So, you would think since Mrs. Instructor and I are friends, we’re both female, I’m new to Master Cycle, and given that the guys are nice and easy on me, she would be too, right?
Wrong!
That chic’s leg hooks were SOLID. I feel like 75% of the time I’m able to slip a choke. She was all, “Oh, you want to slide out by getting your back to the ground? Let me just pull you back on top of me as though you weigh approximately 7.5 pounds.”
“You got a frame in on the right side? That’s cool, I’ll just fling you over to the left and sink the choke in with that arm.”
Daaaaaaannnnnggg. Such fierceness!
Basically, I didn’t stand a chance.

I told Instructor later, “She’s a beast!” He made his “legit face,” where his eyebrows rise and he nods like, “Yeah, she is.” It was sweet, really.
I did at least manage to wiggle away from her and get to my feet at one point. It was not a submission–that was never gonna happen–but I ESCAPED!
That, in itself, felt like a major victory.
She said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you have a strong body frame.”
Or something. We later tried to remember what she had said and had a bit of a debate over it. Here’s what I came up with.

It’s nice having other women in class, especially since I was all by my lonesome before. Even cooler is that we have a large text group to keep in touch. Mrs. Instructor was recently added. She asked me separately what the vibe was like there.

Getting trivial!
Answer to the last question: Who else would have a giant flag of their state but Texas?
New question: According to the final line, this 1818 novel’s monster “was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.”
Interesting. I didn’t know how that went down. Did you?
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Mary Shelly seemed to end her Frankenstein in a most convenient way. I think she got tired of the monster.
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Chuckle chuckle. So true, John!
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😊
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One of my favorite trivia from that book: what did Frankenstein’s monster eat?
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The monster might have been the first vegetarian. He says he eats berries and acorns.
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Not many people know that, and most people have done pretty gruesome guesses… Well done, you clearly know you’re stiff!
Not sure what you mean by first vegetarian? First “monster”-vegetarian in literature? Pythagoras was documented to be vegetarian?
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You are so right. Monster Vegetarian it is. 😁
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This sounds like a great new brand name 😀
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Might look good on a cereal box
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LOL!
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😊
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And the merchandise you could dream up… I’m thinking tshirts!
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And hats.
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Truly!
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Huh. And there you have it, folks.
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Yes indeed. Did make an error on first vegetarian. Is maybe the first monster vegetarian. You may need this info for your competitions.
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Good to know! Thanks, John!
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Oooh. Great question! No idea. Someone better tell me.
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You both rock!
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And we roll! 😉
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If I tried that at home, someone would need to call the paramedics and alert the x-ray department. Getting someone standing by in the casting room would be thoughtful. I’m just amazed that you do this.
and yeah, Shelly, Frankenstein — They didn’t have lasers or superheros in 1812 so she just had to drown him … boring … not even a flamethrower or machine gun … throw ’em in the water …
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Always entertaining, Andrew. 🙂
Poor Mary Shelley. I guess it was either throwing in the water or off a tower. Not a lot of good options in those days. You’re right, Andrew. We have it so easy now. 😉
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Funny… I didn’t remember Frankenstein ending that way. There are so many classic and just older novels I need to re-read.
Chic chicks make good sparing partners.
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Agree on both counts, Janis. But for me it’s more reading for the first time. (Ahem. Oops.)
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Rocking and rolling in class is great. To have friendly physical contests is good. Frankenstein’s monster couldn’t swim?
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I’m not sure about the ‘friendly’ part in this instance! Kidding. 🙂
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I could have misinterpreted the feelings. I’ll shut up now.
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Ha! No, T.W. You didn’t. I’m just being silly. You’re good. 🙂
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And leaving Mrs. Instructor speechless? Great, too! 🙂
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Haha. Thanks.
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They say great friendships are born from pain and suffering 😀
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Haha. Yikes. Uuum…
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It’s not just parenting that goes better with a sense of humor!
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Should I change my URL to MartialArtsIsFunny.Wordpress.com?? 🙂
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Ha!
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It’s a tempting idea, which I don’t know how to accomplish anyway.
BTW, slowly but surely working on the memoir!
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I know this is early days, but put me on the street team.
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You will absolutely be the first! No question.
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I feel like I should “like”, and then undo that just so I could “like” it again: what doesn’t go better with a sense of humor? Well said!
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Possibly a funeral??? Nah. Maybe even that. Well, kinda depends, I suppose. There have been shows that have made jokes at funerals, but those weren’t real life.
I hope people crack jokes at my funeral. There had better be laughter at my funeral. Maybe it will just be my tombstone reading: “I HOPE YOU’RE LAUGHING NOW!”
I have no idea what that will mean. I’ll leave it up to individual interpretation.
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Yes, even at funerals:
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Wowza! Go Betsy! I love your humor…LOL…the text banter. 😜🥰😜
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Thanks, Vicki. You get me. 🙂
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🥰🥰🥰
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The relationship you have with Mrs. Instructor is really great. I hope you get my meaning but I’m glad she didn’t go easy on you. I’ve read the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley twice and I am fairly certain that is the ending of it.
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I haven’t read the book even once.
But you are most definitely correct with your answer, Herb. Thanks. I like my friendship with Mrs. Instructor too. 🙂
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The book is fairly different from any of the movie versions I’ve seen.
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I don’t think I’ve even seen a movie version!
