My Jiu-Jitsu Instructor asked if anyone had a question. I raised my hand and asked if you could sneak a choke in from North/South when someone was turtling. (You follow all that?) “Money” was nearest, so Instructor demonstrated on him.
When he asked if there were any more questions, I asked what to do if the person’s turtle is so tight you can’t slip an arm in.
So, Instructor demonstrated with Money again, break dancing on top of him before ultimately sneaking in the choke. Meanwhile, Money’s getting his rear repeatedly handed to him.
“Any other questions?”
“I’m trying to think of one just so I can see you mess with Money some more,” I said.
He laughed. Money looked at me and laughed too. Then Instructor turned to him and said, “Next time I’ll demo with her and let you watch.”

Do you have the time?
In a different class, I made another joke.
Instructor explained the different leg positions you and your training partner could be in. When you have equal footing, it’s called 50/50. Then he showed 70/30, 80/20, you guessed it, 90/10, and then one called 4/11 “because the other person’s legs look like the number 11, and your legs make a 4.”
Every word after that flew in circles around my head, unable to land on my ears until, “Any questions?”
My hand shot up. “Are you ever rolling with someone and say, ‘Hey, bro. You know what time it is?’ They say, ‘What?’ and you say, ‘It’s 4:11′”?
Laugh, big smile. “That’s cool. I’m going to use that.”
The admiration from the other students, too, made my cheeks warm.
Classic Instructor
Instructor showed us a guard called De La Riva. “It’s explosive,” he said. “It should be called C4, but that wasn’t the guy’s name.”
Classic off-the-cuff joke that reminded me of my early days when Instructor regularly had me… rolling. {wink wink}
The Lawyer

If the gym phone is left out, this guy will sneak a selfie. Mrs. Instructor has a catalog of unexpected Lawyer pics among her stills and vids of classes. She posts them along with the rest, and it always cracks me up.
So, The Lawyer and Thoughtful One got their second stripes on their blue belts recently. (Still surreal that I was, once upon a time, ahead of them. Now I’m still working to attain that blue belt. Life.) Anywho, on the night The Lawyer got his stripe, Malcolm called out, “That’s my lawyer!”
Knowing he’s a defense attorney, I turned to Malcolm and said, “What did you do?”
“Nothing yet,” he said. “But he’ll get that call.”
And my personal favorite…
I partnered with Mrs. Instructor, who, by the way, complains that her blog name is too boring. So, Your Majesty, I will henceforth refer to you as HRH. See if you can figure that one out.
Instructor said, “Bottom person, try to get out. Top person, try to keep the other person from getting out. One two three go.”
About 2.3 seconds later, HRH, who had been on bottom, was out. We both sat there in a moment of silence until I said, “Did I win?”

Old question: This instrument’s range is from A0 to C8. Answer: piano.
New questionS:
- What does HRH stand for?
- Which of these goofy stories was your favorite?
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1> Her Royal Highness
2> 4:11
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Thanks, Herb! 🙂
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Hehehehe. good stuff! 😀
Her Royal Highness are the usual words that go along with that, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you have done oddball thing Huper Ruper Humpty or something 😀
So how does the lawyer guy take pix on other peoples’ phones? I thought phones were autolocked these days? Or is he like Batman and knows all the tech secrets?
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Clearly, I need to come up with something more fun than the standard abbreviation for HRH.
With iphones, you can swipe left to pull up the camera even when the phone is locked. I imagine that’s what he’s been doing. There was a time I was sitting next to HRH when she was filming. The Lawyer came by and rolled, in the most literal sense, in front of her, then popped up and shot a smile and a “Heeyyy” point back at her. It was hilarious. I love when these people surprise me with their humor. Malcolm’s joke, for instance–never saw that coming.
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Huh, I’m going to investigate if that camera thing is the same for android. Seems like a massive security flaw to me.
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You can’t do anything beyond take a picture. You can’t get into their phone afterward, even to see the picture you just took. It makes life easier, and safer, if you want to hand someone your phone and ask them to take a picture of you at a national park, or whatever.
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Gotcha. So it’s made for people people and not private individuals like me, His Royal Imperator’ness…
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I was getting used to “Booky,” but I suppose I could switch it up to HRI, if you’d like.
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Whichever you feel is appropriate based on circumstances. Us Royals understand the trials you commoners face, so we’re a pretty sympathetic bunch.
Hahahaha! Yeah……..
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LOL.
