Energy levels falling, rapidly!

Normally coming in late for class is something I hate to do but this time its unavoidable and I really want to get a lesson in seeing as I’ve missed so much time lately.

As I sneak onto the mats late and in the final stages of warm-up, my instructor Renato, a former pro surfer, calls out to me in his strong accent, “Oss! The blue belt returns. We thought you went missing once you got promoted!”

The blue belt blues was a joke that went around our style of martial art that so many people drop out once they reach blue belt that they caught the blues.

“Sorry, Renato. I’ve been super caught up with everything lately,” I say as a way of apologising for my absence lately.

“Ahh, it’s ok. It happens,” he replies with his typical laid-back Brazilian attitude.

I drop in with the rest of the people training and quickly catch up on the push-ups and sit-ups they have started.

With the lesson proper started Renato then begins by pairing me up with a person I have never seen around the gym before. If she’d been here before I most certainly would have noticed she’s very attractive. The girl seems in her early twenties and dark tanned like someone of South American origin but with the fine narrow eyes of someone from Asia. She’s dressed in casual work out gear consisting of a t-shirt and small athletic shorts combo. Tonight’s class is what’s known as no-gi so I can’t see any sign of her rank and guess that she must be new and possibly on her first lesson. The fact she seems a little bigger than other girls makes me think she might be doing this to lose a little bit of weight.

“I’ll get you to train with Natty tonight,” Renato says as he introduces us. It’s not unusual to get one for one of the more advanced guys to train with a beginner at the start. It helps prevent injuries on less experienced people.

I introduce myself and notice a similar sort of sounding accent as Renato confirming my suspicions of Brazilian origin about her.

The lesson plan for today's class is a series of three slightly more difficult submissions in an escalating sequence and then a counter and reversal to the techniques. Natty for her part seems to pick it up quite quickly and is able to do the moves with only the slightest amount of instructions on my part. Also, being body on body with her doing the drills I can see what I thought might be a little extra weight is actually some well-developed muscle that’s hidden by her top.

Techniques over we go into the live sparring portion of the class. I ask Natty if she wants to try it and she agrees. I tell her, “just do what you feel comfortable with and see where it takes you. I’ll go easy.”

She smirks a little at this and says, “Ok you do that.”

From the second the round begins and we slap hands, Natty comes out and sweeps me perfectly and immediately comes at me with some very well executed techniques. I am instantly on the defensive and have to use every single bit of my skill and strength to avoid her beating me quickly. Still, she is way too good for me and submits me repeatedly over and over before the round comes to a close. She is clearly no beginner and an extremely good grappler and I haven’t been to class in way too long and have lost a lot of my fitness.

Laughing I thank her for the round and going easy on me and go to swap out partners so she can roll with someone more her level. Renato sees me doing this and calls out to us, “it’s ok. You stay together.”

I get my ass handed to me easily for a further three rounds, my gas tank completely gone, before Renato takes mercy on me and swaps out with me. Exhausted and so sore I watch as even the extremely gifted black belt instructor has trouble with her, each catching and releasing the other more than once.

With the lesson come to an end I’m grabbing a drink near the entrance trying to get my breath and energy back when Renato and Natty come up to me smiling.

“What happened out there Renato? I got murdered!” I tell him with a smile.

“Eeh you should come more and not be late for warm-up. I just been telling everyone Natty is here from Brazil for a fight next week. You know this if you come last month,” Renato tells me with a smile.

“Well best of luck, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble winning. I’d be happy to come along and watch you beat someone else for a change,” I say to Natty.

“Thank you and Renato has the details of my fight. I lot of the gym are coming to watch if you can make it,” she says graciously.

“I’ll be there,” I promise.

Renato then says to me, “You work in club, right? Maybe you can take Natty out to party afterwards? Show her around.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” I admit.

Renato then promises to send me the details of everything online and I bid the two of them farewell and head outside to order another Uber back home. I pull my phone out of my kit bag and see that Holly has replied to my message while I trained. “Only if you’re sticking your cock there instead! Call me.”

I wait till I get back home before calling her.