Celebrate pride with Bender Defenders for their first ever community organised oil wrestling spar-ty! A proudly anti-corporate celebration of queer bodies, queer strength, and community solidarity. We are selling tickets to cover our costs and are deliberately keeping costs and ticket prices low. We will be donating any/all funds we make above this to Queers for Palestine.
This year Bender Defenders will be celebrating pride the only way we know how to - with a homebrewed oil wrestling extravaganza. We will be celebrating the joy and strength of queer and trans people everywhere - come around if you’re looking for an alternative to corporate pride events or parties.
It wouldn’t be a Bender Defenders party without some muay thai and boxing thrown in too, so we will also be hosting an EXTRA SPECIAL sparring activity for some people with more experience. All levels of sparring experience welcome. Please contact us for a ticket to the sparring workshop.
If you don’t have enough experience to join in, you’re welcome to come and watch to get a sense of what sparring is like.
- Revel in queer and trans pride by moving your body and getting physical
- Muay Thai/Boxing Benders! Put on your most expensive outfit (ie gloves, shinpads, gumshield and fancy shorts) and put your hard-earned skills to the test in our fun and playful community sparring event!
- After that, we’ll be stripping down and oiling up for some wrestling shenanigans. Wrestle with your crushes. Establish dominance or give in to submission. Become an oily bender.
As always we have free tickets available for queer people of colour, transfeminine people and people on low incomes. Email the.bender.defenders@gmail.com and we'll sort you out.
EVENT TIMINGS
3:15pm - 5pm: Sparring workshop. See below for more details. You must have a gumshield and muay thai/boxing experience to attend this.
5:30 - 7:30pm: Oil wrestling! All welcome to join us in some playful community wrestling. Bring friends, make friends, wrestle and cheer on other sweaty queers. Have a nice time!
INFO FOR SPARRING
- What to expect: This will be relaxed sparring for people who want to try sparring out, and for our intermediates to play and have fun with kicks and punches! There are no winners or losers because it’s all about building each other up and understanding how to put your badass Muay Thai and boxing skills into practice safely and collaboratively.
- What to bring: You must bring your own pre-fit mouthguard, handwraps and some clothes you’re happy to train in. If you’re not sure what mouthguard to buy, get in touch at the.bender.defenders@gmail.com
- Please bring gloves and shinpads if you have them. If you don’t have either, some will be provided.
- This is a beginner friendly guided sparring workshop. Leave your ego at the door
- Muay Thai or boxing experience is required. You must have attended at least 12 muay thai or boxing classes to attend. Please email the.bender.defenders@gmail.com if you have questions about this
- We reserve the right to ask people to step back from sparring workshop if the coaches believe this is necessary for the safety of the group.
INFO FOR WRESTLERS
- How it works: you’ll both be covered in baby-oil before wrestling for 2 rounds of 90 seconds. You get points every time your opponents’ shoulders touch the floor. Most points wins!
- If you’d like to wrestle, bring a towel for after and clothes you’re happy to wrestle in (baby oil may stain some types of clothes).
- Wear whatever you’re comfortable in! It works best if you’ve got some bare skin for the oil to stick to. Previously people have wrestled in anything from a vest and shorts to a funky wrestling outfit. Costumes encouraged but not required.
- Please read our wrestling ground-rules for more info.
Spectators are warmly welcomed and encouraged! Come and watch some oily benders in action, cheer on your friends and favourites, and hang out with the coolest queers in town.
WHAT IS OIL WRESTLING?
Oil wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world. It was performed by ancient communities 4,500 years ago in Thrace and the Balkans.
The oil was first introduced to ensure fairness, making the wrestling about the tactic rather than the wrestler's size or strength. The addition of oil also makes it difficult to stand and get any grip, as the sweat mixes with the oil. It ensures the match is fair, as both opponents are at a disadvantage allowing people of different weights to battle.
Wrestlers oil one another before matches as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect.
Oil wrestling can be traced back to ancient Sumer and Babylon. Greco-Roman traditions also point to the practice of oil wrestling.
At the event, we are not aiming to recreate any traditional oil wrestling sports, but it’s still good to know where oil wrestling comes from.
Look up oil wrestling history to find out more about this amazing sport!