Last summer saw the very first Honey Badgers & Cobras, an all-women wrestling match that involves a lot of beer and goofing off as well as some seriously athletic and competitive women throwing down. (I competed and made it to the second round, during which I was robbed but whatever… if you were there you know that was a bad judging call).
Anyhow! The event is thrown to raise money for Northwest Housing Alternatives, and it’s held at/thrown by the Warrior Room, a kettlebell-focused gym in downtown Milwaukie. I’ve worked out there more than a few times, though it’s wildly inconvenient to my new house, but if you are looking to get whipped into shape—even if you already work out, yes even if you do CrossFit—give the Saturday morning 90-minute Warrior Workout a shot. I got cocky and tried it once with hangover and almost died! Well not really died, but something like the “focus on blasting calories leaving you with detox grade shakes” that they promise will leave you “empty faced” happened. I don’t know what that means exactly but let’s just say it’s absurdly hard. You have to be cleared by one of their trainers before they’ll even let you try it.
All of which is to say that this isn’t some kind of tongue-in-cheek girly trip, but a serious tournament among athletes, albeit athletes who are also getting seriously beer drunk while probably wearing a silly outfit of some kind. (The Warrior Room, for all its punishment, is a fierce adherent to the work hard/play hard mentality, to the extent that they have a kegerator in the waiting area.) Outside the ring they also have food vendors, and prizes include a three-month unlimited membership to get buff. You can still register to compete for the second annual event, which goes down this lovely Saturday evening. And tickets to attend are only five bucks if you’re too chicken to go up against the Empty Faced competition.
