Fellow students are never slow to apologise if they bump into Erin Marshall in the corridors. That is the name she is known by to others on her courses in leisure and recreation, sport and drama. But they also know her other name. On the professional wrestling circuit, Marshall fights as Erin Angel.
It is a name that has been winning increasing respect. At 18, she is in the top eight of women wrestlers in the United Kingdom and aims to be number one. Among her scalps is 159kg Klondyke Kate, whom she beat in a tag contest, cheered on by family and friends from Tauntons College in Southampton, England.
I started wrestling while I was still only 15, Marshall says. It was because of my little brothers interest that I started watching it on the TV. I thought I would like to give it a try.
She went to a wrestling display, sought out the promoter and asked if she could get involved. The minimum age limit is 16 and she had to use her persuasive powers to be allowed into a ring. It was probably because there are not many young female wrestlers, so they were interested. I was invited along to a training school and was the only girl among all these massive blokes.
Marshall quickly moved on to her current trainer, Phil Powers, a promoter and wrestler. They have been together for two years and now run their own training school in Southampton.
Shes always been a very good student, says Powers. Shes eager to learn. There have been a few tantrums but she is very dedicated and perseveres.
Powers admits that whenever an aspiring female wrestler arrives at the training school, it is assumed she is just going through a phase of enthusiasm for the sport. Erin started out with nine others and she is the only one still going today. To be honest, I didnt think she would still be wrestling two years later.
Marshall contests in wrestling bouts every weekend and sometimes twice during the week. Add to that her daily visits to the gym and swimming baths, and it becomes clear that her other feat is managing to keep up with her classes.
Some days I have to get out of college in a hurry, jump in a car or dash for the train to get to a match, she says. Often I dont get back home until two in the morning and then have to get up for college a few hours after that. Now she faces a dual challenge: her final exams are just around the corner and so is the busiest time in the pro-wrestling calendar.
Erin is very focused on where she wants to go in terms of her career, says Dave Richards, acting social sciences faculty leader at Taunton College. She is very single-minded and is good at managing her time. We give her special dispensation owing to the nature of her professional commitments, but she is generally good at keeping up with work.
Im just about managing to fit things in, Marshall says. Once the academic examinations are over, Im off to France to work.
Wrestling on mainland Europe could be the start of her ambition to take her place in the international limelight. The big money markets are the United States and Japan, and it is her ambition to grapple with the flamboyant stars who strut their stuff on television. Her youth means she has time to work her way up in the world of professional wrestling.
The pros on TV give the impression that no one really gets hurt. That is the first lesson a professional wrestler must learn, she says, how to avoid serious injury. It is not simply about how to throw people, but how to fall.
Learning how to land properly is very important, she says. One wrong landing can lead to a broken neck. One of the most important things you learn is about counteracting your opponents move and minimising the risk of injury.
It took three months of intensive training before Marshall was invited to compete in the ring in front of a small audience at her local leisure centre. She made her first competitive appearance in a rumble, where the ring is full of wrestlers and the object is to try to be the last one left in. She wasnt surprised to find herself the first to be ejected, but it gave her some important experience — plus it meant she had become a professional at the age of 16.
I kept training after that, and went on to spend my entire summer holidays with Phil on the holiday camp circuit, she says. Its exhausting work, as you not only wrestle but put the ring together and dismantle it. Youre touring the country and working long hours.
After receiving a grounding in amateur wrestling techniques, she conquered the more extravagant pro moves. Audiences come for the spectacle, so it was a case of learning the ropes. Literally.
In the professional match, youre expected to use the ropes to outsmart your opponent. As Im smaller than anyone Im matched against, I can move more quickly and get up on to them faster.
Good rope technique is vital, as there is usually a drop on to hard concrete if you topple out of the ring. However, it is not always safer inside the ring. When a male wrestler bounced off the ropes and landed on her head, she suffered concussion.
Even though it can be dangerous, Im good at high flying, she says.
I can climb quickly on to the top rope and leap off to pin down my opponent. Its my speciality.
The fight with Klondyke Kate was a milestone. Its been my biggest contest so far. When you start to get opponents like that you know youre on your way, she says.
Richards is in no doubt that she can make it in the grunt and groan world of sparkly spandex. If shes as motivated at wrestling as she has been in achieving qualifications, then she should have a successful and sustained career in the ring. — Guardian Newspapers 2005