i was at kickboxing school when, one day after class, some guests arrived. they were from Spain and apparently they had been driving around the metro area trying to find sparring partners for their guys. the problem was that there was a major language barrier...we could not understand the type of sparring they wanted. at one point one of them got into the ring with one of our guys only to realize that that our guy was thinking only of full contact kickboxing...the Spanish guy wasn't wearing gloves or kick pads...so, looking disappointed, they all got out of the ring. they prepared to leave...obviously irritated at the situation. i was confused myself...i didn't have a clue about what they were saying they wanted.

about that time my wife walked in with our baby to pick me up (we only had 1 car at that time)...and i realized that she could translate for us and i told my instructor so...he was and still is a sensei who was proud of his school...he should be...he's the best kickboxing coach in this region. it turned out these guys were looking for full contact groundfighting opponents...the thing was that this was a kickboxing school...i had never seen even 1 groundfight there. when my coach realized what they wanted, he was very disappointed...he hates to turn down a challenge...i was sitting in my favorite spot...it allowed me to have a nice view of the ring, but it was right under an air conditioning vent so i usually sat there with my gi top on in spite of my shirtless tendencies.

i stood and got into the ring and reminded sensei of my groundfighting experience. he said "fine...just don't lose...do your best". my wife told the Spanish guys that they had one opponent. they looked at me carefully...clearly they were sizing me up to choose one of their guys as my opponent. they chose their guy and everyone else got out of the ring. i took a moment to give our kickboxing referee an idea of the rules pertaining to groundfighting. the corner stools were put in and we met in the middle of the ring and smiled at each other. i took my gi top off and stood there in my gym shorts bare chested doing a quick series of flexes. Paco smiled at me and took off his loose fitting sweat shirt to reveal two very nice arms and a tank top shirt.

i frowned and shook my head...he shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't understand my unhappiness...i reached over and plucked at his tank top shirt...he smiled brightly and peeled it off exposing his torso for me. he was totally ripped,... his abs, chest and shoulder muscles stood out like something from a wall chart in an anatomy class...slim, but thickly muscled.

i was ripped myself...road work and sparring in class had my body fat so low it was practically zero. we stood there...2 guys preparing to do battle, one a ripped Spanish guy with his dark Mediterranean skin, the other a ripped but snow white Irish American guy... both of us ignorant as to the others ability. i called to my wife to ask him his style's name. he answered with 2 words that even i understood ..."Gracie Ju-jitsu". it echoed in my head...this system is, without a doubt, THE most effective style of its kind. he was at least as strong as myself and he was in the school every groundfighting fanatic wanted to be in...a style renowned for its toughness and ability to win in the most difficult circumstances.

i looked him in the eyes...he smiled again, knowingly understanding that i had heard of them and respected them...i thought i would lose and he was sure he would win...i decided to heed sensei's words and do my best...no matter what happened...and not be over-confident like my opponent clearly was...after all i was still a mystery to this guy.

so we met in the middle of the ring again...we drew an audience...it turned into something of a macho showdown...we were face to face with chest touching chest...2 young roosters showing off in front of the hens...flexing for all we were worth... 2 ripped chests and 2 sets of 8-pac abs trying their best to look better than the other guy's and feeling the heat of the anticipation of our fight...feeling each other's muscularity through the skin of our chests...we now had to fight because we were equally muscled...fighters...i might have had the edge in muscularity but his darker complexion gave him an edge of his own.

it turned out that one of the Spanish women with their group was his woman, and was, i might add, a shockingly beautiful Spanish woman... very pretty. she made her way to ringside to watch her man fight me.

we decided on a pin or submission fight for only 1 round...which is fine for the first guy to win a fall...it's very easy to lose such a fight...there is a certain amount of luck involved as well as skill.

the bell rang and we approached each other...i was looking for a pure grappling contest and i was shocked when i caught a hard right punch on my nose...blood went all over my face and chest...my nose bleeds easily to begin with and it was a damn good punch too...