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You sure had that dude, Ilsa. Instructor was good to show how to get through an opponent’s turtling. Have a great weekend.
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You too, Tim. Thanks!
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Read your entire post but can’t get over the fact you beheaded someone with your legs. That’s beyond impressive…
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A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, River. 😛
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I hear that.
My thighs just aren’t powerful enough anymore…
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But I’ll bet in your heyday you were decapitating with wild abandon!
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I had my moments.
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😛
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You’re speaking another language here, Betsy!
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I know. I’m sorry! 😛
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I see someone’s been brushing up on her Header tags!
Everyone is going to guess Her Royal Highness. That’s way too obvious. I’m going with Hip Rad Heroine.
My favorite story is the one you didn’t tell, about the fortune cookie and the Chevy Malibu. You know the one I’m referring to.
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MARK! We agreed we would never speak of the fortune cookie and the Chevy Malibu again!!!!
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Oops. Cat’s out of the bag now!
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Deeeeeepppp, heavvvvy siiiiiiiigggghhhhh.
There are just some things you can’t unsee, and no amount of therapy can help you erase the memories.
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Geez Louise, how many times must I apologize for wearing that kilt?!
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Well, at least once more.
And I still blame you for the ferret incident.
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In my defense, I had no idea they were allergic to gummy bears! I thought I was giving the lil’ guy a treat. Good thing the off-duty veterinarian dressed in a Lady Gaga meat suit for that Halloween party came along when she did, huh?
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You’re telling me. I did not want the little dude’s death on my conscience. The emotional damage I caused that poor okapi I tried to ride was bad enough. Though you should feel worse for the orangutan.
Whose idea was it to break into a zoo in the first place? It was touch and go with Lady Gaga’s meat suit near the wolf compound. The memory of their ravenous howls still haunt me.
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It was all a big misunderstanding! You misheard me (not that I blame you; the Pearl Jam cover band, Can’t Find a Vedder Man, had it cranked up to 10, and you were dancing on the table to “Black”): I said I had a Zoom call, but you thought I said “Let’s go to the zoo, y’all.” Serves me right speaking in that fake Southern accent all night!
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Can’t
Find
a Vedder
Man….
You have never said anything more brilliant in your entire life, nor will you ever again.
I’m so sorry to inform you that you’ve peaked.
Zoom call/zoo y’all is a super close second.
Cranked up to 10—is that another pun??
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I knew you’d appreciate the cover band! Great place to peak, I’d say. 🙂
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That should TOTALLY be a cover band. The PJ cover band out here is called Oceans. Not bad, but not nearly as good as yours. Next time I see them, I’ll tell them. 🙂
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And yes, 10 = Ten. Can’t slide anything past you.
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When it comes to you, I feel I need to be on high alert for puns.
But, furthermore, I still don’t know what you thought you were going to accomplish with the orangutan. She was clearly not that into you, nor did she know how to play Settlers of Catan.
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H.R. Pufnstuf comes to mind here (if a talking dragon could be considered a compliment). The headless photo was creepy enough to dwell on for several seconds, and I still want to know where the head is. Also, “gym phone”? Great idea! Is that the source of your many selfie-candids? Finally, I got all body-part tied over that first paragraph. Raise a hand, choke down, look north or south, slip an arm through… at least my equally complicated golf swing doesn’t involve turtles.
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The head is back there somewhere, Dave, rolling around the floor. 😉 Mrs. Instructor errrrr H.R. Pufnstuf has taken several photos of me with the gym phone, yes, and graciously shares them for use on my blog. Sorry my terminology has your head spinning. If you were a turtle, you could pull your head into your shelf where it would be safer. 😉
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Ha! Midwest Mark is right. Too obvious. Now I’m wondering. Grok wasn’t any help.
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I’m afraid it was simply the obvious answer, but now I clearly need to get more creative than that! I think I’ll call her something different with those initials every time I mention her.
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“Joker” sounds like a good name for you 😀 How did “Money” get his name?
I got lost with the turtle and turtling and the various leg positions. I couldn’t visualize 4/11. Any photos?
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Money is named so because his real name is short for Richard. You get me? Yes, this was a bit jargony of a post.
Sorry, I don’t have a picture to illustrate that, but the 4 is made by tucking your ankle under your other knee. So the bent leg looks like the crook of the 4, while the other leg is straight. Does that help?
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I get it! How Rich!
Thanks for describing the 4/11 leg position.
