Category Archives: Jiu Jitsu

Dec10

Rolling with Surfer Dude

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

The class started, as usual, with Mrs. Instructor and me partnering together. Also, as usual, we struggled to remember the moves. I’m generally inclined to watch other groups and try to figure it out from them, but Mrs. Instructor is, for some strange reason, NOT afraid of the instructor, as though she’s perfectly comfortable with him or something.

“I’m raising my hand,” she said.

Fiiiiinnneee.

Instructor joined us, but then Surfer Dude (SD) arrived, so Instructor helped his wife and assigned SD to me. That was all good.

Then Instructor introduced our next move, a “bear roll.”

You reach one hand through the other person’s knees, the other hand under their back, grab their wrist with both hands, get a strong stance, bend, lift, flip. Voila!

I looked at SD with one eyebrow raised.

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Dec5

Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any crazier

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any crazier

Who am I kidding? I never thought that.

Anyway, heading home one day, passing the house on the corner, which I pass every time I leave or come home, a guy walking toward the front door half turned to look my way as I drove by.

Whoa, I thought. That guy looks a lot like the guitarist from Surfer Dude and Blue Belt’s band.

Nah, couldn’t be.

But then… right build, right height, right hair, right half of face I saw as he turned (actually it was the left side), though I was across the street and driving by quickly…

His bandmates call him “Subie” because he drives a Subaru, and I have admired that beautiful blue car in the driveway every time I see it, even once thinking, “Hey, a Subaru, like Subie.”

The similarities were enough for me to reach out to Blue Belt as soon as I pulled into my driveway.

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Nov26

Fun with Photoshop

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Not photoshopped: Here I am with four of my Jiu-Jitsu friends at a going away party for Tess (middle).

Since Tess’s departure to the other side of the country, I’ve had a running gag going in our JJ Ladies text group, frequently implying that Tess will be present at whatever get-together we plan.

I’ll say things like, “Tess, when does your flight arrive? I’ll pick you up.”

I used it recently when trying to plan a karaoke night. When we moved the date, I wrote: “Tess, I hope you can avoid a change of flight fee.”

Then it was, “Who wants to join Tess and me at karaoke?”

This made Tess laugh and “Pink” say, “I love how you keep sneaking Tess in there.”

Karaoke night never came to fruition, but that didn’t stop me from having a little fun.

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Nov23

Bonus features!

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Here are some follow-ups to previous posts.

After the one about Mrs. Instructor, she let me know she hasn’t subscribed to my blog because

Awwwhhhh… My very own stalker. Just what I always wanted.

After my Sensei goes to Singapore post, (dang, I should’ve called it that!) Ju-Lyn and I were talking about the visit. I wrote:

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Nov15

Rolling with Instructor

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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I discovered this in my drafts folder from August.

The below is from July 3, and it took about a year to scroll to find it. Apparently Mrs. Instructor and I chat a lot. Mine is the writing in purple.

More recently, I wrote to her, “Uncontrollable loud sustained laughter during a wall drill with Instructor. Super embarrassing.”

Her: What happened?

Me: I don’t know! I just couldn’t stop!

Her: lol

Me another day:

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Oct31

Wake me up when September ends. -Green Day

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Wake me up when September ends. -Green Day

I could also call this “My birthday month, Part 2… No, really!”

Yes, I know it’s nearly November. I’m behind at life. Also, I must clear Mrs. Instructor’s name by stating that she was in no way demanding I post my stories about her. Unlike her predecessors, Chex Mix Guy and Sensei, she has not become an attention monster. You know who else hasn’t? Surfer Dude. He knows full well about this blog and has never, to my knowledge, checked out what I’ve written about him. Wouldn’t you think he’d at least be curious? Amazing.

Okay. On with the pics, etc.

When we last saw our intrepid heroes, Heather, Neighbor, and Ilsa planned a coffee date do-over, this time at a joint called Archer’s Arrow, totally chosen by me for the name alone.

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Oct22

Alright, alright, already!

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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I received this message a little bit ago:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ilsa.png

First of all, aren’t you a subscriber so you get notified when there IS something here and don’t need to keep checking? (Take note, all of you.)

Second, I’ve been swamped with work and authorly stuff, like bio, acknowledgements, finding other authors to write blurbs, etc. [Check, check, and check, but those were the easy items.]

Third, this means I’ve been ignoring all other blogs, and I feel guilty when I post here but don’t visit others.

But the above message is what I get for telling Mrs. Instructor I had a post waiting in the wings called “The One About Mrs. Instructor.” Some people just love seeing their name in ~~lights~~ blogs. So, without further ado…

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Sep24

Meh.

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Warning: I chronicle my Jiu-Jitsu Journey here. This is a low moment post. If you’re not in the mood to be brought down, just skip to the end.

I wasn’t in the best frame of mind when I arrived for Jiu-Jitsu. Because of other life stressors, my normal place of refuge has lost its euphoria. But I’m trying to push through.

I showed up for a mini-Reflex Development class, where Master Cycle students are encouraged to help the Combatives students. Instructor seemed glad I was there and eager for me to assist him in demonstrating the moves.

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Sep10

And they’re back!

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Ilsa Rey

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Okay, friends. After lulling you into a false sense of security with posts related to baking, beeping, and random food pics, I’m bringing Jiu-Jitsu back in force! (I just heard Mrs. Instructor quietly say, “Yay.”)

In a recent class, Instructor used the Combatives Belt Kid (CBK) as his demo partner. I thought of telling CBK later, “Hey, man, good for you. What an honor.”

But in last night’s class, Instructor used me as his demo partner, so I now realize it’s a matter of who’s sitting closest or randomly makes eye contact, rather than a matter of skill. [Note to self: Sit far away and avoid eye contact as though Instructor is Kaa from The Jungle Book or the basilisk from Harry Potter.]

Being demo partner in Master Cycle is frightening. Thankfully, the moves here are sort of a crap shoot. Some are ridiculously complicated, but a lot are really quite simple when you get down to it.