The Average American Couple
By Beaten Man   replies to humbled@abeatenman.com 
Joe and Nina fight it out to save their marriage


Joe and Nina DiNardo were a typical American suburban couple. They could have
been the couple next door or down the street. They could have even been you or
I.

There was, however, one big difference between the DiNardo's and other
suburban American couples. The DiNardo's were standing in the middle of a
perfectly circular, ten foot in diameter, room. The walls and floors were
completely padded and the door was locked. The room was located in a secluded
building in the Florida keys. The building was part of a small complex owned
by the University of Miami and operated by its school of Psychiatry.

That was unusual enough, but not the reason they were different from other
couples. The big difference between the DiNardo's and the rest of us? Other
than the pair of briefs, the padded head gear and the lightly padded gloves
they each had on they were naked. What's more, they were about to have a knock
down drag out fight to the finish.

The stakes? Their marriage.

How Joe and Nina, the "average American couple", found themselves in this
situation is really where this story begins.

The DiNardo's had raised three children in a four bedroom two bath home in a
typical suburban development. He drove a gas guzzling SUV and she drove a
station wagon. When the kids were younger they were active in the PTA and
participated in most school events. She prepared cupcakes for the bake sales
and he coached the kids in T-Ball and in rag football. They really were the
average American family.

They had been married for twenty four years and both were now forty two years
old. The youngest of their three children was eighteen and had just left for
college. He was attending Pepperdine University on a baseball scholarship and
was the last of their children to move out of the nest. Their middle child was
a senior at UCLA and their oldest was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army, serving a
one year assignment in Germany.

Joe was an Ad executive for a Public Relations firm and commuted to and from
the same job for the past sixteen years. Nina had re-entered the work force
eight years ago and was now a legal secretary for a large law firm with
offices in the area they lived in. Prior to going back to work Nina had been a
stay at home mother but with three kids getting to be college age they needed
the extra money. Now with two finished and the third on a scholarship they
were quite comfortable with their two incomes.

They both had sedentary office jobs and neither was what you would call a
physical fitness buff. They weren't in bad shape, they just weren't athletes.
To Joe and Nina exercise was a weekend game of golf or a little tennis at the
neighborhood courts. They did belong to the neighborhood LA Fitness Gym and
each of them would go in about once a week for a light workout or perhaps the
occasional step aerobics class. They were of average fitness for a couple just
entering middle age.

Joe stood 5' 11" and weighed in at 185 pounds. Nina was 5' 7". and she weighed
a trim 145 pounds. They both were of average build with average musculature ,
though Nina's figure was the envy of the other forty year old women in the
neighborhood. She was a still firm 37-24-36 and did a marvelous job of filling
out a bikini. Her legs looked like they could have belonged to a woman twenty
years younger. They both watched their weight and kept the midriff bulge to a
minimum. The tennis that they both enjoyed kept their arms trim and their
muscles firm. She was a blue eyed blond, fond of wearing her shoulder length
hair in a ponytail, while Joe had crew cut brown hair and matching brown eyes.

As for their sex life, that was average too. Like most of us they started out
screwing like bunnies and then slowly over a period of time settled into a
comfortable routine. Now they were a once a week couple and had been so for
over ten years.

Like a lot of average couples their lives began to change as the kids grew up
and moved out of the house. With less time spent on family interactions and
responsibilities came more time for the development of each individual's
outside interests, They began to drift apart and found they had less in
common. They also began to argue frequently, usually over the most trivial of
subjects. Nina would complain about Joe's shoes being left in the living room
or his choice of pizza toppings. Joe would get upset with dinner being early
or late, with Nina's job and even her hair style. Eventually they came to a
point where almost everything caused an argument. Their marriage after twenty
four years was in trouble.

The DiNardo's, as many average couples do when their marriage is threatened,
decided to give counseling a chance. After listening to the recommendations of
friends and family they settled on Dr. Franz Oppenhurst,. a renowned
psychiatrist who had demonstrated a great deal of success counseling South
Florida couples with similar marital problems. Dr. Oppenhurst had developed a
course of physical therapies especially designed for just the sort of problems
Joe and Nina were suffering from.

The counseling began in the traditional manner. The doctor listened as the
couple aired their grievances in a series of two hour sessions. In the
beginning Dr. Oppenhurst asked very few questions and made no suggestions
other than to urge complete honesty from the couple. As he listened he began
to develop a theory of what was really bothering them. It wasn't pizza
toppings or hair styles. It was much more basic and had been brewing for
years. it would require radical treatment.

