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Student of the Month, February 2005

Charlie Miller

by Les Honig

His has been a life that many would call unusual; yet for Ultimate U’s 18 year-old Charlie Miller, seeking out new and untried experiences has become the modus operandi for creating a reality that fulfils his many diverse and offbeat interests.

At the heart of Miller’s consuming passions lies pro wrestling, however; an avocation and vocation he knew he would pursue as a life’s career for as far back as he is capable of remembering.

Born in suburban Torrance, California and raised in nearby L.A. communities, Charlie recalls receiving a huge stuffed polar bear named Klondike from his grandfather at the tender age of 3 with which he could start practicing his mat moves. For the tot, however, the early education consisted not of formal ring work but of diving off his living room sofa onto his new motionless “opponent”, a constant activity he now credits with helping him develop the agility he is achieving during his El Segundo training sessions. (Miller reveals that later his opponent was even a larger creature; as his folks purchased a birthday gift of a 120- pound dummy for him to execute his maneuvers upon).

Avoiding formal education, (Charlie admits having been enrolled in school since childhood but attending only occasionally in recent years), the rookie wrestler spent much of his time at home enhancing his various interests; particularly learning computer skills, (he is now a successful programmer), while also studying a number of languages, the most prominent of which is Japanese.

Raised primarily by his mom after his parents separated, such refusal to attend classes caused consternation on her part, (she is herself a teacher and former lawyer), but was tempered somewhat by her son’s constant desire for self-learning. (Says Charlie: “I just had a lot of trouble with teachers being unfair and never liked the idea of compulsory attendance so I was never really good at being there.”)

A tremendous fan of pro wrestling since his earliest childhood, Miller traces first an enjoyment of WWE stars like Hulk Hogan and then after viewing the ‘91 Summer Slam match between Brett Hart and Mr. Perfect, a growing appreciation of their more sophisticated talents as well.

Meeting a group of Japanese friends in middle school, however, was to prove very pivotal in Charlie’s evolution both generally and mat-wise, as he gravitated towards them socially and became ever more interested in their culture. With much time spent on the Internet and in reading books for knowledge while at home, the teen began following various related philosophies as well, and early-on developed an interest in Zen-Buddhism; feeling that Buddha represented many of his own personal beliefs.

Along with this growing intense interest in Asian culture came an accompanying fascination with Japanese pro wrestling too, as Miller began accumulating tapes from some of that nation’s leading promotions to study and enjoy.

With a decision intensifying to start his own wrestling career, Charlie recalls writing an email to one of his favorite indy talents, Christopher Daniels, requesting advice on which school to attend and receiving a reply that UPW, near to Miller’s home, would be ideal for a squared-circle education.

“I didn’t end up going till a few years later when I was 17, going on 18, at a point when I had more time on my hands and less school to worry about,” he explains. Actually it was sending for and receiving the UPW series of training tapes that finally convinced him that Ultimate U offered just the right kind of program that he needed to develop his skills.

Attending his first session December 6th, where he was taught by Tom Howard, the young recruit returned the next Tuesday to his first Ballards’ class, and he has attended weekly sessions since without fail. (“During that first class, Tom showed us the basic punches and kicks and running of the ropes. I was hooked.”)

Always overweight while he grew up, Miller now attends as a 5’10” 330-pounder, but despite his large size, he feels that this persona is not necessarily a disadvantage as he strives to achieve the acrobatic maneuvers that few would expect from someone of his girth. Acknowledging that cardio still remains a challenge, with his constant work-out efforts to achieve increased leg power in order to jump higher, (“Now I can do a drop-kick and hit someone’s chest instead of their stomach”), Miller still credits his teachers, The Ballards, and lately, Keiji Sakoda as vital elements in his ever-increasing mat repertoire of skills.

As for the Canadian wrecking-crew, he feels both Shane and Shannon possess unique skills of patience and understanding; always encouraging their students to reach greater levels of competency. (“Usually Shannon works in the ring with the more experienced guys while Shane stays outside teaching newer students the basics. Right now I work a lot with Shane and I feel I am just on the borderline of transitioning to more complex mat work.”)

With Keiji Sakoda, the outstanding newcomer finds another dimension to his mat education offered; as the often-praised instructor emphasizes the need to convincingly sell mat maneuvers and to master creativity and improvisation. “He is great because he lets us try moves without studying them a lot first. He doesn’t believe in overanalyzing what you do; but rather has you just try to do them and then he’ll critique what was successful or unsuccessful. That kind of approach really helps me to achieve breakthroughs more quickly and become much more innovative at the same time.”

Now entering his fifth month of training, Miller praises highly not only his teachers but also his outstanding classmates like Nate Nickerson, Kevin Zacaula, Brandon Hill , Thomas Schlotfeldt, Pete Zwissler and Kjel Hansen (a fellow vegetarian) for giving him both support and friendship, which has also aided his development immeasurably.

Currently poised to begin his own performances before live UPW audiences in the not-too-distant future, Miller, who has already chosen a Japanese name, Yasuo Hotei, looks forward eagerly to the day when he can move to that country, establish citizenship and become an integral part of their universally respected wrestling scene, hopefully becoming a worker in one of Japan’s four major promotions.

For now, however, Charlie Miller will continue to grow his talents while establishing himself as another member of that elite group who have become a credit to the school which propels so many into eventual super mat stardom in the sports entertainment world

Previous Ultimate University Students of the Month:

January 2005 - Cherie Anderson

December 2004 - Derek Greser

November 2004 - Hector Canales

August 2004 - Mario Quezada

July 2004 - Kent Wilson

June 2004 - Thomas Scholdtfeldt

May 2004 - Ruben Muela

April 2004 - Mike Ziegenhein

March 2004 - Pete Zwissler

February 2004 - Kevin Martenson

January 2004 - Jason Sanfilippo