i stepped back, bent at the waist and turned to my left...he rushed in (to do something i probably would not like) only to get my right side kick shot into his stomach full blast...he folded up and fell onto the mat for a second, but got quickly back to his feet as i closed on him...i had intended to try to out-wrestle him but instead i gave him 1 of sensei's favorite combos...bouncing my backfist/jab/jab/hook/jab/uppercut combo off his head and following that with a spinning hook sidekick into his 8-pac abs...he fell backwards into a corner. i went with him and hip-tossed him onto the mat...we both fell...i landed on top, but he had his legs around mine from the outside. he was able to get into the "Gracie Guard" position... this position allows the defending fighter a moment to recover from his opponent's offense and he tied me up tight with it...i was in his element now and if i didn't do something quick, he would think of a good way to make me tap out.

we both struggled to get an arm free...and traded hard elbows to the side of each other's head... mine got him on his eyebrow and it bled profusely... his got me on the ear and made my head ring...

this was turning into a far more bloody contest than anyone had expected...my wife and his woman crowded together on the side of the ring we were on...i looked at the women for just a second... i felt both of them cheering her own man on... both wanting her man to be the better fighter that day...

i looked back at my opponent...i felt his body...muscular...wet with sweat and blood... sensuous even in battle...writhing beneath me...struggling against my own body...this was between he and i...the women were not in this fight... the struggle was totally masculine...a battle to be the winner on this occasion at least...

the din of voices was deafening...Spanish and American shouts of encouragement and instruction blending into a general racket...i felt my left elbow seize up in a sneaky joint-lock he had applied...pain shot up my arm so i slammed my other elbow into his nose and broke his hold only to have my bell rung again by another punch bouncing off my head...

this was going to end very suddenly i thought... one of us would prove to be the better man in this time and place... but only in this moment... any future battles would have to take care of themselves...

failed techniques followed in rapid succesion from both of us...i was very tired and winded...and getting weaker...he felt as though he were getting stronger...more confident...we traded failed elbow locks again... he was out-muscling me even though i was on top...his techniques would allow him to beat me...if i gave him more time...

i wasn't wearing a groin cup because i had been doing kata that day...not fighting...he wasn't wearing one either and his cock was hard and erect under my own erection...it was a physical battle to be sure, but it also had a potent sexuality...and both of us were fully aware of it...a primeval battle between 2 warriors...both young...both muscular... both bleeding...both so vital and alive...both leaders...both potent...semi-nude...bare chest to bare chest...locked in battle...clashing in mind, body and sexuality... semi-nude...bare chest to bare chest...pecs, abs, arms, legs and even cocks vying for one moment's advantage to score the win... in full view of their women...

...both unwilling to lose...our struggle became more desperate...continued...but his strength was proving to much for me... i was going to lose to him...he would win fighting him his way... he would win...

i did the only thing i could think of...i put my forearm on the bridge of his nose and ground it into his face...his left arm shot up between us to protect his face...i grabbed his elbow with my right hand...and i twisted my other arm from his grasp...i got his left hand flat on my abs...seized the arm with my other hand and pulled his elbow toward me with all of my strength...hyper-flexing his left wrist with both arms with his hand flat on my stomach...

he grimaced, moaned and tried to slip his hand off my stomach...i tightened it still more...saw his eyes bulge...he endured it for what seemed like minutes...and he reached up and tapped out on my chest...it took me a moment to realize i had won...it had been a totally desperate battle...i had won... i felt his cock twitch against my own when he tapped...i thought then and still believe the sensuality of the fight had made him cum...it had very nearly made me cum too...

we relaxed...i rested chest to chest on him while we both recovered some wind...i rolled off him... we lay resting more...side by side...and we stood up...

the ref raised my arm as the winner...Paco stepped over and hugged me and i hugged him back...fiercely...both of us bleeding...clinging to each other...peacefully...no words were needed.

it may sound strange, but i felt a sudden and masculine love for him...

i had won the fight that day..., but i saw him as my equal...my buddy...and i have a deep and abiding respect for him as such...anyone just seeing the violent part of our encounter wouldn't..., couldn't, understand my affection for him as a fighter, a warrior, an equal and a man...it was about masculinity...not violence...the fight was just the means with which we chose to find out.

it's sad that we never had other such struggles...he certainly would have won some of them......and i certainly would have given him the chance to try...y'know what i mean?

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