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😉 😉 🙂
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her royal highness? I love all the joking!
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Correct, and thank you, Beth! 🙂
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It stood out to me plain as day … you need to gather all your material together for a stand-up comedy routine. There’s no doubt in my mind that you can pull off the delivery – you’re doing it in class. You’ll make a fortune! Do it!!
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You’re the third person to tell me I should do stand-up. First one to say I should do it about Jiu-Jitsu, though. Not sure how the JJ stories would go over in a crowd of non-practitioners, but I guess you all somehow manage to get past the jargon.
How about I write a book about it instead? 🙂
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Third time’s the charm. 🙂 And no. Go live. Live dangerously! I’m sure a segment on JJ within all else would go over just fine. I know nothing about JJ, and I’m laughing at your posts. There’s a delivery and facial expressions … and I can feel it in my gut that you could pull it off. My first impressions of you are that you are fearless!
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Want to know one of my biggest fears, Maddie? Public speaking. I’ve done it. I’ve survived, but stand-up would be a different animal. I’ve made people laugh in my speeches. I hope that counts, ’cause, giiiiiiiiirrrrlllll…
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LOL! I get it. I used to do training classes and sometimes speak in front of the entire company. At first it was nerve-wracking, but like anything else, it became easier with time. And yes, it counts that you’ve made people laugh in your speeches. 🙂
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Phew! Absolved! 🙂
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“Had me rolling”–ha! Love it!
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You would, you punster, you. 🙂
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HRH is also the station code for the Horsham railway station in town of Horsham in West Sussex (that’s in the UK). Not sure why you want to name her after a railway station …
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Lol.
Andrew is the winner, everyone!
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I’m going to guess Her Royal Highness – I have a weird feeling I’m way off though! Always a lot of laughs on this page, Betsy. Keep them coming 🙂
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It seems the fact that I made it so easy is throwing people off! 😛 Sorry, but you are correct! 🙂
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Oh nice! 🙂
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Her rolling hips (meant to be a compliment) and your story with her was my favorite!
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“Her rolling hips” is superb! I’m going to use that. She’ll love it. And thank you for liking my favorite story the best. 🙂
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HRH means his or her royal highness. I personally have no experience being in a situation where I might need to say it, but you cannot be too prepared when it comes to knowing British trivia. 👑
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No truer words, AB. 🙂
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Her Royal Highness (I’m British by marriage) 😉
Hey man, it’s always good to have your lawyer all picked out. Just in case… (That was my favorite story, by the way.)
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“British my marriage.” That’s brilliant! And thank you for enjoying the lawyer story. I had no idea Malcolm could be funny, so the surprise of it made it that much better. 🙂
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I love your nicknames for everyone, Betsy. It sounds like the “named” like them too. Lots of laughs in your class. Is that true of all classes? Or just yours? Hehe
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Undoubtedly, there’s fun, and probably laughs, in all of Instructor’s classes. That’s just how he is. 🙂
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I just love the banter and the bond you all have together and I bet your crew loves it when you ask your questions. It’s fun that you all feel safe with each other to pick up unattended phones to leave selfie gifts behind.
Ok, I just have to ask, what does turtling mean? I have my definition and just wanna make sure it’s the same as yours. If so, it makes your post even more interesting!
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Yes, this crew is amazing. I still need to write about the time “Pink” and I were discussing nail polish colors one moment, and a moment later, as we were grappling, I paused to note how hilarious it was that we’d just been having a pleasant conversation and were now actively trying to hurt each other. Jiu-Jitsu is bizarre, but darned if it isn’t a blast also. 😛
Thanks for asking about turtling. I never know if people want me to get into it or just leave the terms as is. Turtling is when you’re kneeling on the mat with your arms and legs tucked in tightly and your head down so it’s hard for your opponent to catch a limb or neck to attack. But there is a way to loosen them, as Instructor showed, and there are multiple chokes you can do from there. Chokes are generally my go-to, so I’m glad I know roughly ten variations, three from turtle. 🙂
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Ba ha ha, definitely not the turtling I had in my mind. 😂😂😂 This makes so much more sense now.
You’ll have to share more about the Pink incident. I love it. It’s hilarious as you said.
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Okay, so now, dare I ask what kind of turtling you had in mind, Ab? 😛
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Hi – I am guessing “her royal highness”
and congrats on the book…. sounds really interesting
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This was Prior (smile)
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You are correct, and thanks!
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