorry sir this is the BA110 to Bangkok'. The Dubai flight is at gate 11, no worries I said and walked down to the next gate. Imagine my total isolation when I rocked up to the gate only to find that the gate was closed! I had just missed the flight. 'Sorry sir we made several announcements over the tannoy'. What?!!! 'Did you not hear them?'. Er no, my heart sank, I felt the rush through the chest via the neck upto and finally lost in the area behind the nose. I was so utterly immersed in trying to get back to the blissful wall of sound on Rags sofa that I had missed a work flight to Dubai. Error.

I imagined the embarrassment with the clients I had set up meetings with, the piiss take in the office. I slumped down in front of the desk and asked if there was anything they could do. They asked for my ticket and made some calls, I started the curse the headphones and just waited. And waited, one nice and friendly BA employee emerged from the tunnel leading down to the aircraft and said rather annoyingly, 'no way mate, you've missed it'. Bollocks, bollocks, nuts and twats. That was it.....

That was it until I heard on his walkie talkie, 'let me check if his bags are off'..........I waited…….by this time I had put my ipod away for good, zipped up in the inside pocket of my manbag.

'No, no its okay, they're still on!'. WooHoo!!!! I grabbed my boarding card and pegged it down the tunnel to the plane. I slowed myself down and composed myself as I approached the door and walked in. The airhostess knew my name and very politely showed me to my seat. I collapsed into it, tried not too look to panicked and just sat there. How lucky was that I kept saying to myself, all that for one thing.


Total Isolation.


Rags thanks for being the butterfly wings that almost made my trip to Dubai a hurricane. Amazing! Of course I am not suggesting for one minute that its your fault, its just very interesting what one afternoon on a sofa can do.

So here's what Dubai looks like if you're wondering.

Misae Genki

Misae Genki
Height: 5' 8" (174cm)
Weight: 182.6lbs (83kg)
Date of Birth: February 14 1973
Real Name: Misae Watanabe
Professional wrestling debut: : August 28 1994 with Kumiko Maekawa vs. Rie Tamada & Yoko Takahashi
Promotions: AJW (1994-1997), Neo Ladies (1997-2000), NEO (2000-)


http://anime-times.blogspot.com/

Herr Direcktor

It's funny. The whole filmmaking blog thing is an experiment that I kind of just started on a whim. There's never really been much rhyme or reason to it. Rather, whatever I happen to be feeling on a particular week gets spewed up onto Al Gore's interweb.

While I feel it's been successful so far, I'm always just the tiniest bit nervous about it. I'm not sure what people do and don't want to know about this project. Thankfully I have a good friend, Andrew Gifford, who I can bounce ideas off of. Like me, he's in charge of his own company which deals with the arts. In his case, he publishes long fiction. (You can get information about his company, The Santa Fe Writer's Project, at www.sfwp.com. ) So, because I trust Andrew, I asked him, "What are things you're interested in knowing about through the blog?"

He said, "You. Your inspirations, your personal journey. How you got to Women's Studies?"

While it wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for, I realized that I never really took the time to properly introduce myself, though anyone can go to www.lonniemartin.com and read my bio. I get a little weird talking about myself because I'm deathly afraid of coming off like a pretentious prick, or worse, a complete idiot.

Anytime I try to tackle the idea on my own, I end up starting my friggin' memoirs, Therefore, I enlisted the help of Women's Studies co-producer and star, Cindy Marie Martin to ask the questions and keep me in check. She was a broadcast journalism major, so I expect I'll get the full Barbara Walters treatment.

# # #

CINDY:
So, Lonnie, what is a little thing in life that makes you happy?

LONNIE:
Little things are just about all that make me happy: a warm cat in my lap. Seeing an old couple holding hands . . . that kind of thing. While Big things can create strong emotions, pure happiness usually isn't one of them.

CINDY:
What about creatively? Where do you see yourself in five years that would make you happy, artistically?

LONNIE:
Am I still interviewing for the director job? Ultimately, I'd like to be in a place where I can keep making films and exploring the ideas I've brushed the surface of with First Session, Under the Bed, and now Women's Studies. That doesn't mean "rich and famous" in the least. But to be able to make these smaller films, yet keep evolving as a writer and filmmaker, AND have it pay my bills would be nice.

