Can't Rush Love (MMA AU Georges St-Pierre X OFMC)

Prologue

Misha

Phuket, Thailand

"Does anyone over there have any wrestling experience?" Asks a loud voice from the pro side. My ear perks up and I slap my baby sister, Marina. She and I raise gloved hands and the older Thai man waves us over. I look to our current instructor who nods eagerly to us and shoo's us towards him. We bow, take off our gloves and head over to where they seem to be grappling. I step over to the side of the mats to remove my Thai shorts, leaving me in my tight black compression shorts. My sister, who wears leggings, takes a knee at the sideline. I sat beside her.

"What's your name?" Asks the instructor.

"Misha Martel. And this is my little sister, Marina." I offer. The instructor nods his head and then calls someone forward.

"Georges! Come over here. You and Misha are going to demonstrate." I have to take several long moments to process that Georges St-Pierre stands up from the crowd and comes over. "Wrestler?" Asks the instructor, pointing at my cauliflower ear.

"Yes coach." I replied. He pulls us to the center of the mat and has us square off.

"Ok. This is actually a great example of why superior technique beats raw power, okay? Misha, Georges is going to attempt to take you down. I want you to respond and take his back but pause before you throw." He then lowers his arm and bows, gesturing for us to begin. I got into my wrestling stance, much lower than the upright Muay Thai stance I had been developing. I take a long, deep breath in and out and stay calm, back foot planted with my heel raised, right foot flat and forward, but light. Georges has a similar stance, and he moves around side to side a bit. I wait to see him spring forward. He feints once, twice, three times but I follow his body with my eyes, and on the fourth, he isn't feinting. He shoots forward and low, but I plant my palms on the top of his shoulders and shove his head down as hard as I can while throwing my hips back, sprawling out over him. I then lean forward, swinging my legs while keeping my hips to his side, circling his side and take his back. I manage to wrap both arms around him, hands locked at the bottom of his sternum. I keep a good bend in my knees and prepare to throw him but I pause, waiting for the next instruction. The instructor is making some points, commenting on our forms. I barely heard him while I was working.

"Beautiful, Misha. Can you break that down for us slowly and explain what you are doing?" The instructor asks. I nod once, flattered by the praise. I unlink my hands and bump fists and bow with Georges. He smiles beautifully. He lights up the room without realizing it.

"I'm impressed." He winks, pulling my arm a bit to reposition us in the center of the room. I need to take another moment to calm myself back down from the smolder he just sent my way. I reset my stance and when he shoots, I feel him pause, holding my weight easily as I sprawl down, not pressing down my body weight yet. I stay balanced over my hips.

"If he can't get my legs, he has to drive through a lot to continue the takedown attempt. So, I sprawl here. Notice where I put my hands." I make some space so everyone can see my hands firmly planted at the tops of his shoulders. "I wanna prevent that from happening so I'm gonna grind him into the mats as best I can." I now drop my hips and shoulders simultaneously, shrugging him down onto the floor. I put one arm under his armpit and started walking my legs sideways. "Secure your seatbelt here to hold them where you want them, and start moving sideways. Keep your body tight to your opponent so they don't have space to escape. Once you have your left leg clear of his hips, just turn your hips over and square up." I take his back, arms now locked around his waist. "From here, I can throw." I explain, "But for me, I'm gonna need momentum to move Georges, since he's a few classes up from me." I joke, earning a laugh.