Gentle

For the last two nights at the White Belt Jiu-Jitsu class our 23 lesson cycle of lessons was on hold. We pick it up again on Tuesday.

Instead, our instructor showed us variations on the kimura armlock on one night and assorted chokes on the second.

It was great fun, and very interesting. I don't know if I'll be able to retain much of it, but it was sure cool.

For one particularly nasty technique I ended up with a partner who always uses unnecessary muscle. I really was a very painful collar choke thing. I went first and was very gentle. Obviously gentle. Gentle and slow. It was all right in front of his nose. I slowly and deliberately applied the movement for a single centimetre, and his head almost popped off.

When he did it to me, as gentle and slow as I've ever seen him. He doesn't mean to use power; it's just how he's programmed.

We kept switching, and he never over-pressed.

Then the instructor stopped to watch us perform the move. I did it as I had been doing all along, gentle and slow, and the instructor announced it perfect.

My partner's turn, and he reverted. It was nasty, but I was ready and tapped quickly.

Until then he'd been doing the technique as well as I had. No praise from the instructor when he added muscle back in.

Again, I don't think he'd meant to do it. His brain must have decided, "Teacher watching...must do well...strength equals good...must use strength..."

He did it worse, and if I were one of the little people of the class I might have been hurt.

He had it right for a while.

There's hope for him yet.