CINDY:
What ideas, specifically, are you itching to explore further? First Session touched on betrayal and murder, Under the Bed, rape and betrayal, and Women's Studies runs the gamut from terrorism to feminism! All related and if I may say, you deal more with the human journey involved in a situation than the situation itself. Are the journeys shown in these three projects connected in any way with one project flowing into the other or are they all their own beast?

LONNIE:
I think the three movies are three different plays on the same theme: the relationship between love and fear, emotional concepts which manifest themselves physically as sex and death. I'm interested in the grey areas where love and fear, sex and death meet. In First Session, I dealt with some very dark consequences of infidelity. Under the Bed was more about how somebody deals psychologically with sexual trauma, or any sexual experience really. Both of those ideas work their way into Women's Studies, which illustrates in a lot of different ways how love can be used against someone to create fear. That's kind of vague, but I don't want to give anything away.

CINDY:
Why the fascination with sex and death? Traumatic childhood? Spurned lover? You seem so well adjusted. And does that mean you yourself have a jaded view of love?

LONNIE:
You mean sit on your couch, doctor, and show you on the My Little Pony where Uncle Charlie touched me when I was seven? Honestly, I have no idea where my fascination comes from. It's just how my mind works. I believe all emotions we feel stem from one of two places, a place of love or a place of fear. Hope, joy, goodwill, optimism; these all come from love. Hate, racism, rage, pain; these are created from fear, usually a fear borne of ignorance. We fear what we don't understand. As I said before, the physical manifestation of fear is death. We fear death because we don't know what comes after. Zen Buddhists believe all we do in this life prepares us for the next one. It's a philosophy built upon preparing to die. So, I guess my obsession with death is borne from a desire to understand it . . . and I believe love is a key to getting to the next life instead of coming back to live out this one.

CINDY:
Sounds remarkably well adjusted actually. Now, there's obviously an underlying vibe of horror to all of your recent work. Why attack these socially relevant and universal themes within the context of the horror genre? (And can we ever expect a nice romantic comedy?)

LONNIE:
Well, horror is good for allegory, because once you've screamed, laughed, thrown your popcorn, and made out with your best girl, you can lean back and ask yourself, "What was I really scared of?" At the same time, you can't get too caught up in your "big ideas." The main point of making a horror film is the great pleasure I take in scaring the hell out of people. As far as a romantic comedy goes, I actually have a soft spot for a good love story. I loved The Notebook. While I'll probably never go the Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Nora Ephron rom-com route, I'd like to do a love story someday. Hell, Women's Studies in it's own way is a sort of non-traditional, tragic love story.

CINDY:
So, you love to scare people! You're a great host and entertainer: anyone who knows you can attest to that. "Lonnie, the life of the party." So, does the reason you love to scare others have anything to do with the joy you take in being scared yourself? "Entertain others with what best entertains you," if you will? (As your wife, I can vouch that I've seen more horror films since meeting you than in all the 23 years prior.)

LONNIE:
Probably. To me, the joy of being scared by a horror movie is the relief and affirmation of life I experience when the credits roll. It's like, "That was pretty bad, but at least it's make believe. I'm still here." People shouldn't be afraid to embrace the darkness. There's a lot to be learned by trying to see what's hidden in the shadows.

CINDY:
Do you ever just set back and relax? This all sounds so serious and intellectual.

LONNIE:
I'm mister mellow. Just because my mind is always working doesn't mean I'm stressing about the world. I've tried to master the art of letting go, and I think for the most part, I do pretty good.

CINDY:
What's your favorite thing to do to unwind?

LONNIE:
Heh. Watch horror movies.

CINDY:
Well that says it all, doesn't it?

