Karina

by <[email protected]>

Last Sunday I had a private match with Karina, of Tempest Wrestling Club in NYC. This was my first wrestling match of this type, so I really didn't know what to expect. Well. . . it was an amazing experience! My memory of the match itself is sort of a blur of images and sensations, so I can't give a linear description, but I'll share the points that stick out in my mind. Please excuse the stream-of-consciousness style. The experience, being as much physical as mental, didn't lend itself well to a tight narrative style.

I made the arrangements by e-mail with Lisa, who runs Tempest. I had asked for a taller woman, preferably 5'10" or taller, and Lisa made a couple of suggestions, one of which was Karina. She sent me a picture, but asked me not to distribute it (Don't ask me to). She looked beautiful - it was an easy choice.

The day of the match, Lisa told me to go to a public phone at a specific corner, in the East 20's. From there I called her and she gave me directions to the apartment. She buzzed me in and I walked up a couple flights of stairs. Being from outside the city and, as I said, never having done anything like this before, I was more than a little nervous. The building was a little like something you'd see in NYPD Blue. I was soon at the top and Lisa opened the door and let me in.

I found myself in the small living room of an apartment. The floor was almost entirely covered by a blue wrestling mat, except for a futon-type couch at the far end and a small area of bare floor by the door, with a small table and chair. Lisa invited me in and offered me some ice water, we chatted a little about the weather. She asked me to take off my shoes before walking on the mat and said to take a seat on the couch while she went to get Karina. I asked if I should get changed and she said Karina and I should talk a little to get to know each other first.

I sat down, still half wondering what the hell I was doing there. It seemed pretty surreal to me. Then Karina came in. Wearing only a simple black bra and white cotton panties. It was a little hard to act cool at that point, but I managed to keep my jaw off the floor and stood up to shake her hand. She put her picture to shame. She's an absolutely gorgeous blonde, shoulder-length, straight hair, 6' tall and about 160 lbs (as she later told me). She has a trim, athletic body, but none of that body-builder look that turns me off (no offense to anyone who feels otherwise).

We sat down on the couch to chat. I noticed a slight accent and she told me that she is from Norway. We talked for a few minutes, comparing the places we came from, what we do for a living, etc. She was so nice that I stopped being nervous and felt comfortable almost immediately. She asked what kind of match I wanted and I didn't really know what to tell her, since I hadn't done it before, and she said we'd figure it out as we went along. After a little while she suggested that I get changed and I went into a small bathroom off the living room.

I changed into a pair of shorts, came out, and we got started. Here's where my account gets muddled, so bear with me.

I can't describe the feeling of standing on the mat, squaring off against this beautiful woman wearing nothing but her underwear. All I can say is, if you possibly can, TRY IT!

At the beginning, we started each fall standing. I quickly found out that she has great upper body strength. The falls usually started with me moving in on her, and the two of us sort of hand-fighting for position. She easily held me off with that, so I'd have to rush in to get a hold of her. She was very hard to move. I tried to grab her leg to take her down, but that was usually futile. We usually struggled like that for a fairly long time (the main reason my arms ached so much for days after) until one of us managed to trip the other.

In the first fall we went to the mat and she got control of me pretty quickly. She was fast and strong. I had a very large weight advantage over her, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. Before I even knew what was happening she was behind me and locked her forearm across my throat in a choke hold. After a second or so she pushed her other forearm against the back of my neck. I was still able to breathe, but it felt like something in my throat was collapsing. Most unpleasant. Somehow, though, I managed to work my way out of it. Eventually I managed to get her on her back and laid on top of her, holding her wrists down at the sides of her head. Once I was on top of her, there wasn't much she could do because of the large weight difference. I held her there for a couple seconds until it was clear that she was pinned. She gave me a big grin as I got off of her. What a smile! I was in heaven.

