I didn’t mean to. He likes to draw the adult observers into the lesson, like he did one of the moms. I think he thinks they might get interested and sign up. She couldn’t break out of his headlock.
He asked me if I thought I could break a headlock, and I said I could. I threw him, broke his headlock, put him in a headlock, and then held him in spite of his best efforts for a minute or two until I let him go.
He was embarrassed and angry, but he could have tapped. I didn’t do anything else, I just held the lock. I was just giving him a chance to figure it out. Normally in jujitsu class, if you don’t tap and keep struggling it’s a sign that you want to continue trying. I’d have let him up at once if he’d tapped out, or otherwise asked.
Oh, well. He literally asked me for it.
He'll live.
ReplyDeleteI once did something similar, but not because I was so skillful. In college, in a non-collegiate karate dojo, our sensei was demonstrating a throw, using me as his dummy. He made his move, and in my clumsiness, I stepped on his foot, which put me off balance, but not the way he intended. Unbalanced, I hung onto him (as is typical, we started with each of us gripping the other's gi)--trying to regain my balance, not to counter his throw--continued to fall, and with his foot pinned, I threw him.
He was embarrassed, but all I'd done--accidentally--was demonstrate the danger of amateurs relative to professionals. Amateurs are too random.
Eric Hines
George Silver makes a similar point about amateur fighters.
DeleteThe odds of someone in the audience being a jujitsu expert are small. But small doesn't mean nonexistent.
ReplyDeleteI guess you never know who might walk in your door. It’s a kind of reversal of Havamal 1.
DeleteHe'll re-gruntle and be the wiser for it. Be fun to visit his dojo next year ...
ReplyDeleteIf he were really angry, he is losing an opportunity- so many useful lessons, both for him and the audience.
ReplyDeleteOne can learn the most from someone who is more skilled.
It is good to learn that there is always a faster gun, no matter who you are.
ReplyDelete