StillUndefeated

I never really liked this forum from the beginning, but I kept telling myself that at least it was useful for improving my conversational English and getting better at casual discussions. But every time I come here, I just end up feeling worse. And honestly, sometimes I’ve ended up saying things that I would never say in real life, simply because I got so frustrated with the nonsense I was reading. I’m done wasting my time arguing with you. bye.

I’m living in a country with almost no freedom, massive economic corruption, and I’m already full of anger because of it. From inside the country, we deal with repression, censorship, internet restrictions, and no freedom of speech. From the outside, we are completely cut off by sanctions. Then I come here and see people who live with complete freedom and have countless opportunities to improve themselves, yet somehow they are far more backward than the people in my own country who have been oppressed for decades. Maybe you’re not actually free. Maybe you’ve just been left to rot. You haven’t grown as human beings; you’ve just gotten bigger, like parasites feeding on each other, spreading hatred instead of becoming better people.

Aside from maybe two or three reasonable people, this place is basically a gathering spot for extremists and hateful individuals who are somehow even more backward than the Ayatollahs. That is why this forum has gone nowhere. Years of activity, and it is still the same small group of miserable people repeating the same hatred over and over. Even people from your own country don't tolerate you. New members show up, look around for a couple of days, and then leave because they don't want to be around this level of hostility and obsession.

Mil symbolizes the mace: Kabadeh symbolizes the bow Sang symbolizes the shield

Pahlevani wrestling goes back thousands of years to ancient Persia. However, the Zoorkhaneh, as an organized institution, is believed to have been established about 700 years ago by Pourya-ye Vali, who organized wrestlers into a formal system. He is widely considered the greatest wrestler in Iranian history.

The bells in front of the Morshed each have their own meaning. The upper bell, besides being used to emphasize important teachings, is only rung when the greatest wrestler of the Zoorkhaneh enters. Such a person is called the "bell-owner wrestler". A wrestler earns the title of "bell-owner" only after defeating the greatest wrestler of that Zoorkhaneh. From then on, whenever he enters, the Morshed rings that bell.

Pahlevani was not a religious concept. It was more a code of honor and a way of life. In simple terms, a Pahlevan was someone who helped the weak, stood against oppressors, and protected ordinary people. They were trained not only physically but also morally, and because they helped ordinary people, they were highly respected by society. However, depending on their personal beliefs, they might also include religious themes. For example, in one of the videos above, the Miyan-dar (the senior trainer of the Zoorkhaneh) recites Islamic prayer . The Miyan-dar is a respected senior figure who has permission to speak at the end of the training session, recite poetry, and teach moral lessons. Not everyone has the authority to do this. But in the video below, the Morshed recites a very famous poem from the Shahnameh (the Persian epic book), which is not religious at all. It is a patriotic poem: (The poem is difficult to translate into English, but its overall meaning is something like: "How sad it would be if Iran became ruined.")

Zoorkhaneh, 1954 1970

We call it Pahlevani wrestling (also spelled Pahlavani). The techniques are pretty similar to freestyle. In Pahlevani, touching your back to the mat meant defeat. They trained in special places called Zoorkhaneh, which were not just gyms but places built around the values of Pahlevani culture. The training had its own rituals, and a Morshed (a master) would recite poetry and remind the wrestlers of the values and ethics of a Pahlevan. The Zoorkhaneh itself was designed with these ideas in mind. For example, the entrance door was low so people had to bow their heads when entering, and the wrestling area was lower than the surrounding floor, symbolizing humility.

Seyyed Hassan Razzaz was one of Tehran's greatest traditional wrestlers and Pahlavans in the late Qajar era.

Seyyed Ali Haghshenas (Tehran). This photo is from about 120 years ago. He was also one of the greats.

Some of these are photos of wrestlers from the 1800s and some are from the Shah's era.

Mostafa Toosi Akbar Khorasani Ahmad Vafadar Abolghasem Sakhdari Abas Hariri Abas Zandi Hosein Golzar

I never said he's trying to kill children or that he's deliberately targeting them. I said he's killing children. His war is getting children killed. He has the world's strongest military, yet he has no strategy. The end result is dead children, and he doesn't seem to care. There's even a video of a reporter telling Trump that a girls' school had been hit and more than a hundred schoolgirls had been killed. He just walks right past without a care.

That's not like you. From the witty comments you make every now and then, I always thought you were smarter than this. I'm trying to come up with a clever joke about your comment, but I can't.