The gym aims to make the sport accessible to everyone and introduces wrestlers from Singapore and the region.

As someone who trains in the grappling arts (in my case, it’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been unaware about Grapple MAX‘s existence – until my friend started taking classes and tweeting about it, that is. Soon enough, I was invited by her to watch the gym’s 3rd anniversary showcase and since I had a guest from across the Causeway dropping by, I decided that it would be a fun bit of activity to get into for the evening. And whoever did the event poster, it’s amazing and looks super professional.

The event was held at 225 Joo Chiat Road in a building reminiscent of a kampung house (well, it is a kampung house). Standing in front of the wide gates, I realised that it was also the location of the Singapore Gujarati School!

8pm sharp, the event started. It was surreal to watch as the announcer stood in the middle of the ring to bring in the wrestlers – honestly, I’ve only seen this happen on television (‘Rocky’, anyone?).

The next two hours were just non-stop entertainment. 7 matches in total, with the last match (called the ‘Grudge Match’) of course being the main event. Expected and received loads of action and theatrics ranging from wristlocks, guillotine chokes, launching yourself onto your opponent from the top of some steps and my personal favourite to watch but not execute in BJJ – suplexes. There was also, to my amusement, a lot of chest slapping as well. Oh, and confetti.

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As mentioned above, Grapple MAX aims to make pro-wrestling a sport that is accessible to all and I think it’s doing just that! So many people turned up to support the wrestlers and the gym – family members, friends, friends of friends. I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the attendees was a niqabi (a woman who wears a headscarf that covers her face as well)!

At the same time, Grapple MAX also believes in creating positive change through pro wrestling. This is something that I wholeheartedly agree with as I too believe in the good that can come from channeling extra energy and focus into a sport or even a hobby.

Congratulations to the winner, ‘Endboss’ Gregory and here’s to more years of anniversary showcases, Grapple MAX!

Learn more about Grapple MAX here and go say ‘Hi!’ to them on Facebook and Twitter!