GAMI

GAMI
Height: 5' 4" (164cm)
Weight: 143lbs (65kg)
Real Name: Mikiko Futagami
Date of Birth: January 4 1969
Debut: November 1 1990
Promotions: JWP (1989-1992), LLPW (1992-1997), ARSION (1997-)
Hometown: Osaka
Career Title History

June 20 1996 - With Yasha Kurenai & Carol Midori, won the LLPW Six Woman tag team title in a tournament final. Lose the belts to Eagle Sawai, Michiko Nagashima, & Shark Tsuchiya on August 11 1996.
May 14 1997 - With Yasha Kurenai & Carol Midori, won the LLPW Six Woman tag team title from Eagle Sawai, Michiko Nagashima, & Shark Tsuchiya. Lose the belts to Eagle Sawai, Shark Tsuchiya & Lioness Asuka on August 15 1997.
August 20 2000 - With Rie Tamada, won the Twin Star of ARSION from Michiko Ohmukai and Mima Shimoda. Lost the titles on December 3 2000 to Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda.
December 8 2001 - With Rie Tamada, won the Twin Star of ARSION defeating Ai Fujita and Michiko Ohmukai. Lost the titles on February 17 2002 to Ai Fujita and Michiko Ohmukai.
July 21 2002 - With Lioness Asuka won the Twin Star of ARSION from Michiko Ohmukai and Ai Fujita. Lost on December 17 2002 to Rie Tamada and Takako Inoue.
September 10 2001 - With PIKO won the JWP Tag Team titles from Azumi Hyuga & Kayoko Haruyama. Lost the titles to Ran YuYu & Tomoko Kuzumi on July 20 2002.

Mizuki Endo

Mizuki Endo

Height: 5' 3" (160cm)
Weight: 154lbs (70kg)
Date of Birth: November 9 1971
Professional Wrestling Debut: : August 4 1991, Tokyo Korakuen Hall, vs. Mikiko Futagami.
Promotions: JWP (1991-1992), LLPW (1992-)
September 29 1993 - Won the AJW Junior title from Saemi Numata. Lost it to Chaparita ASARI on November 28 1993.

Returned to LLPW after a one year absence in July 1999.

Commando Bolshoi

Commando Bolshoi

Age: Unknown
Date of Birth: Unknown
Weight: 110lbs (50kg)
Height: 5' (150cm)
Promotions: Japanese Women's Pro (1989-1992), JWP (1992-)
Career Title History

January 15 1999 - With Rieko Amano won the JWP Tag Team titles from Hikari Fukuoka and Tomoko Kuzumi. Lost them on February 10 2000 to ZAP I & ZAP T.
June 18 2000 - With Azumi Hyuga, won the JWP Tag Team titles from ZAP I and ZAP T. Current holders.
August 6 2000 - Won the JWP Open Weight title from Ran YuYu. Lost the title to Azumi Hyuga on February 18 2001.
September 10 2001 - With GAMI won the JWP Tag Team titles from Azumi Hyuga & Kayoko Haruyama. Lost the titles to Ran YuYu & Tomoko Kuzumi on July 20 2002.

The Bloody

The Bloody

Height: 5' 2" (156cm)
Weight: 143lbs (65kg)
Date of Birth: October 8 1977
Professional Wrestling Debut: : November 3 1994 vs. Emi Miyamoto
Real Name: Naomi Kato
Promotions: AJW (1994), Jd' (1996-)
Career Title History

January 11 1998 - Defeated Megumi Yabushita to win the Jd' Junior title. Lost it on August 24 1998 to Sumie Sakai.
June 13 1999 - W/Fang Suzuki defeated Cooga and Sumie Sakai to win the TWF Tag Team titles. Lost the titles on October 9 1999 to Sumie Sakai and Megumi Yabushita.
October 6 1999 Defeated Megumi Yabushita to win the AWF Women's title. Lost it on December 7 to Yoshiko Tamura.
January 10 2000 - Defeated Yoshiko Tamura to win the AWF Women's title. Title vacated on May 3 2000.
November 26 2000 - Won the Queen of the Ring in tournament final. Lost it on December 29 to Megumi Yabushita.
April 29 2001 - Won the Queen of the Ring and AWF titles from Sumie Sakai. Current holder.
May 6 2001 - With Fang Suzuki won the TWF Tag Team titles from Masked Angel Fleia and Masked Angel Rosetta. Lost the titles on July 1 2001 to Hiroyo Muto and Sumie Sakai.
Other Notes

Formerly known as The Bloody Phoenix.
Teaming with Ryuna, reached the finals of the TWF Tag Team title tournament.