I'd say we split the take-downs. I remember one in particular in which I went for a side headlock and she ducked like lightning, got behind me and dumped me on my face. Another time I got the headlock and hip-tossed her to the mat, maintaining the headlock as we went down. On the mat, I hooked her leg and got her in a cradle pin. Again, my weight on her chest was too much for her to move. I think that was about the only easy pin I got.

Another memorable take-down occurred when I managed to get behind her and lock my arms around her waist. I tried to lift her up into a reverse bear hug, thinking I could get a submission, but I could never hold her up long enough to apply any pressure. Eventually I sort of spun her around and tossed her to the floor. Unfortunately, the room was small and there was a brick fireplace on one wall, right against the mats. She almost hit her head on it. After that, I suggested we start on our knees.

Karina's favorite hold seemed to be a grapevine pin. Numerous times, she got me on my back, forced my arms down and, as I struggled to raise them, I'd feel her legs snake around mine and pull them apart. Whenever she got that locked in, I was done, and it happened often. We had agreed on 5-count pins. I'll never forget the vision of that beautiful face looking down into my eyes, always with a slight smile, counting slowly to five. She'd drawl out the last count slightly and grin wide. Never thought a number could be that exciting.

We talked a little after each fall. She was a joy, extremely friendly. She made me feel very comfortable. Whether she won or lost a fall, she was just as great afterwards. She had the same smile on her face while I was counting to five as she did when it was her on top.

She told me at the end that she thought I had won more falls than her. It seemed about even to me. Especially towards the end, she was pretty much in control. She had great stamina and I don't, so she didn't seem tired until the very end of the match.

She pinned me several times, usually with full-body, grapevine pins. She also got a couple school-boy pins, but most of the time I could buck her off from that position. I got some pins on her, most of which were just laying on top of her and letting my weight hold her down. I did get her in a cross-body pin once, with one arm trapped between my legs and the other pinned with both hands. Alot of times I would get her on her back and be unable to force both arms down to the mat. She would lock her legs around my waist and hold me off so that I couldn't get my weight over her. After failing at several such pin attempts, I tried moving in closer to her, so that her legs raised in the air and her own weight shifted over her shoulders. That got me a pin.

We forced each other to submit quite a few times, as well. She caught me in numerous choke holds. A few times I worked my way out, but a couple I had to submit to. One in particular, late in the match, she got my throat in the angle of her elbow and really clamped down. That was the only time I felt like I lost control of myself- my mind started to panic. I managed to calm down, trying to pry her arm away. Each time I made progress, however, she tightened it back down and that animal sort of "fight or flight" instinct would kick in. It didn't take long before that instinct won out and I gave up.

She also made me submit with a headscissors. I was on my hands and knees, with her in front of me, sort of bent over my back, trying to turn me over. For some reason, I got the idea that I could escape by moving forward, between her legs. I didn't get far. Her thighs clamped around the sides of my head and she rolled onto her side, pulling me with her. I vividly remember hearing the skin of her ankles brushing together as she locked them. Then she straightened her legs.

Never having experienced this before, I had always tried to imagine what a headscissors would feel like. I imagined it sort of like a splittling headache. It wasn't like that at all, though. I really wouldn't call it pain- more like an intense pressure. Pain or not, I very much wanted it to stop. I pushed at her thighs with everything I had, trying to pop my head out. It worked a little, but not much. She tightened down again and my pushing stopped. I lay there for a while (probably a second, felt like minutes), enduring it. I didn't want to submit, but I REALLY wanted that pressure to stop. I started pushing again and gained a slight amount. Once again, she poured it on and I went limp. Karina grabbed one of my arms and held it behind me. I was done for and surrendered.

I lay on the mat for a little while after that one. Karina helpfully explained that it hadn't been a good idea to stick my head between her legs. I told her that I had figured that out.

