Wrestling with PJ
CHAPTER TWO
(I headed to my canoe adrenaline and dopamine pumping through my veins in equal amounts. I put on my swimming brief, and started for the hill taking deep breaths to calm down.)
Wrestling is a contest of physical domination. But there's another aspect. Wrestlers know what I mean. There's also mental domination. That battle can be filled with reversals, but when it's won, the physical victory usually isn't far behind. As I neared the hill PJ stood calmly, rotating his neck and shoulders and limbering his arms without losing eye contact. The mental domination was in full swing, and he was winning.
I stepped onto the soft damp moss. The high Sun on our dark tans accentuated how cut we were. Kenny was squirming near the matted edge. PJ interlaced his fingers, palms out, stretched his arms full-length, yoga-like, and then motioned for me to meet him. We began feeling each other out with a series of hand slaps, pushes, shoves, and attempted takedowns. I was rusty. He was a well oiled machine from his carnival matches. I was all serious business! We locked up collar and elbow and he hip tossed me to the ground. He stood over me smiling, offering me a hand up. He tossed me again, this time smiling at his brother. He feinted in then backed off. Placing his hands on hips, he took my measure along with several deep breaths. Why did I feel he was the cat and I was the mouse? We went to ground again. There was a flurry of activity, we scrambled apart, regaining our feet and immediately locked up. He broke it off. Did he just slap my face? It was stinging! and he was grinning. He did it again and danced out of my reach. He was lightening fast. More ground wrestling. There were furious, but failed attempts to gain the advantage. He was better at take downs, but I figured our ground game was about the same. We stood up and paced back and forth a bit thinking about our next moves.
He looked at this brother sitting on the edge.
"Kenny, sit over there. This might get wild."
His friendly smile vanished as he began stalking me. That's when all Hell broke loose. I was flipped to the moss again in a fireman's carry. As I was getting up, he disappeared behind me, his arms circled my neck and one arm. I managed to regain my feet flailing in his modified sleeper. He buckled my knees and forced me into a sitting position. With his arms now around my neck, his legs began searching for my waist. We rolled repeatedly. He took his time now, slowly, methodically, like a python gaining more and more control. It took a few minutes before I was completely helpless. His arms applying a modified sleeper and his legs coiled around my body.
He savored my helplessness while I made futile attempts to escape. After a while I stopped the useless struggle. I was about to tap, when he unexpectedly relaxed his hold. In a playful tone he said, "It's over, unless you want to go again for double or nothing. How about it? Double or nothing?"
Kenny was yelling, "You got him!" He rolled me a couple more times until we were positioned side by side. "Come on, let's do it. The fish aren't biting." PJ roiled his muscles applying a brief moment of minor pain while I thought. He did it again unable to resist another moment of sadistic pleasure. "Still thinking?"
"Kenny, Do you want me to go for double or nothing? If I loose, you can kiss your five dollars goodbye."
"Do it.!" Kenny squirmed with excitement.
"What do you say, Mike?"
I wasn't convinced that PJ was that much better than me, and my competitive juices were no where near exhausted. Why the Hell not. I didn't like losing, but like he said, the fish weren't biting either. "How about two out of three?"
PJ released me after a final squeeze. "That works for me" and then added, "I said I wouldn't hurt you,"
I frowned. "Yeah, no pain just shame. How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
I shook my head. It had taken this teenager less than ten minutes to deflate my 21 year old ego. And he was right, I hadn't felt any real pain. I was pretty sure PJ was playing me in order to win more money, but despite my bruised pride, I was having a great time.
PJ sat up. "Let's take a break",
"Sure. Do you have anything to drink?" I needed time to think.
"Kenny, Can you go to the truck again and get us a couple waters?"
"Yes sir," he said cheerfully and was off. By the time he returned we knew each other's high school wrestling stats.
Kenny eventually returned. "What took you so long bro?"
He held up his phone. "I had a call. Can I make a video?"
"You'll have to ask Mike. It's up to him."
"Kenny, Can I get a copy?"
PJ answered for him. "No problem, Mike. I want one, too. I've got ton of me free styling, but only a couple of me winning submission matches." Again, that unblinking gaze with only a hint of a smack talking smile.
We were equal in strength and our skill level was nearly even as long as I kept him on the ground. Both of us were instinctively aggressors. That might work to my advantage if he was overconfident. He was faster than me, but only because I was rusty. His endurance might be better than mine, but endurance was the key. My best chance was to tire him out and hope he'd make a careless mistake.
"PJ," Kenny asked, "Can we go swimming before you start?"
PJ exhaled slowly, "Kenny, You have to !"
Kenny finished the sentence. "I know, I know, I have to ask Mike."
