My wife stood bent slightly at the waist resting her hands on her knees. She was trying to catch her breath as was the dark haired woman who stood across from her. Both were perspiring as they seemed to calculate their next move. The gray interlocking mat that was on the floor had separated in a few spots and the woman’s husband quickly worked to reconnect the sections that were askew. They had wrestled for almost ten minutes and had each had tapped out once. The woman began removing her top and my wife did the same. This is what I was hoping to see and I’m sure the dark haired woman’s husband had the same thought. Let me back up and start from the beginning to explain how we got to this point.
So, how does a 40 year old professional woman manage to meet other women who like to wrestle? I don’t know either, but my wife seems to do so at least once or twice a year. I’m not sure how she met the dark haired woman, but flew to another city, rented a car and hotel, in order to meet this woman at her home. My wife had her address and the GPS in the rental car led us to a lovely home on a large piece of property. A man with a friendly smile opened the front door to the home before we rang the bell and he invited us inside. He introduced himself and led us to a spacious room where the furniture had been neatly moved to the perimeter of the room. A gray mat covered the floor and it was clear to me that the woman my wife was about to meet must compete on a regular basis.
A dark haired woman entered the room and greeted my wife like they had been friends for a long time. They chatted while the woman’s husband and I stood in awkward silence. The dark haired woman was somewhat heavier than my wife and maybe a few years younger, but I didn’t think their size or age differences would be an issue. Jewelry and shoes were quickly shed and both women stepped on to the mat barefoot, dressed in shorts and tops. The smiles that were present during the brief greeting were gone. The business at hand was definitely serious.
They met in the center of the mat and with an explosion of energy they started. Hands to shoulders and hips were moved back and forth quickly as they spun around each other. Two pairs of well planted feet tried support a war of arms and hands that furiously tried to bring the battle to the ground. The dark haired woman was just as experienced as my wife and both avoided hip tosses and leg entanglements. They separated for a few seconds and my attention was drawn to the floor to ceiling windows that were behind me. The windows overlooked a large back yard and pool. The sound of flesh landing on the soft mat pulled my attention back to what I was there for. Both women exchanged positions on the mat so quickly I couldn’t keep track. Like a ball bouncing down a flight of concrete steps my wife rolled the younger dark haired woman on to her back and lifted the woman’s legs into the air. She drove herself in between the stunned woman’s legs and curled her leg around the inside of the other woman’s leg. She leaned into the woman’s upper thigh while fending off the woman’s hans. The woman tapped out quickly and my wife released her brilliant hold.
Both women returned to the center of the mat and began again. The dark haired woman dropped to her knees and changed the dynamic of the contest. After several unsuccessful attempts at overpowering her opponent while standing, my wife resorted to meeting the other woman on her knees. Their upper bodies collided and arms were so efficiently knotted together that I couldn’t tell what hand belonged to which lady. Again, they rolled over and over one another. Through their straining they managed to touch every square foot of the matted floor. These were tenured players in private wars and neither showed signs of letting up. The dark haired woman’s husband had to push the ball of twisted women back on to the mat as they almost rolled into the windows. The push, whether appropriate or not, resulted in my wife on her back with her own weight trapping one of her arms underneath her. The dark haired woman got both legs around my wife’s torso and squeezed. She pulled my at my wife’s free arm until my wife’s hand tapped the mat. The dark haired woman released the painful hold and both ladies took time getting to their feet.
The dark haired woman was first to remove her top and my wife did the same. Both women were well proportioned and clearly were ready to move their wrestling contest to the next level. The dark haired woman moved to the center of the mat, however my wife didn’t move. My wife slowly removed her shorts and flicked them to the edge of the mat. There was another awkward pause. I wasn’t sure what to think, but all eyes were on the dark haired woman. She turned and walked towards the edge of the mat. When she stepped off the mat I figured their contest was over and that my wife’s bold move was outside of the other woman’s comfort zone. With her back to the rest of us the dark haired woman leaned against the wall and removed her shorts and underwear.
