 |
| This is a guard position. Picture was taken at a seminar at Morse School of Isshinryu held during the summer. BFF Teri is digging her elbows into her partner’s groin so she can get up and run away. |
I went to CrossFit, last Saturday morning, to take part in an "open mat, wrestling, judo, mixed martial arts thing." I don't think that's the formal name, but it's what Craig called it last week when I asked him about all the guys wearing boxing gloves in the balcony.
The wrestling/ground-work portion was...uncomfortable. This was only the third time I've worked on fighting moves from the ground. Typically, in the seminars I've attended, ground moves were taught as something to avoid or something you removed yourself from as quickly as possible. As Sensei Morse once said, "Karateka work best on their feet."
I'm proud to say, I didn't giggle at all during the wrestling portion. Well, I hardly giggled. I like to think this is a reflection of my growth as a martial artist and a person.
One of the first things we did was the guard position. My opponent was between my thighs, leaning over top of me, with his weight on his forearms. We switched up partners and positions; so I got to be on top and bottom. I also got to try it with everyone.
It was, at the risk of being redundant, uncomfortable. The guard position, particularly when I was on bottom, made me feel vulnerable. I don’t generally enjoy touching or being touched. So, being close to someone is usually enough to make me want to scream and run away. This touching involved having some strange dude lying between my legs. It took all my will power not to scratch and bite my way out from under him.
When we started moving into different choke holds, which involved sliding around under each other and wrapping our legs around our partners’ necks, it became easier to overlook my discomfort. It was even fun. But, a few snorts and giggles slipped out when someone's groin or butt got near my face.
"You OK?"
Snort...giggle. "I'm fine." Giggle, choke, snort. "It's cool...I'm cool."
I’m maturing as a martial artist. I didn’t say I was a mature martial artist.
