I watched intently as the two forty something year olds rolled across the mat. Stephanie was trying to wear her opponent out, but the other woman showed no sign of tiring. I wasn’t keeping track of he time, however based on the amount of sweat I noticed on Steph’s back I figured they had been going at it for at least ten minutes. The other woman’s husband walked along the edge of the mat occasionally blocking my view as he moved all around. I was seated on the weight bench in the room and saw no benefit from moving around to watch the two experienced fighters go at it. He didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t remember his name from the introduction, but I wanted to tell him that no amount of moving around would help his wife in the struggle.
Steph had one arm around the back of the other woman’s neck and the other under her thigh and she worked at bringing her hands together. If she did, she’d fold the other woman up like a paper bag and squeeze the air out of her. The other woman twisted her her lower body and she rolled Steph over. I heard a whoosh of air come from deep in Steph’s lungs as she was rolled on to her back by the other woman. Maybe she’d loose this one, but she fought hard and managed to roll over again and break free from other woman. They separated and both got to their feet. The other woman put her hands on her knees as the two fighters briefly rested.
The guy walking around the boundary of the mat said something to his wife and she held her hand up signaling him to keep quiet. How embarrassing I thought. Stephanie shot me a quick smile and then took a step towards her opponent. The woman straightened up and as she dit, Steph dropped to one knee, grabbed the other woman’s thigh and lifted. The woman lost her balance, fell back, and Steph got on top of her. Hands to wrists, elbows to shoulders, and thighs wrapped together. The both breathed heavily as the match continued.
There was not punching or kicking, no hair pulling or anything trashy. These were woman who wanted to compete and prove to themselves and each other who was better. I had watched Stephanie fight many times over the last eleven years and her secret was safe with me. My wife had no idea that Steph fought other women and she certainly had no idea that I was with her When she did. Stephanie and I were friends, but that’s it. My wife and I had helped her through her divorce some seven or eight years ago and as far as my wife knew, we were just good friends from work. And we were. I knew my boundaries and had no interest in Steph other than keeping her secret safe and keeping her safe when she met women or couples.
A leg came up with the meaty part of the calf catching Stephanie under the chin. The woman pulled hard with her leg and bent Steph back. She tumbled past the woman’s mid section and the woman wrapped her legs around Stephanie’s neck. “Squeeze,” her husband softly said. I looked at this guy wondering what he thought. I was pretty obvious to everyone in the room that his wife was going to squeeze the hell out of Stephanie’s neck. And squeeze she did. Steph dug her heels into the mat, pushed back and managed to lift the woman’s legs and lower body off the ground. She spun and pulled her head free as the woman landed on her stomach. Steph climbed on to her back and got an arm under the woman and onto her neck.
