By Hugo Vera — Staff Writer
Pisces are born right as the darkness of winter transitions into the warmth and rejuvenation of spring.
Their traits include adaptability, compassion and idealism. San Jose State club wrestler Shayan Payamipour is no exception.
On Tuesdays, Payamipour leads a routine practice for the San Jose State intramural wrestling club. Despite its NCAA Division II status and an affiliation with the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA), the organization seems more grass-roots than collegiate.
“Because we are intramural, we don’t have access to our own mat room,” Payamipour said. “We should have our own room when the new Aquatic Center is built. I will have graduated by then, but I can’t wait for that to be available to the club.”
Like many Pisces, Payamipour doesn’t let his title as club president blind his sense of humility. You wouldn’t even know he’s master wrestler by engaging with him.
Although he displays many traits of a Pisces, he doesn’t necessarily follow what is written in the stars.
“I don’t really believe in zodiac signs too much because I think a lot of it is coincidental,” Payamipour said. “I do agree with the idea that we’re idealistic. That’s a perfect way to describe our mission and what I’m doing here.”
The senior has competed in several NCWA tournaments in and out of the state. At one point, various ranking officers of the club recount the rather arduous lengths the team has gone through to attend tournaments, given their limited budget.
For instance, the team once stayed in a hotel in California while their tournament was in Arizona — forcing them to drive back-and-forth between state lines just to compete.
With hardly any financial assistance from the university, Payamipour and his team host their own fundraisers. Among the goals discussed at practice is a plan to attend a NCWA tournament in Fargo, N.D.
“We’re one of the lesser known and struggling clubs, but Shayan is a natural leader,” said Achraf Hakimi, a teammate. “He’s always leading drills and when we go live it’s difficult to get him out of his stance.”
The room they practice in is tiny, parts of the roll-out mats overlap onto the walls and form what looks like a skateboarder’s “halfpipe.”
Another notable trait about Pisces is that they are forgiving and patient people. Forgiveness, patience and empathy are all things the San Jose native exemplifies.
“I try not to hold grudges or take things too personally. Wrestling is all about having fun when you get down to it. There’s no reason someone can kick my butt or I kick theirs and we don’t hug it out after,” he said.
The height of the practice is when the team “goes live.” There is one regulation-circle in the center of the room with the distinctive rectangle inside. Each wrestler is challenged to force their opponent out of the circle similar to sumo wrestling, but without use of their hands.
Wrestlers take turns pushing each other off the circle causing the height, weight and stature of the belligerents to steadily increase.
Payamipour takes the ring and successfully stays on for multiple bouts. With methodical lunges known in the wrestling community as “shots,” he’s able to duck his head and shoulders underneath his opponents’ chests for better leverage.
Wrestler after wrestler fail to move. Payamipour holds his own until a significantly larger opponent uses his sheer weight to eject him from the ring despite solid form and technique.
Payamipour may be president, but he shares the burden with his team as the wrestlers once again roll up the mats and return them downstairs.
“I’ve been wrestling for years and it’s a great sport. We’re a small club but we get more out of it because of that,” Payamipour concludes.
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