Mari Apache

Mari Apache

Real Name: Mariella Babluena Torres
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 138lbs
Pro Wrestling Debut: : October 15 1995
Born: October 18 1979
Promotions: ARSION (1998-)

Career Title History:
March 15 2000 - Won the Sky High of ARSION title from Chaparrita ASARI. Lost the title on August 12 2000 to Ayako Hamada.
Other Notes

One of three Mexican women who work for the Arsion promotion.
Mari is the twin sister of Fabi Apache, who also works for Arsion.
Worked as Lady Venum in Mexico.

Keiko Aono - Japanese Women Wrestling

Keiko Aono
Height: 5' 4" (162cm)
Weight: 147.4lbs (67kg)
Hometown: Osaka, Japan
Pro wrestling debut: February 10th 1995 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall, against Leo Kitimura
Born: April 8th 1973
Wrestling Promotions: LLPW (1994-)

Career Title History:
April 25th, 1999 - With Noriyo Tateno and Harley Saito, won the LLPW Six Woman tag team titles from Eagle Sawai, Shark Tsuchiya & Lioness Asuka.
They lost titles on January 4th 2000 to Rumi Kazama, Eagle Sawai and Carol Midori.

My Fave Tunes

HEAR ME NOW! G-Nuts, I promised I would add a post with my fave tunes, and here it is. However before I wade right on in I must say that at first I thought it might be best to really think about which tunes to choose......but on reflection I think spontaneity is the best approach.

Also many thanks to Mikey D, who put me on to a lot of the best music I have ever heard way back in the second and third years. I can thank him for Curve, Neil Young, Big Star, Slowdive, Ride and most importantly, The Verve. If we hadn't of gone to the Ride gig at the Derby Assembly Rooms where The Verve were supporting, the sound track to my life would have been very different and significantly inferior.

Thanks MIKEY D!

In no particular order;

The Verve - Star Sail, it's just a classic
Metallica - One
John B - Secrets, beee-baa-booo!!
The Verve - Life's an Ocean. If I die before I change this, please play that at my funeral.
The Stone Roses - I wanna be adored
Slowdive - Celia's Dream
Slowdive - 40 Days
Slowidve - Souvlaki Space Station
Slayer - Raining Blood, 'from a lacerated sky........!'
Cypress Hill - Illusions. Now that is dark
Naz - Ghetto Prisoners, keeping it very real there
Cocteau Twins -Pitch The Baby. Reminds me of Mexico when I first heard the album. I was 16!
Smashing Pumpkins - Quiet. The way the drums break into the song is amazing.
Metallica - Harvestor of Sorrow
Metallica - Master of Puppets. 'Master, master where are those dreams I have been after, master, master promised only lies!!!!'

Got excited, listening to all of them now!

I love music. I love the Katz.

Carlos Amano

Carlos Amano
Born: March 16 1976
Weight: 134.2lbs (61kg)
Height: 5' 2" (158cm)
Real Name: Rieko Amano
Pro wrestling debut: December 4 1994 against Tomoko Miyaguchi
Promotions: JWP (1994-)

Career Title History:
January 15 1999 - With Commando Bolshoi won the JWP Tag Team titles from Hikari Fukuoka and Tomoko Kuzumi. Lost them on February 10 2000 to ZAP I & ZAP T.
On February 24, 1999 JWP changed Amano's name from 'Rieko Amano' to 'Carlos Amano'
A member of Mayumi Ozaki's 'Oz Academy'.
On August 10, 1996, Amano lost to Tomoko Kuzumi in the tournament final to crown a new JWP Junior champion.
JWP named the Hikari Fukuoka and Tomoko Kuzumi vs. Rieko Amano & Tomoko Miyaguchi match on October 21 as their 1998 match of the year.

AKINO

AKINO
Height: 5' 3" (160cm)
Weight: 127.6lbs (58kg)
Measurements: (CM) 89-67-92
Pro Wrestling Debut: : July 21 1998, vs. Mariko Yoshida
Date of Birth: October 24 1973
Real Name: Mika Akino
Promotions: ARSION (1998-)
Hometown: Tokyo
Career Title History

Mika Akino, better known as AKINO, is a female joshi wrestler . Billed from Honshū, she started late in the sport and didn't debut until the age of 25. Trained by Mariko Yoshida, she proved to have an innate ring presence and excelled at the sport.

