As a kid, I watched my father, Dory Funk Sr. as a professional wrestler and tried all the holds on my brother, Terry Funk. Dory Funk Sr. was a tough teacher. In those days, He told me the largest number in the world was a “Zugal.” I tried to write a zugal and he always said it was bigger so I filled a paper with a “1” and all zeros and he still said that was not quite a “zugal.” Pleasing him was not easy.

As we grew up on the Flying Mare Ranch southwest of Amarillo, Texas, Terry and I were standing in the shadow of a very famous man. It was not until I was finishing up college that I made the decision that I wanted to become a professional wrestler.

Even though my hero and person I wanted to be like was my father, my in-ring training was by people he had a hand in training. Ricky Romero was my head coach however I received training from Bob Geigel, Vern Gagne, Joe Scarpello, Eddie Graham, Cowboy Carlson and more on the wrestling mat in our garage. In the ring I was also trained by Pedro Morales. (Wrestling as Johnny Como in the Amarillo Territory)

In my first year in the wrestling business, I had the opportunity to work with Pat O’Connor, Gene Kiniski, Verne Gagne, Fritz Von Erich and Lou Thesz for the NWA World Championship. My father had told me it would take four years to learn anything about the wrestling business so I was just getting started.

My first trips outside my home territory were to Dallas, working with The Destroyer, then onto Vancouver wrestling Don Leo Jonathan and overseas first to Australia for promoter Jim Barnett wrestling Ray Stevens and Killer Kowalski. I also worked in St. Louis for the president of the NWA Sam Muchnick. I know this is a fast start in the wrestling business and I came to realize how fortunate I was.

February 11, 1969 was a day that changed my life and still has it’s effects every day. In Tampa, Florida I won the NWA World Championship from Gene Kiniski. For the next four and a half years, I wrestled every top wrestler in the world. I never stopped learning, from the best, Wahoo, Valentine, Brisco, Inoki, Baba, Sakaguchi, Billy Robinson, Bob Armstrong, Whitey Caldwell, Harley Race, Chauvo Guerrero, Lonnie Mayne and more. I still never stopped learning about the wrestling business.

Shortly after starting All Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1972, Giant Baba sent his young Olympic wrestler, Jumbo Tsuruta to the Amarillo Territory to be trained and groomed for future stardom in Japan. This was my first experience as a trainer of professional wrestlers and the beginning of the “Dory Funk Method” of training pro-wrestlers.

With the passing of my father, Dory Funk Sr., Terry and I took over the promotion of the Amarillo Territory and the booking of All Japan Pro-wrestling. In the early 80’s I booked for Florida Championship Wrestling and Mid Atlantic Wrestling . In 87, “Hoss” Funk came into being as I was working for Vince McMahon Jr. for the first time as a wrestler with my brother, Terry Funk.

Working for All Japan Pro-wrestling and making 70 trips to Japan through ‘97, I became their “Player / Coach” training with Tendru, Akiyama, Taiyo Kea, Kobashi, Misawa, Kawada, Ogawa, Omori and all of their young wrestlers.

In 1998 Marti and I brought the “Dory Funk Method” of training to Vince McMahon Jr. and the WWE as the Funking Dojo, then in late 1999 we brought this program to Ocala, Florida as the Funking Conservatory. Out of this program came Val Venis, Rhino, Lita, Micky James, Gene Sniski, Edge, Christian, Test, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Chris Sabin, Chris Daniels, Steve Corino and more. Olympians who came through this program are Jumbo Tsuruta, Anton Geesink, Giant Silva, Mark Henry and current WWE superstar, Kurt Angle.

Just to keep my skills up, I still wrestle in the ring professionally having recently faced Jeff Jarrett, Tully Blanchard, Carlos Colon, Midnight Express, TNA’s America’s most wanted, Steve Corino, Kimala, Abdullah the Butcher , Osamu Nishimura and Kenzo Suzuki.

The “The Dory Funk Method” covers three phases of professional wrestling

(1) Safety

(2) In ring performance skills

(3) Television Skills.

It is difficult balancing the demands of the audience for the spectacular motion needed on Television and the safety of the wrestlers, both are important, however it can be accomplished. Television skills include promos and interviews as well as every moment of your time in the ring can be on television and the demands of getting it right dictate ratings and marketing of the product, You, “The Wrestler.”

A billion billions times a billion is still not a “zugal.”

For more information about the “Dory Funk Method,” go to www.dory-funk.com