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Frankenstein? Really? Okay, that kind of surprised me because there are so many movies and spoofs and spinoffs. (My reaction is rude and I apologize but I left it in because then you know what I’m apologizing about, lol.) To be real, though, I never knew anything about anything related to martial arts of any sort.
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Me neither on the MA until a few years ago! Who knew I’d get into this stuff? Definitely not me. No regrets, except for maybe having met Sensei. (Just saying that because he might read this. 😉 )
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I once read the story of how Mary Shelley went about writing that book. That made for a fascinating story in itself!
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Cliff Notes version???
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It was a dark and stormy night (I kid you not), and Mary Shelley, when she was still a teenager (!!!) was talked into by her step-sister to travel to Geneva (the step-sister was pregnant by Lord Byron that John mentioned was part of the story). Mary herself eloped with another poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley… Quite the soap opera, no?
Anywho, at Geneva, a bunch of these folks, Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and others spent their time making passes (in Mary’s case, fending them off), reading morbid stories and poetry, and discussing all sorts of questions like can corpses be reanimated.
Mary was mostly a listener, but when Lord Byron issued a challenge to write a story, she took it on, and there you have it, Cliff Notes version of the story of the story 🙂
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Nice! And well done, Mary.
Thank EWe. 😉
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In the face of her family ignoring her (they disapproved of her eloping), her depressed husband, much older men making passes at her, acquaintances looking down on her, she’s the one we remember…
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Wowsa.
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sounds like a great give and take and you have the beginning of a wonderful friendship
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Thanks, Beth. She’s a lot of fun for me. 🙂
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Love that you have another dainty soul (that’s my version of slightly irreverent humor) to spar with in master class. That is so cool!
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Haha. Dainty soul. I’ll bet she’ll get a kick out of that. 😛 Thanks, Wynne! ❤
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Yay – two women to show the guys how it’s done!
Gosh, Moby Dick?? I didn’t think the novel was that old, but I know very little about classic lit.
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I had to look it up: Moby-Dick was published in 1851, so you’re right about it not being that old. I just learned it’s hyphenated too! Also, I’d forgotten classic lit wasn’t your thing. I’ll have to find a geography question next. 😉
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You’re sweet, but never feel like you have to cater to little ol’ me. 🙂
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We’ll just see what happens when the trivia book flies open and my finger lands on a question, shall we? 🙂
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It’s nice that you can support each other but also motivate and push each other to get into beast mode!
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Oh, she’s already there. I don’t think I’m motivating or pushing anyone unless maybe the white belts from the old class now being eager to join me in Master Cycle. In this new class I am the bottom of the barrel. No one is learning from me! 😛
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I may be nowhere near first, but if I had been, my answer was going to be “Moby Dick” – and that would have been embarrassing! Especially since I’ve read “Frankenstein,” albeit a long time ago.
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Hubby guessed MD first also. And that is logical–water and all. But now we all know better! 🙂
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(I also read “Moby Dick” long ago…)
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No excuses then, Mark!
You know I’m kidding. 🙂
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If it’s 1818 and it’s a monster, it’s FRANKENSTEIN–first SF book created because Mary Shelley couldn’t stand another evening with Lord Byron, LOL.
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Whoa!!!! Look out, everyone! Look who knows stuff! We have a new playa in da HOUZ!
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Whoo-hooo! English major finally uses major.
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Thousands of dollars in tuition payments are finally paying off! 😉
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Wait, do you mean I won something?! Something tangible?
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Oh, uhhhm. Hmmm. How about you ask Mark Petruska whether or not winning something tangible is worth it. Heheh.
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Way to escape and be the weird humorous girl. it’s nice to have another one for a change!!!
Yes to that, Betsy!!❣️👏
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“Way to the be the weird humorous girl.”
My gosh, I like that so much.
Thus proving it is an apt description. Thank you, Cindy. 😉 xoxo
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You too are sure-fire examples of powerful women, Betsy. And it sounds like it’s fun too. 🙂
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SO fun, Peach! Thanks. 🙂
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I have a bit of trivia for you that you can use for next time, in the spirit of the Olympics… What world record has remained unbroken since 1995?
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Oooh. Okay. I like it.
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Every time I read about what you’re doing in your latest class I am amazed at your ability. To show up. To not get hurt. To have fun.
No brainy answer to your question, but a guess would be Frankenstein.
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Good guess!
And you should know: I spend most of my day sitting at a desk. Or doing laundry.
Does that help explain why I do Jiu-Jitsu in the evenings? 😛
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It does indeed!
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👍🏻
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Fun Fact: When I was in a book club from 2000-2010, Frankenstein was the only book I did not finish. So, that’s my answer!
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Hahaha! Now you know the ending!!
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Just awesome
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Haha. Thank you. 🙂
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I love it – you have met your match in Fierceness!
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Oh, I am not her match. But what I lack in skill, I make up for in enthusiasm! 😛 Thank you, Ju-Lyn!
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Pingback: More on Master Cycle–which has nothing to do with bikes | Motherhood and Martial Arts
Mrs. Instructor is a badass, don’t mess with your, no bumping! Well done on the escape. How many points is that worth? Should be at least 5, in my opinion. Odd irrelevant humor? My absolute favorite. Hugs, C
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You are the queen of odd irreverent humor, C! 😛
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I used to attend a women-majority aikido club. It wasn’t as different from other martial arts clubs as I thought it would be, except for the getting thrown around by people half my size part.
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Haha! That’s gotta be good for one’s humility! Good for those women, though. 😊
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