Wednesday night’s class

The highlights:

When I was putting my stuff in the cubby before class, Instructor came over and told me he would pair me with “Nate,” the gray-haired blue belt to whom I’d said, “I guess you’re stuck with me,” at that awful Saturday class. Then he walked across the room to Nate and gave him instructions on the last thing I’d learned and therefore what to practice with me. I appreciated Instructor’s attentiveness. Nate gave me helpful pointers, went slowly, and even commiserated about how hard it was when he was new to this.

When class started, Instructor collected our cards as we were lined up along the wall. I noticed that the guy next to me had fewer X’s on his card. “Thanks for being even newer than I am,” I said. He smiled. Later on, Instructor used his classic, “You want to be stacked shoulder over shoulder, hip over hip. When you go to Denny’s and they give you a stack of pancakes but one is off on the side, that’s not acceptable.” This newer guy laughed, and that made me smile. That was me two weeks ago, cracking up at the lightsaber and Jedi lines when no one else was. I guess they get repeated, and laughing only shows your newness.

Thank you, Daria of pixabay, for the photo.

A moment later he added, “Actually, I wouldn’t really mind if a pancake was sticking out.” [Mark, who previously took issue with his pancake comment, may appreciate knowing he would still eat the outlying pancake.]

The door opened, and I was delighted to see Enthusiastic Teen enter. I’d only seen him once, back in December. He seemed unmoved by my presence, the punk. But for a short time, he was partnered with Nate and me. I must have curled my hand at him in a “bring it” gesture. He said, “Like you could hurt me.”

“I have a stripe now, so watch it.”

He picked up the end of my belt, pretending to examine the stripe for authenticity. I was glad his playfulness had returned. So did another guy, so ET was off to pair with him.

“Craig,” another upper belt who had been my partner last Saturday, was assisting Instructor by doing the rounds, checking everyone’s form. He stepped closer to give me a fist bump and a “Hi, Betsy.”

When Lopez arrived late, he walked along the opposite wall of where we were all standing to get to the far end of the line. As he did, he smiled and waved at me.

Another time, that new guy from my stripe class said, “Bye, Betsy!” as I was on my way out the door.

I’m reminded of what I said after my first class: “I intend to win over all these fellows.” I seem to be off to a good start. Maybe I’m less ignorable and can be taken more seriously because it’s clear I’m here to stay. Also, these are really just a nice bunch of dudes. From everything I’ve seen, not just from being in this class, Jiu-Jitsu seems to attract them.

I had said in my last post that I’ll miss being able to chat with Instructor, but at the end of class, he was alone at his desk as I was about to leave.

“Did you try an orange yet?” I asked.

“Yes, and it was delicious. Thank you.” Then: “How was working with Nate?” (Isn’t he kind for asking?)

“Nate was great,” I said, and since that’s not his real name, I didn’t have to actually use that obnoxious rhyme. Then I told him that I talked to Lopez after class and let him know I was interested in his training classes. So, Instructor will let me know when/if that happens. (Here’s hoping!)

Lopez said the classes won’t be perfect as he tries to master the teaching methods, but the techniques will be solid. If I was willing to let him practice with me and a few others, he was thinking Mondays and Wednesdays at noon. I said, yes, I was definitely willing to learn with and from him! I wonder if he will use the Denny’s stacked pancakes line?

And finally, just as I was leaving, Instructor said, “Cool shirt.”

I rather think so too. 🙂

Were there downsides to me attending this night class? Yes, but this is enough for one post.