In five minutes we were tossing Kenny around letting him dive off our shoulders. After that we settled down on the bank and drank our waters in silence, watching Kenny collect rocks. Usually silence bothers me when I'm around others, but PJ was so comfortable in his own skin, I was surprised at how easily I relaxed and enjoyed the lack of conversation. Even Kenny didn't talk.
We finished the waters watching Kenny build a rock pyramid at the shoreline. I had my plan. "What do you say, time for double or nothing?"
He looked at me. "Let's give Khufu a few more minutes."
Back on the moss we faced each other.. "You've got 10 minutes."
I didn't understand. "What do you mean, ten minutes?"
He pointed at Kenny with the phone. "Ten minutes before I go for a submission. He has to have something to video."
PJ was way too overconfident. Another light slap. This time I returned the favor. PJ tried for a single leg takedown. I danced away. Another attempt at a slap. I dodged it. He had given me a gift of ten minutes to wear him out. I was feeling better about my chances. He went for double leg takedown without success. We locked up several more times with him putting on a show for Kenny. PJ didn't seem intent on ending this soon. I took him to ground and after a brief struggle I had him in an arm bar which was an easy submission. I gave it a couple of painful jerks to prove y point before releasing it. I rolled away grinning. "Tell me when the ten minutes are up." He made a thumb up gesture, acknowledging my gift I had just given him. Finally, I had earned a little of his respect.
We were in the standing position when he tapped his wrist three times. I nodded, and both of us got serious. But now I had a plan. I made several attempts at a head lock. I faked another attempt, then ducked down under his guard scooping him up in a bearhug. For a brief moment I was back in 6th grade at the top of the gym rope lingering a little too long before touching the ceiling. You can't bearhug someone your own size into submission. But it can be frustrating. No one likes the helpless feeling even if it doesn't hurt much especially if people are watching. I held it a long time, varying the positions from high to low, shaking, lifting, and bending him. I wasn't wasting too much energy doing it. At last, I threw him to the ground and backed away. His cocky expression said it all.
I asked, "Do you think you can do better?" I raised my arms inviting him to try.
"Seriously?"
"I'm serious." and raised my arms higher.
Kenny started shouting again, "Do it PJ, Do It!"
PJ slowly circled his arms around my ribs and rested his chin on my shoulder. What came next was a total ferocious, all out attack. He thrashed me around like a crocodile ambushing a zebra at a water hole. He tossed me in the air catching me lower around the waist, his head now under my arm. I was being whipped side to side. Then it was back to my rib cage toppling us to the ground rolling me, all the time squeezing. It hurt, but it was more frightening than anything else. He dragged me to my feet and repeated the attack. This time before plunging us to the moss, he moved his grip over to my left kidney then slammed us to the ground.. If he had done it again I might have submitted. But instead he rearranged his grip so that he was behind me with his fist in my stomach. He took us back to our feet shaking me like a rag doll. Off to the side I heard a voice shouting, "Harder. Squeeze him harder!" He began throwing me to the moss Greco-Roman style. I was completely disoriented. He turned me around and went back to applying a frontal bearhug allowing me to regain my mental equilibrium. For several minutes he put all his energy into the various hugs I had used. He bent me backwards until my shoulders were almost touching the moss.. Then he changed his grip until his locked hands were over my left kidney again. But lactose was flooding his biceps and lats, gradually weakening him and this time I managed to trip him and we just toppled to the ground. I wouldn't let him stand me up. It was only when he moved his grip higher around my ribs that I let him drag me to my feet. He laid his head on my chest again and worked the hold from there. He pounded me into the ground for a second time. This time I managed to roll him onto his back. I cupped my hands behind his head and pulled his face into my chest making it difficult for him to breathe. We ground wrestled for a while to no advantage. He broke off and got to his feet taking deep breaths. I jumped up and went after him while he was still sucking wind. This was my chance.
I took him down, topping him like the famous Greek statue, "The Wrestlers" on the Delphi uniforms. and began twisting his arm behind his back. I shoved his face into the moss, then straddled his back forcing his arm higher and higher until it was almost above his shoulder blade. He groaned in agony. Music to my ears! "Give it up". No answer. I had him, but I didn't want to dislocate his shoulder. I inched the arm up slowly, very slowly. "Give it up." I said again. I looked at Kenny who had stopped videoing and was crying softly. "Kenny, tell your brother to give."
I returned to PJ. "Say it!! You know I'll win the third fall by default if you don't." I was all but pleading with him. He gritted his teeth, his eyes shining brightly. Finally he started pounding the ground rapidly with his free hand. I let go instantly, relieved that it was over.
TO BE CONTINUED
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