June 30 1999 - With Ayako Hamada, won the Twin Star of ARSION from Hiromi Yagi and Rie Tamada. Lost it on February 18 2000 to Mariko Yoshida and Aja Kong.
December 3 2000 - Won the vacant Sky High of ARSION defeating Chaparrita ASARI.

Sachie Abe -Japanese Womens Wrestling

Sachie Abe
Born: September 18th 1974
Weight: 121lbs (55kg)
Height: 5' 1" (153cm)
Pro Wrestling Debut: April 14th 1995 vs. Aya Koyama
Promotions: Jd' (1995-), ARSION (1998 - 2003), AtoZ (2003 - 2004), Pro Wrestling SPIRIT (2009), JWP (2006 - 2010)

Sachie Abe on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/sacchimeron
Sachie Abe's Blog:
http://ameblo.jp/wanted-sacchi/

Business Time

So, I almost forgot abut the blog this week. I know. I know. You feel betrayed and neglected. How could I disregard your feelings in such a manner? I guess I'm simply an insufferable prick.

I want to take the time and squelch two rumors. The first is that I never had sex with a transvestite named Simone in Bali. We just had a few drinks, he/she and I shared a laugh, and maybe made out a little bit. Money might have been exchanged too, but I was too drunk to remember.

The second is the notion that Women's Studies is on it's death bed. In fact, it's still very much alive and well, and the project is slowly but surely moving forward. Between the lack of hard news and my announcement that I was writing the Deadlands 2 screenplay a couple weeks ago, more than one person asked me if the project was a no-go. "Posh," I say. "Pish-posh-pa-doo!"

I know I say, "Things are moving behind the scenes," quite a bit. Those privy to Hollywood-speak may choose to interpret this to be producer bullshit along the lines of "I've a variety of projects in development" or "I'll call you and we'll get things rolling." However, it should be taken into account that I'm a terrible liar. Really, I'm honest to a fault. It's actually cost me friendships. While it's been said that honesty is the best policy, I think Forrest Gump's mama was probably right when she told him that a little white lie wouldn't hurt anybody.

"Things are moving behind the scenes" is me-speak for, "There are various negotiations going on that would be unethical of me to talk about in public," which means they involve money and/or people's reputations or involvement in the project.

Now, I'm not trying to build up any big, sexy secrets here. I'm just saying that there are aspects of the production that I don't talk about publicly because it would be unprofessional to do so. At the stage of development Women's Studies is in right now, we're simply doing a lot of "wheeling and dealing."

For example, while I do a lot of "Filmmaking 101" type articles in this blog, one thing I don't talk about is how I've gone about raising money for the project. I have this policy to protect both our investor's privacy and the integrity of Lady Killers, LLC, the business entity financing the project. (I also have the policy for a shitload of legal reasons.)

Again, there's no dark secret here. Our method of raising funds is no ancient, black, Masonic ritual in the least. It's just our business and no one else's. I would tell anyone interested in learning how feature films can be financed to pick up John W. Cones aptly titled book, 43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film.

Also, it would be imprudent and unprofessional of me to announce any cast members or locations that we're in talks with before a deal is made. First, the deal could fall through and then I look like an idiot. Secondly, acting like a pretentious dick and telling everyone that "OMG, Britney Spears is going to be in our movie," before Britney has actually agreed to be in our movie could cause Britney to question the professionalism of the people she's considering working with.

(For the record, we HAVE NOT and WILL NOT be talking to Britney Spears about appearing in Women's Studies. It was an outrageous example used in a desperate attempt to be funny.)

If all of this sounds unsexy, welcome to show business. Yeah, I know. I thought it was going to be all cocaine and hookers too, but that's just Hollywood-Speak.

Viva El Gatos

Not long now! Some directions in case you needed them.

