Page 96 of 4th Degree

With a final burst of energy, Skylar scissors her legs and knocks the girl onto her back. And when she scrambles on top of her to get the dominant mount position, the ref holds up six fingers just as the match ends.

Our team erupts with cheers around the mat. Skylar quickly climbs off her opponent, and then helps her up. Once on her feet, she sucks in a big breath before letting it out with a stuttered exhale. She’s too tired to smile when the ref holds up her hand in victory.

Her steps drag as she makes her way off the mat. She’s barely reached me before I’ve twisted the cap off her water and lifted it to her lips for another drink. She looks in shock, like she can’t fully comprehend what’s happening.

“She’s got five minutes before her finals match,” comes the official’s voice from beside us.

Jesus, fuck. That’s barely even a break.

I turn my attention back to Skylar. She’s shaking from muscle overexertion, and she seems too overwhelmed to be able to focus on specific instructions. So I focus on cheering her on instead.

“Hear that? You just made it to the finals. How’s that for your first jiu-jitsu tournament?”

She smiles up at me, but it’s tremulous.

She’s still shaking, and I want like hell to make it stop. Without a single thought about how this might look, I grab her arm so I can push up the sleeve of her gi jacket and start to massage her forearm muscles.

“Listen to me, I want you to leave everything on the mat during this next match,” I tell her, my hands never stopping the motions on her arm. Slowly, her shaking slows, and I switch to the other arm. “I need you to get that takedown early so you can focus on staying on top and racking up points. It’ll be way less tiring that way.”

She gives me a jerky nod.

“You can do this, Skylar,” I tell her, relieved when her eyes focus on me. “One more match, and then you’re done. This is it. This is the one that counts.”

A pause, and then another nod, this one with more determination. I let out a breath at the sight of it.

“Skylar Vega and Emily Samson, for the finals,” comes the ref’s voice.

“Let’s go, Skylar, you got this!!” Jax shouts from the sidelines. “For the gold, baby!”

Skylar shakes hands with her new opponent, and right before the ref starts the match, I watch her take a deep breath.

“Come on, Skylar, last one!” I yell in encouragement.

Another deep breath in, but this time, it’s followed by her shooting forward to grab onto her opponent’s lapel.

“Atta girl, get a grip on her,” I call out. “Let’s try to take her down now.”

She tries, I know she does. But she’s tired, and this girl is heavier. It doesn’t take her very long to manhandle Skylar to the mat.

Skylar quickly locks her legs around the girl’s waist, though. She’s not deterred by the fact that she’s now down two points, only a minute into the match.

“Get control of her body, Skylar. Grab her neck, her arm, something.”

Somehow, she manages to get two hands on the girl’s arm.

“There you go.” My voice rises in pitch, excitement roiling in my stomach as a submission slowly comes into view. “Lock up that armbar, Skylar.”

It’s like watching a How To Do An Armbar training video. Step by step, she sets up the submission. And with every movement, her opponent’s expression becomes more and more worried.

Skylar swings her leg around to lock it into place. And her hips press against the girl’s elbow to force the tap.

The next thirty seconds happen in slow motion. I feel frozen in place, watching everything unfold, unable to do anything about it.

In jiu-jitsu, submissions shouldn’t be painful. They simulate a choke, or an arm crank, or a leg crank, but the whole point of the sport is to tap out when you feel the pressure of it, before it turns into an actual choke or break. It’s the threat of violence, not the practice of it.

But in a competition, where the adrenaline is high and everything is happening at warp speed, sometimes that instinct to tap out disappears.

The second Skylar’s opponent feels pressure on her elbow from the submission, her expression explodes into panic. And I watch in horror as her reaction becomes that of a cornered animal trying to physically fight their way out.

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