She also beat me with a stomach scissors. She got her legs around my stomach and forced me to the mat, face down. I had also wondered what this would feel like and had never actually believed that a stomach scissors could be very effective. I soon found out. She held me there for a second, then locked her ankles and quickly straightened her legs. I think I groaned out loud. Again, it wasn't pain, but just a crushing feeling. Again, I REALLY wanted it to stop. There wasn't really any thought of escaping, this time. I lay there for a couple seconds until my brain registered that there was an easy way out and I gave up.

I rolled out from between her legs and muttered something lame about how strong her legs are. She told me that she runs alot. I said something else lame about how that didn't surprise me. It's hard to be a conversationalist after a beautiful woman has just squeezed you into submission by crushing your belly with her legs.

I got my share of submissions, as well. The first time, I got her down on her belly and sat on her back. I grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. I was almost surprised when she gave up. I also felt pretty guilty. Despite the fact that she had been happily choking me into submission a few moments before, my instincts still told me "you don't hurt women." I think I apologized every time I made her submit. She was great about it. I asked if I had been too rough, said we hadn't talked about what was acceptable. She said not to worry about it, as long as we stopped as soon as one of us gave up we'd be fine.

With that in mind, I happily gained a few other submissions, although I still felt a twinge of guilt after each one. For the second one, I got her in the same position, but I wrapped my arm under her chin and pulled back. She gave pretty quickly. I think it was after that one that she complimented me on all the holds I knew, especially having never wrestled before. I didn't explain about the wonderful education I have received from this newsgroup.

Another submission came when I had her back on the mat and was kneeling between her legs. She had again locked them around my waist to keep me from bringing my weight to bear for the pin. I got a brilliant idea and let go of her arms, quickly hooking her legs. I bent them forward into a matchbook pin. She gave up. After I let her up, she explained that she had felt a twinge in her back.

The only other time I remember her submitting was to a stomach scissors. She was down around my legs, I remembered that she had done it to me, so I went for it. I got my legs around her and forced her to the mat, face down. I remembered to lock my ankles and then I straightened my legs. This was another of those surreal moments. It felt very strange doing this to her. After a couple seconds she gave up. I lifted my top leg off her, but she laid on top of my other leg for a little while. When she got up, she seemed a little winded and told me that I have strong legs, too.

We wrestled for an hour, stopping for thirty seconds or so between each fall, sometimes getting drinks of ice water. She frequently asked me if I was all right- I must have looked pretty bad. By the end, I was more tired than I remember ever being before. I felt as though I could barely lift my arms- they were almost shaking. Karina didn't show any signs of tiring until near the end and, even then, she wasn't breathing very hard. At about an hour we got up for a drink and she asked me if I wanted one more. If I wasn't so tired I would have thought to say "Well, if you twist my arm. . ." See my prior comments about conversationalism in this situation.

The final fall was all hers. In pure strength, she was stronger than me to begin with. I think It was only my weight advantage that let me be competitive. By this time, I was no match for her. I rolled around for awhile, trying to evade her. Inevitably, she got a hold of me, forced me onto my back and drove my arms to the mat on either side of my head. She laid her full weight on me in a full-body pin, looking down into my eyes as she counted me out. I don't think she even bothered with the grapevine- I couldn't even struggle. I got my last close-up look at that beautiful smile, heard one more time that magical number: ". . .Fiiiive." Her weight lifted off of me. She stood up and towered over me for a second as I lay spread-eagled on the mat. Then it was over.

I struggled up off the mat and we both had another drink. I thanked her, told her what a great time I had had. She let me use the bathroom first to get changed. When I came out, Karina and Lisa were talking. Karina went in to shower and Lisa showed me her portfolio of wrestlers. When I left, I was in a happy sort of daze. (The pain started later that night.)

I have to say, this was one of the best experiences of my life. I'm glad that I finally made the decision to do it and I highly recommend it to anyone who's thinking about it. I especially recommend Karina.

Hope you enjoyed this account. Sorry it was so long. I wanted to get as many of these memories down as possible before it all blurs.

Tom