Toshiyo Yamada

Name Toshiyo Yamada
Real name Toshiyo Yamada
Nicknames Yama-San
Name history Toshiyo Yamada
Trained by: Jaguar Yokota
Birth date February 27, 1970 - Urawa City, Japan
Pro wrestling debut: July 27, 1987 - Honjo, Japan
Height 5'6"/168 cm
Weight 164 lbs/74 kg
Signature moves Reverse Gory Special, Spinning Leg Lariat, Backdrop Suplex
Titles: AJW All Japan Junior Wrestling Championship, AJW All Japan Tag Team Championship (with Etsuko Mita), UWA Tag Team Championship (with Manami Toyota), WWWA All Pacific Championship (2), WWWA Tag Team Championship (3) (2 with Manami Toyota, 1 with Etsuko Mita)



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Rie Tamada

Name Rie Tamada
Nickname: Fighting Cheetah
Trained by: AJW
Birth date March 16, 1973 - Yuuki County, Japan
Pro wrestling debut: October 4 1991 vs. Chikako Hasegawa
Height 5' 2"/158 cm
Weight 126 lbs/57 kg
Signature move: Dragon Suplex,Rolling Elbow, Missile Kick

August 10 1992 - Won the All Japan Junior title from Akemi Torisu, lost it to Kumiko Maekawa, September 15 1992.
March 17 1995 - Won the All Japan tag team titles with Mariko Yoshida, from Michiko Ohmukai and Carol Midori. Titles vacated.
December 4 1995 Won the All Japan tag team titles with Yumi Fukawa. Lose them to Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato on September 1 1996.
November 21 1996 - Won the All Japan Singles title from Kumiko Maekawa, vacated it in December 1997.
December 7 1998 - With Hiromi Yagi, won the Twin Star of ARSION, defeating Tiger Dream and Ayako Hamada in the tournament final. Lost the titles on June 30 1999 to Mika Akino and Ayako Hamada.
August 20 2000 - With GAMI, won the Twin Star of ARSION from Michiko Ohmukai and Mima Shimoda. Lost the titles on December 3 2000 to Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda.
December 8 2001 - With GAMI, won the Twin Star of ARSION defeating Ai Fujita and Michiko Ohmukai. Lost the titles on February 17 2002 to Ai Fujita and Michiko Ohmukai.
December 17 2002 - With Takako Inoue won the Twin Star of ARSION.

En español:
Apodo Conocido De Rie Tamada: Cheetah que luchaba entrenó cerca: Fecha de marcha la 16 de 1973 del nacimiento de AJW - condado de Yuuki, favorable principio de lucha de Japón: De octubre el 4 de 1991 contra. Movimiento de la firma del peso 126 lbs/57 kilogramo de la altura 5' 2"/158 centímetro de Chikako Hasegawa: Dragón Suplex, Codo Rodante, Retroceso Del Misil De agosto el 10 de 1992 - ganó todo el título menor de Japón de Akemi Torisu, perdido le a Kumiko Maekawa, de septiembre el 15 de 1992. De marcha la 17 de 1995 - ganó todos los títulos del equipo de la etiqueta de Japón con Mariko Yoshida, de Michiko Ohmukai y carol Midori. Los títulos desocuparon. De diciembre 4 el 1995 ganó todos los títulos del equipo de la etiqueta de Japón con Yumi Fukawa. Piérdalos a Chikayo Nagashima y azúcar Sato de septiembre el 1 de 1996. De noviembre el 21 de 1996 - ganó todo el Japón escoge título de Kumiko Maekawa, desocupado le en diciembre de 1997. De diciembre el 7 de 1998 - con Hiromi Yagi, ganado la estrella gemela de ARSION, derrotando el sueño y Ayako Hamada del tigre en el final del torneo. Perdió los títulos de junio el 30 de 1999 a Mika Akino y a Ayako Hamada. De agosto el 20 de 2000 - con GAMI, ganado la estrella gemela de ARSION de Michiko Ohmukai y Mima Shimoda. Perdió los títulos de diciembre el 3 de 2000 a Etsuko Mita y a Mima Shimoda. De diciembre el 8 de 2001 - con GAMI, ganado la estrella gemela de ARSION que derrota Ai Fujita y Michiko Ohmukai. Perdió los títulos de febrero el 17 de 2002 a Ai Fujita y Michiko Ohmukai. De diciembre el 17 de 2002 - con Takako Inoue ganó la estrella gemela de ARSION.

