January 9, 2023,
London is such a wonderful, musically iconic and historical city, sometimes it is easy to forget or miss all of the enticements she has to offer.
Here are the basics.
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million.
It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia.
The City of London, its ancient core and financial center, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains boundaries close to its medieval ones.
As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on its arts, entertainment, fashion, commerce and finance, education, health care, media, science and technology, tourism, and transport and communications.
Its GDP (€801.66 billion in 2017) makes it the largest urban economy in Europe.
That is quite a foundation.
Now for some color.
The team of world travelers at Lonely Planet share, “Immersed in history, London's rich seams of eye-opening antiquity are everywhere. The city's buildings are striking milestones in a unique and beguiling biography, and a great many of them – the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben – are instantly recognizable landmarks.”
Magnificent.
London is home to something else that we love and hold dear.
Full competitive female grappling.
We travel to the Submission Room for this exceptional female grappling match between two newer girls.
LOTTIE VS ANGELINA
The two women are introduced at their number 23 Live Event, match number 6.
Lottie is a fresh faced strawberry blonde full of smiles and Angelina, adorned in black athletic wear is stealth in form and almost has the look of a dancer or ballerina. Female grappling is a sport that is attracting women from many pathways.
We have seen Angelina before and as Lottie is new to us, we project this to be Angelina’s match to win.
As the two begin Angelina gains the early advantage and takes Lottie down to the mats.
She smartly uses a headlock, one of the best and most basic moves in wrestling, and as important, lands her body on top of Lottie for pressure and leverage.
Still Lottie swirls around on the mats, under pressure but barely escapes.
Unfazed, Angelina begins to apply other tactics including a behind the back body scissors, slowly wearing Lottie down.
Lottie tries to rise but Angelina rises with her and stays on top of her. She continues to apply the scissors as Lottie struggles underneath. Once she appears to apply a choke as well, Lottie finally taps out.
1-0 for Angelina (2:45).
The two ready for the next round.
As they begin hand fighting, it becomes clear that Lottie doesn’t have a plan and is strictly defensive. Understandable for a newer girl.
Angelina takes her down but Lottie is wise enough to trap her right leg so that the more experienced girl cannot do a full smother mount.
Having said that, a smother is not the only way that Angelina can submit Lottie and the dark brunette appears to know her way well around joint locks and appears to apply one here and Lottie painfully taps out.
2-0 for Angelina (4:00).
The women begin the next round, almost in row boat fashion as they sit across from one another, arms locked in almost a rowing motion.
Angelina is the first to break ranks since Lottie continues to be on the defensive and as they scramble around, Lottie gives up her back. This is the ideal time for Angelina to trap her from behind but Lottie miraculously escapes.
They continue to scramble around and once again Lottie gives up her back but this time Angelina is going to make her pay for it. She swings behind the strawberry blonde and takes her down with a brutally applied rear naked choke. Lottie tries not to submit but it is just a matter of time.
She finally does.
3-0 for Angelina (5:25).
Next round.
Lottie still has a lot of enthusiasm and energy. For the first time she attacks Angelina and secures a headlock. There is good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?
The good news is that the headlock is the most basic submission hold in female grappling.
The bad news is that Lottie secures the headlock from a bottom position. Always try and secure a headlock from the top position so you can land your body on top of your opponent.
She does lock Angelina’s right leg in a scissor to prevent her from sliding forward for a smother.
Good move.
Her head lock pays off. Angelina submits from the top position. Shocking.
3-1 for Angelina (6:20).
Time to begin again.
This time Angelina is the aggressor and turnabout is fair play. She now leaps for a headlock and secures it. From the top. Even better. Can she squeeze and quickly close the deal?
Lottie begins to circle around and wail but she can’t escape the mighty headlock and taps out.
4-1 Angelina (7:04).
Lottie tries another approach and keeps pushing Angelina backwards while the brunette is in a sitting position. Then she grab’s Angelina’s ankles but accidentally stumbles forward into a body scissor which now places Angelina back in control and she swings on top of Lottie with plenty of submitting choices and options.
Angelina falls to Lottie’s left side securing a brutal arm bar. Lottie howls in pain and taps out.
5-1 for Angelina (7:50).
Lottie is learning. This time she is the aggressor again. She pushes Angelina’s head down which would be perfect for the sprawl position or a Guillotine Choke but let’s both possibilities slip away.
A lack of experience is always challenging.
Still, she is in the position of strength. Angelina is folded over in the turtle position while Lottie moves forward on top of her, trapping Angelina’s head between her legs and squeezing with a scissor.
Lottie is a gorgeous feminine girl but we wouldn’t describe her legs as muscular, as though she spends a lot of time in the gym.
Angelina is insistent and breaks the hold.
She is on top but Lottie has her solidly around the waist. After a minute the two separate to start over (9:00).
The fight starts anew with Angelina winding up on top of Lottie who locks Angelina’s left arm and right leg and they stay in this position for some time without a submission in sight.
Finally Angelina uses her experience to make the most of the top position and breaks her arm free and then traps Lottie in a painful wrist and arm lock which forces Lottie to agonizingly tap out.
Angelina now leads 6-1 (11:25).
Lottie smiles and is very energetic. That’s a good sign.
Angelina tries an odd sliding body scissors and Lottie pushes her ankles away then grabs them, rolling Angelina into a folding pin. Now the fresh faced girl is on top.
What will she do with this advantage?
Unfortunately not much. Angelina breaks the hold with an ankle lock and soon falls on top of Lottie. The good news for Lottie is that she encases her in a headlock but from the bottom position.
Lottie loses the hold.
After some struggle, she gives up her back to Angelina. Will Angelina take advantage of that making Lottie ripe for a rear naked choke?
She can’t. Lottie traps her leg and the hold is broken. Angelina leaps on top of her and in the process of the take down temporarily injures Lottie who smiles and brushes it off.
They briefly rest and then re-engage.
Lottie takes the advantage and falls on top of Angelina with a smother. Very good. She marries it to left arm lock. Angelina taps out.
Lottie gains a submission and trails 2-6 (15:00).
They engage for a few seconds and Pippa calls the match.
The video says the final score is 7-2 for Angelina. We may have missed a silent submission. All said and done, a great match.
London has so much to offer.
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OPENING PHOTO fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com grapplingstars.com Chris-Schippers-pexels.com-photo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/london
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
