Wednesday night’s class

My shoulders hurt after Monday’s Jiu-Jitsu class, so Tuesday night I thought to myself: I gotta bandage my shoulders before tomorrow’s class.

Wednesday morning: I gotta bandage my shoulder’s before tonight’s class.

Wednesday afternoon: I gotta bandage my shoulder’s before tonight’s class.

Wednesday night’s class: I didn’t bandage my shoulders.

Because I simply refuse to wear the thick hot heavy gi top, much to Jiu-Jitsu purple belt blog buddy Tom’s consternation, I knew my shoulders were going to take a hit.

It was 80 degrees yesterday, okay?! And even hotter in the gym. I put both fists up to bump Surfer Dudes 1 and 2 as I slid between them against the wall.

“It’s hot in here,” remarked SD2.

“No kidding,” I said.

“Hi, Betsy,” said SD1, clearly harboring no grudge for last class’s rear naked choke.

This class was Elbow Escape, which requires “shrimping:” moving away from your opponent by pushing off the floor with one foot and rotating on the opposite shoulder. Basically, we’re curling then straightening our bodies to move backwards, much like how a shrimp swims when it wants to get away quickly.

To add injury to injury, Instructor had everyone lay down and practice shrimping from one side of the room to the other and back again. I was feeling the sting immediately. Here’s where the gi top would’ve helped, but I had planned to have pre-bandaged shoulders! And that was before I knew this class would involve any shrimping, let alone a TON of shrimping.

The elbow escape itself requires not one but three shrimps, or in my case, four. My opponent was on the short side, so I needed to shrimp an extra time to create space for my foot to get out from behind his knee.

This one’s not as bad. Some spots are scabbed over.

And I’ve been remiss in posting pics for “What’s! That! Bruise!?” so here’s an elbow.

These are a bit old. Some are bruises, some are mat burn. My feet look similarly adorned, but no gi top can help that.

My big toe has a black eye for maybe the fourth time. Usually that’s from Taekwondo. Monday night I hurt it with a round kick to the mat. (Yes, curl the toes back. I hear you TKD black belt blog buddy, CM.) That class was immediately followed by Jiu-Jitsu, because Monday nights rock, where I further hurt the toe in ways unknown.

There are a lot of newbies in class now, so at the end, Instructor said, “This is the hardest class, so if it seemed difficult, don’t worry. It gets easier.” Having done the last class in the curriculum, Double Underhook Pass from the Guard, I question the veracity of his statement. (Oooh, veracity. I should use that one on ET.)

Because there are so many newbies, Instructor basically ignores me. As he did the rounds, I heard, “Nice, uh huh, good Betsy,” as he glanced my way for a second. At that moment, I know I was doing the move clumsily at best. Haha. Instructor and I never get to talk anymore. It feels like we’re no longer friends, which makes me sad, but, oh well. Making friends isn’t the primary objective, but it’s a nice perk.

Before class started, one guy had all the cards, leafing through to find his. I stood nearby, waiting. He found mine first and handed it to me. I hadn’t yet officially met him, but I suppose everyone knows the name of The Girl. I thanked him and said, “Help me out. ‘Arthur,’ right?” He nodded and smiled. See? Making friends. But I mostly stink at names. Twice I’ve been greeted by name by others, and I asked their name only to realize…

“Shoot. We’ve already met, haven’t we?”

“It was a long time ago,” one graciously said.

There was a new kid in class. By kid I mean 11 or 12. I wasn’t surprised when Instructor put the mom with the kid. I got to do a bit of teaching. After class, his mom, who had been sitting off to the side, thanked me.

There were no Wall Drills this time, thankfully. Maybe Instructor thought the demographic was too new for WDs to be effective. I was okay with that. I need more time to prepare.

Now, to end on a high note, here’s something funny I saw this morning.

This bank looks pretty secure.

Thank you all for continuing to share this journey with me. I so appreciate you!