fciwomenswrestling.com article - wikimedia photo
She’s sexy, vibrant, enlightened, appealing yet brand spanking new!
Ingrid so aptly reflects the new world of women’s competitive submission wrestling and the “new” Oakland, California that she loves.
“In recent years, Oakland has gained national recognition as a travel destination. In 2012, Oakland was named the top North American city to visit, highlighting its growing number of sophisticated restaurants and bars, top music venues, and increasing nightlife appeal. Oakland also took the No. 16 spot in “America’s Coolest Cities,” ranked by metrics like entertainment options and recreational opportunities per capita, etc.
In 2013, Oakland topped the No. 1 spot in “America’s Most Exciting Cities,” notably having the most movie theaters, theater companies, and museums per square mile. In “America’s Most Hipster Cities,” Oakland took the No. 5 spot, cited for luring San Francisco “hippies” into the city.”
Thank you Wikipedia.
Having traveled through Oakland constantly to cover wrestling shoots and visit San Francisco bay area friends and relatives, there’s truly a new vibe to this East Bay metropolis counter to what it used to be perceived as; an urban city engulfed in crime, police corruption and decay only a few short decades ago.
With the influx of new cultures from the world’s global villages, the restaurants and unique dining in Oakland is expanding,
We can see why Ingrid loves Oakland.
FCI certainly loved watching Ingrid wrestle.
With her aggressive style, passion and dynamic energy, Ingrid won at least two matches during a small event in San Jose and to our surprise we would later find out that this was her first time competing. Her headlocks and choke holds were straight out of a manual.
What wasn’t surprising was when she revealed she recently had been training in jujitsu for self-improvement. She balances that out with some weight training, and biking.
Biking is a great recreational activity to enjoy in the greater Oakland area because the region possesses an abundance of natural beauty.
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success”.……John D. Rockefeller
Wikipedia guides the way as our eyes into the new Oakland.
“Lake Merritt, an urban estuary near downtown, is a mix of fresh and salt water draining in and out from the Oakland Harbor at the San Francisco Bay and one of Oakland’s most notable features.
It was designated the United States’ first official wildlife refuge in 1870.
Originally a marsh-lined wildlife haven, Lake Merritt was dredged and bordered with parks from the 1890s to the 1910s. Despite this reduction in habitat, Oakland is home to a number of rare and endangered species, many of which are localized to serpentine soils and bedrock. Lake Merritt is surrounded by residential and business districts, including downtown and Grand Lake.”
There are many other natural paradises to explore so let’s please do.
“Redwood Regional Park is a park of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located in the hills east of Oakland. The park contains the largest remaining natural stand of coast redwood found in the East Bay. Redwood forests are more commonly found closer to the coast where the air is cool and humid year-round.
In the Bay Area, such forests are found in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Marin Hills. The unique geographical circumstances of the redwood forest in Redwood Regional Park create coastal conditions. Winds funneled through the Golden Gate flow directly across the Bay and are channeled into the linear valley in which the Montclair District of Oakland is situated. This valley is also well-watered all year round and is protected from extremes of temperature and high winds.
Up to the middle of the 19th century, the bulk of the redwood forest lay in the linear valley, with extensions to the surrounding ridges. Early mariners used two particularly tall redwood trees along the ridges to help them navigate in San Francisco Bay, the site of which is registered as California Historical Landmark #962.
However, logging in the latter half of the 19th century wiped out the original trees, leaving only their stumps. A second logging occurred after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. In this instance the second growth redwoods (approximately 50 years old) as well as the stumps from the first generation trees were logged. The redwoods contained in today’s regional park are third-growth trees, many of which are over 100 years old.”
Let’s share with you something else that you probably never associated with Oakland but it boasts a very long history.
The East Bay Regional Parks District at ebparks.org educates, “East Bay residents have a volcano in their backyard at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. Originally called Round Top Park, Sibley shares with Temescal and Tilden the distinction of being one of the East Bay Regional Park District’s original parks. The preserve was later named in honor of Robert Sibley, who helped found the District and served for 10 years on its board of directors.
Round Top, one of the area’s highest peaks is made up of lava and volcanic debris left over from a 10-million-year-old volcano. During the past 10 million years, massive tectonic forces on the Hayward and Moraga earthquake faults uplifted the Berkeley hills, folding bedrock formations and tilting the Round Top volcano complex on its side.”
Though Ingrid grew up near the United States Mexican border where she says the street vendors cook some of the best tacos in the world, we think you can see why she fell in love with Oakland.
In her exclusive interview with FCI, Ingrid indicates while she enjoys wrestling, she doesn’t see it as a career pathway. That being the case given how well she competed that day, we hope she still stays in the game.
She’s fun to watch, interesting to talk to and has a fresh approach. In many ways she represents what’s new and exciting about the city of Oakland and the global sport of competitive female submission wrestling.
~ ~ ~