Akira Hokuto

Name Reyna Jubuki
Real name Hisako Uno Sasaki
Nicknames The Dangerous Queen
Name history Hisako Uno (Pro wrestling debut: - 12/88), Akira Hokuto (12/88 - ), Akira (CMLL and AJW, 04/92 - ??/92), Reyna Jubuki (02/94 - )
Family Kensuke Sasaki (husband), Máscara Mágica (former husband)
Trained by: Jaguar Yokota
Birth date July 13, 1967 - Yoshikawa, Saitama, Japan
Pro wrestling debut: June 12, 1985 - Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center - Nakajima, Sapporo, Japan
Height 5'7"/170 cm
Weight 132 lbs/60 kg
Signature moves Northern Lights Bomb, Dangerous Queen Bomb, Strange Hold Gamma
Titles: AJW All Japan Junior Wrestling Title, WWWA World Tag Team Womens Wrestling titles (4) (1 with Yumiko Hotta, 2 with Suzuka Minami, 1 with Mima Shimoda ), AJW All Pacific Title (2), CMLL World Women's Title, WCW World Women's Title, AAAW Tag Team Womens Wrestling titles (with Mayumi Ozaki)

Hiroka

Name: Hiroka
Name history: Raven Hiroka (2002 2005), Hiroka (2005 current)
Trained by: Mima Shimoda , Shinobu Kandori, Jose Luis Feliciano, El Hijo Del Gladiador
Born: September 23, 1981 Japan
Pro wrestling debut: September 18, 2002
Signature moves: kick to the face, fisherman's buster
Titles: CMLL World Women's Championship

http://themostbeautifulwomen.blogspot.com/

Mima Shimoda - Japanese Womens Wrestling

Wrestlers Name: Mima Shimoda
Real Name: Mima Shimoda
Name History: Mima Chan, Mima Shimoda
Trained By: Akira Hokuto
Born: December 23rd, 1970 in Tokyo, Japan
Pro wrestling Bebut: August 5th, 1987 wrestling against Etsuko Mita at Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Height 5'6"/166 cm
Weight 143 lbs/65 kg
Signature Wrestling Moves: Death Lake Driver, Tiger Suplex, Moonsault Press, Running Neckbreaker, and Ax Kick
Wrestling Titles Held: AJW All Japan Junior Wrestling Championship, AJW All Japan Singles Champion, AJW All Japan Tag Team Champion (with Etsuko Mita), JWP Tag Team Champion (with Etsuko Mita), NEO Singles Champion, NWA Pacific Champion, Queen Of ARSION Champion, Twin Star Of ARSION Champion (twice, once with Etsuko Mita, and once with Michiko Omukai), UWA Tag Team Champion (with Etsuko Mita), WWWA Tag Team Champion (seven times, three times with Etsukio Mita, twice with Manami Toyota , once with Akira Hokuto and once with Takako Inoue)

Mima Shimoda - Japanese Womens Wrestling, posted to http://joshipuroresu.blogspot.com/ on 2-2-2007

Boxing Day 2006

Who's your bird raghead?

At least your awake Piz, just!

Mariko Yoshida

Name Mariko Yoshida
Real name Mariko Yoshida
Nicknames ARSION No Shinjutsu (True Heart of ARSION)
Name history Mariko Yoshida (Pro wrestling debut: - )
Trained by: All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling Dojo
Birth date Feburary 15, 1970 - Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
Pro wrestling debut: October 10, 1988 vs. Keiko Waki
Height 5'4"/163 cm
Weight 141 lbs/64 kg
Signature moves Air Raid Crash, Crucifix Armbar, Henkei Sleeper
Titles: AJW All Japan Women's Tag Team Champion (3) (2 with Takako Inoue, 1 with Rie Tamada), AJW All Japan Women's Champion, CMLL Women's Champion, Queen of ARSION Champion (2), Twin Star of ARSION Champion (2)(with Aja Kong, with Lioness Asuka)