Aug31

The Lawyer Saga (A Jiu-Jitsu story, not real life)

Posted on August 31, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

I’ve had this running gag with Lawyer about me ignoring him. It started months ago when I looked past him to instead greet Balloon Man, whom I hadn’t seen in forever. I apologized to Lawyer for–his words–shunning him, explaining I’d already seen him plenty of times. He acted too offended to forgive.

I’m shocked I have a picture of this incident from so long ago. Balloon Man, L, looks like, “Why is this woman speaking to me? What is she even talking about?” Lawyer, middle, is like, “Uh, I’m standing here too, Ilsa!” Wish I could remember what was actually being said.

Then there was the time we were all waiting at the mat for class to begin. I called Lawyer’s name, then looked up and away as soon as he turned toward me, which made him laugh.

Another time, I waved to Lawyer before class started. He ignored me. Finally he saw me and stepped toward me. “I waved and you shunned me,” I said. He apologized and extended a fist. I bumped it and said, “Now we’re even.”

“No, we’re not,” he said.

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Aug26

Beating up my Jiu-Jitsu training partners–on accident!

Posted on August 26, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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Beating up my Jiu-Jitsu training partners–on accident!

Whoa! Another post already? I know, but I’ve got gobs of stories waiting to get written up.

Remember that time I elbowed Her Royal Highness in the head right in front of her husband, the instructor? (Probably not, but that’s okay.) That incident didn’t go over well. “If she has bruises, that reflects poorly on me,” he said.

More recently I was caught slightly slapping Thoughtful One in the face.

“Slap his shoulders, not his face,” Instructor… instructed.

“He just has a perfectly slappable face,” I quipped.

“I don’t think so,” Instructor said. “I wouldn’t want to slap him in the face.”

“Me neither!” I blurted quickly as he walked away.

I later told HRH about this incident. She assured me Instructor knew I was being sarcastic as he is too. I had yet to see that play out.

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Aug23

Saturday morning Jiu-Jitsu

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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Her Royal Highness (HRH) letting me know I’d be flying solo.

She kept me company while I got ready for class then…

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Aug18

Much ado about writing

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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My apologies to those who are only into this blog for the Jiu-Jitsu, all two of you.

I’m finally breathing again now that I’ve turned in my final draft of Wish YOU Were Here, the sequel to Wish I Was Here. I’ve also been sewing together pieces of Book 3, Wish We Weren’t Here, and reviewing audiobook drafts of Book 1.

I had plenty of time to work on Book 2 and wasn’t stressing it much, thinking it would be a cinch. But when it comes to editing, knowledge isn’t power, it’s added frustration.

Some things are simple to correct. You don’t need “very,” “really,” “even,” just,” and oftentimes “that.” I eliminated those. They are just really very much unneeded. I’m not sure how they got in there in the first place, aside from me writing like a normal human.

Same goes for filler words such as, “There was/were” and “It was/were.” An example: “There was no one around” becomes “No one was around.”

Another tip: You don’t need “and then.” One or the other will do.

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Aug1

And so it happened

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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We knew the day was coming, but knowing in advance didn’t make its arrival any easier.

The New Girls, Blonde and Brunette, officially joined Master Cycle. That meant Instructor split Her Royal Highness and me up to partner with the lower belts.

That I should be considered a “higher belt” is ironic, but here we are.

I was with Brunette for what was her first MC class, and it went fine, from my perspective. The challenges are old hat to me, but later I got a text from her saying she wanted to cry after class.

And so I talked her down, much like HRH had done for me, telling her it would all be okay, eventually.

Being the elegant lady that I am, I described it thus: “I know it’s rough going from top dog in Combatives to little puppy not yet potty trained in Master Cycle” and explained it’s tough for all of us, but everyone is so kind and helpful.

And so the Ilsa has become the HRH, though I don’t think Her Royal Highness has ever wet the mat.

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Jul28

Back to our regularly scheduled program

Posted on July 28, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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In other words, I went back to Jiu-Jitsu Saturday morning after my surgery on Monday. The doctor had warned, “Nothing more than a stationary bike. Don’t get your blood pressure up.”

I don’t have a stationary bike, so I basically got slothful for several days. Feeling my muscles shrink and my stomach sag, I at least did a set of push-ups Friday. My nose throbbed afterward, however.

Oh well. It’s been too long since I’d Jiu-Jitsued it up, so I donned my gi and fresh nose Band-Aids and headed to the mixed beginner (Combatives) and advanced (Master Cycle) class.

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Jul23

Ilsa gets a nose job

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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I had basal cell carcinoma on the side of my nose, which required Moh’s surgery, where they slice it out layer by layer, taking 60-90 minutes between cuts to biopsy what they removed until the tumor is gone. I knew this would be a long day, so I packed food, water, and my laptop, looking forward to a quiet writing retreat.

Here’s what actually happened.

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Jul19

It’s been far too long since I’ve given you…

Posted on July 19, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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It’s been far too long since I’ve given you…

Surfer Dude stories! (I can hear your applause from here.)

Instructor and HRH were on a family camping trip one Saturday morning, so Surfer Dude (SD) taught Jiu-Jitsu. Toward the end, Smiley Guy asked SD what to do if someone gets their head out from under your leg (#onlyinJiuJitsu). SD showed it once, but class was over, so we didn’t practice that.

Rolling time, and I was with SD. At one point, he pushed my leg off from over his head, so I immediately pressed his chest back down with my other thigh, as he’d just shown.

“Oh-ho!” he said, eyebrows raised.

Later, I was standing, pondering how to get past his legs as he was in what I’ll call dead-bug position. Suddenly, his face brightened (uh-oh), he sat up, and pushed me over backward.

“Hey! That’s cheating,” I said. We both laughed. The timer rang, and he fist bumped me. “Good job,” he said.

I was practicing another day with SD when he said something along the lines of, “You can’t keep a good man down.”

“Oh, so since you just got out from the bottom of my side mount, you’re a good man, huh?” I said.

“I didn’t even think of that. You’re the one who made the connection.”

“Oooh, look at me. I’m Surfer Dude. I’m so great,” I said in my most obnoxious voice.

“Is that what I sound like in your head?”

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Jul8

The New Girls

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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When I returned to Jiu-Jitsu in January after the broken foot, there were two new women in the Combatives (beginner) class. Since they were unknown to me, they were scary. Nevertheless, I asked one to take that picture of me with HRH on my first night back.

On a Saturday seminar, one of them—I’ll super inventively call her “Blonde”—was my partner. Once you partner with someone, the camaraderie is born. All level of discomfort disappears.

Now both new ladies are my friends. Along with HRH and Little Sister, we went out to tacos on a Tuesday after a joint Combatives/Master Cycle class. I’ve also been on a group text with the two of them. It makes me laugh to think how “scary” they were initially.

Blonde has since made it to Master Cycle. We partnered together on a Tuesday where we only do instruction for the first half of class, followed by rolls. I often like to use this time drilling what we’d learned, hoping it will help cement the new techniques in my mind.

Instructor doesn’t favor this approach.

He walked toward us and, not looking at me, asked Blonde if she wanted to drill or roll.

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Jul1

Rey Road Rip, part 3

Posted on July 1, 2026 by Ilsa Rey

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The last leg of our journey was to my sister’s house near Cleveland. Once again, all the nearby relatives descended. We made Hungarian kielbasa from my grandfather’s meat grinder and sausage press–intestinal casings and all. If this grosses you out, please scroll quickly.