Apr22

Redemption!

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Redemption!

I studied up. I watched the videos and did multiple mental reps to prep for the next mini Reflex Development class.

I knew the moves before the first mini RD, yet they eluded me when I needed them. Not this time, brain. Not this time.

I messaged Mrs. Instructor:

Since I was the only one staying for RD, lounging solo on the mat, waiting, Instructor walked over and said something roughly to the effect of, “When Surfer Dude is ready, just do a minute each of mount control.”

“Okay,” I said, disheartened. I wanted to prove myself by doing the moves I had utterly failed at the first night.

However, SD sauntered over, not having been given instructions, and said, “Let’s do the stuff we did the first night.” That you utterly failed at was kindly left unsaid.

“Um, okay!” So, roll, roll, roll. Elbow Escape x 4. And Done!

“Nice job,” he said, a little surprised perhaps.

“I wanted to redeem myself.”

“Consider yourself redeemed. More than redeemed even.”

Interiorly: H*ll to the yeah!

“Last time was a travesty. My brain left my body,” I said.

“I know, you were all, ‘Hug the body? Whaaattt??'” [Hugging the body is step one for the second Trap and Roll.]

Okay, Surfer Dude. No need to pile on.

Note my fierce concentration. SD is lying there, taking it like a man, though his expression is more: “Are you going to do something here, or what?”

He reported to Instructor who then said, “You were supposed to just do mount control.”

“Oh.” SD walked back to me.

“You overruled him,” I said to SD. Now, to be a fair, when Instructor told me what to do, I didn’t fully hear him. There was a lot of background noise from other conversations, okay?! So to relay those instructions to SD wouldn’t have worked well. He would’ve had to go back to Instructor to ask, but he was busy.

Plus, as you know, I had ulterior motives and so wasn’t about to contradict SD’s suggestion.

Anyhow, SD returned to do those mount drills and HERE’S where the screwy Betsy you know and love returned.

He got in position and spread his arms wide. This is not the usual indicator for Trap and Roll, nor is it quite the same set up for Elbow Escape, so, of course, I was at a loss even though somewhere in my cranium I did, in fact, know what to do.

“Your arms are weird,” I said to him.

“My arms are weird?”

“Yeah. You’re not choking me.”

Super bizarre thing to complain about. Add this to my list of #onlyinJiu-Jitsu.

Regardless, I eventually did something and flipped him off. #alsocompletelydifferentinanothercontext

Then it was his turn. Of course he made mincemeat of me, and it was loads of fun.

The desk assistant ran over saying, “I’ve just gotta get pictures. Betsy, you make the best faces.” By best, she meant funny, and not in a good way, but I allowed it.

Case in point, but SD’s smile here is great.
What a good sport. I planted a foot on him and everything.

And, of course, a second later, he rolled away from me.

“I got out,” he said.

“Yeah, I was too busy posing for the camera.”

Before leaving, I apologized to Instructor for not following his script but I had needed redemption. He seemed okay with that. He also said, with an expression of total sincerity, “You’re doing a great job.”

The fluorescent lights overhead dimmed in comparison to my beaming face.

I reported in:

Mrs. Instructor is so fabulous.

~~~~~~

Bonus story, if you can bear with me:

SD and Blue Belt are in a band. I mentioned many weeks ago that maybe they could open for my standard birthday band. SD asked if that was still an option. I said I would try to make it happen, as I was definitely down for it.

“Covers or originals?” he asked. “Probably just covers?”

“I don’t mind originals as long as they don’t suck.”

“Well, music is in the ear of… of the person hearing it.”

“Ear of the beholder?” I said. “Is that what you were going for?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t think of the expression.”

“I hope you’re not the lyricist if that’s how good you are with words.”

Embarrassed smile. “I need to go get changed now.”

My chances of defeating SD in Jiu-Jitsu: 0.00%. But when picking on him verbally, I have a fighting chance.

~~~

So, what do you think? Should I feel bad I didn’t just do mount drills like Instructor suggested?

And did you know the answer to the last trivia question? It was three. There are three Stanley Cups. Several of you asked why, to which I helpfully responded: Nuuhh. I dunno.

But according to Stanley Cup Fun Facts: There’s the original bowl of the “Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup,” the authenticated “Presentation Cup” and another replica Cup that gets displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever the Presentation Cup is unavailable.

There ya have it, folks. Now go amaze your friends.

New question:

In 2007, the American Institute of Architects listed this structure as America’s number-one favorite piece of architecture.

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49 responses »

  2. You should never feel bad about not doing what the instructor tells you. Just remind him who pays him to instruct. And really, if he can’t give clear directions to EVERYONE, that’s his problem, not yours.

    and does “Eye of the Tiger” often just pop into your brain? ”Itsy Bitys Spider” pops into my head a lot. I don’t know why.

    and it’s the Empire State Building. I don’t know why, it just is.

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  3. You are doing a great job, Betsy. And sometimes, you gotta go off script to get that redemption. Real life happens and you roll with it! Love the poses at the end. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. You just squeezed in some extra work, Betsy, work you needed to do. Keep at it until it’s a reflex, with no thinking about it. Empire State Building. I spent some time in New York when my daughter graduated from Columbia, but only saw the Empire State Building from a distance.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. No, I don’t think you should feel bad. I think everyone at the dojo realizes you need blog fodder. Plus, they get to be featured in your blogs here and there, so it’s a win for them.
    As for your trivia question, I was a little confused. Did you mean the American Institute of Travel Architects (of which I am the founder and only member)? If so, the favorite “architecture” is the home computer (for architecting).

    Liked by 1 person

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    • They all realize I need blog fodder. Haha! I don’t know that anyone from there other than Mrs. Instructor reads this. I learned recently that Instructor himself did years ago when I first started. SD knows his name is SD on my blog, but has never checked it out as far as I know. I wonder what he would think if he did. Hmm… Probably best he doesn’t read this one. 😛

      You nailed it, TTA. You’re the only one to guess the answer to the TRUE question I was asking. All these other people with “Empire State Building–gotta be.” Pish. What chumps. 😉 ❤

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. Oh, ear of the beholder. That’s so good, Betsy! Maybe there’s a JJ move called Ear of the Tiger? Or maybe that’s a new title suggestion for SD’s band! 🙂 Love that you are going to have them at your bday fest!!

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  14. LOVE the trivia question (although I’d go with “work”. “Work” of architecture). Without looking at the comments, is it Frank Lloyd Wright? Fallingwater? If not it should be, but that’s just me. And now for my intended comment. I was FULLY focused on your RD class, right down to that cool lavender Band-Aid on your big toe, when out of nowhere you had to mention mincemeat. Mincemeat! Let’s just say I run with a different crowd. Mincemeat is my very favorite pie, at Thanksgiving or any other day of the year. Topped with brandied hard sauce, there’s just nothing better… er, assuming you like apples/raisins/currants and other stuff in a Christmas-spice gel that gathers dust on the grocery shelves and never goes bad. Heavy-as-a-brick 100%-carbohydrate awesomeness.

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