The problem the Doctor encountered was typical. Nina was earning as much money
as Joe and was as much the bread winner as he was. She resented being
relegated to housewife status now that the kids were grown and no longer
needed a mother at home. She felt every bit as much entitled to the same
respect as Joe enjoyed. She saw no reason that housework was her job and not
shared equally by the two of them. Joe, on the other hand, resented his wife's
new found spirit of independence. He felt housework was a woman's job and if
Nina couldn't handle both a full time job and the household chores she should
give up her job. He preferred his dinner on time and his wife home when he got
there to the extra money Nina was earning. After all, a woman's place is in
the home, isn't it?

In the simplest of terms, Joe was an old fashioned man and Nina was a modern
woman. Something would have to give if their marriage was to survive.

Dr. Oppenhurst asked one question of Joe. Why did he feel he was entitled to
be the bread winner while Nina stayed home and kept the house. Joe replied
that he was the man, bigger and stronger and better able to provide than his
smaller and weaker wife.

The doctor then wanted to know how Nina felt about what Joe had said..

First of all, Nina began, just being smaller doesn't make me weaker. Second of
all the housework requires a lot more physical strength than either of our
jobs. After twenty four years of doing all the work around the house I'll bet
I'm a lot stronger than Joe is anyway. If strength is his criteria I should be
the one with the job.

Joe was incredulous. "You can't seriously believe that you are as strong as I
am'' he said. That's just ridiculous. Why not? Nina replied. Just because
you're a man is no reason to assume you're any stronger than me. You might
have been when we were both eighteen but a lot has probably changed since
then.

The doctor interrupted them with another question, . Do you ever feel like
your spouse could use a good spanking, he asked. them both. At first they both
denied ever thinking of striking or punishing the other. But then under closer
questioning they each finally admitted that they had often thought of
administering a little "tough love" to their spouse. Nina thought Joe could
use an attitude adjustment while Joe thought Nina might benefit from a little
husbandly laying down of the law.

By this time the couple was arguing back and forth as they debated who it was
that could use a little punishment and who it was that should be administering
it.

Dr. Oppenhurst stopped the debate cold in it's tracks with his diagnosis and
suggested treatment. The doctor had seen this sort of problem before, it was
really quite common.

Joe refused to accept Nina as an equal based solely on his pre-conceived
notion that males should be dominant. Nina, on the other hand, saw no reason
that she should not be considered Joe's equal simply because she was a female.
She resented being the second class citizen in the relationship as Joe fought
to protect his preferred status.

The problem arose from how they each went about projecting their points of
view. Joe based his status as the head of the household by claiming to be the
stronger of the two, simply insisting that he was, offering no proof at all to
back his claim. Nina disputed her second class status, but she too failed to
offer any proof of her equality other than her own opinion.

The doctor proposed that they fight until one or the other of them was ready
to admit to being the physically weaker party in the relationship. The doctor
reasoned that if one party or the other could prove their position beyond a
shadow of a doubt the other party would accept the outcome. Since neither of
them had any formal training in any sort of martial art or had ever had a real
fight, neither of them had any advantage of training. A fight between them,
properly set up, would be a true test of strength and endurance.

Whoever emerged victorious would be unquestionably the stronger party. Once
that had been determined they should have no problem dividing up
responsibilities and sorting out their relationship.

Of course both Joe and Nina at first had a slew of objections to this sort of
"therapy'. Someone could be badly hurt or disfigured. How could they strike
one another when they were supposed to be in love with each other?

Dr. Oppenhurst patiently explained that every precaution would be taken to
insure that there would be no injuries. As far as hitting someone you loved.
Hadn't they ever struck their children? Didn't they love them? The real
question, the doctor said, was whether they loved each other enough to take a
few risks to save their relationship. Joe should be man enough to be willing
to prove that he was stronger and Nina should be woman enough to accept the
results if she was proven physically inferior. On the other hand Nina deserved
the right to prove that perhaps she was not inferior and Joe should be man
enough to accept those results if that were the case. Either way there was
only one way to find out.

Though they both had objections that they voiced to the doctor, they also both
secretly harbored a desire for just this sort of confrontation. Joe had long
felt that his wife was getting to big for her britches and needed to be put in
her place. Like a lot of husbands the only reason he had never given in to the
desire to hit her was the legal and social consequences that followed such an
act. What the doctor proposed actually fit right in with what he would have
liked to have done for years. He had every reason to be confident of emerging
victorious with little effort. He was bigger and stronger. he was the male. If
Nina would agree he would actually be quite happy to accommodate her.

As for Nina, she too had long thought that her old fashioned husband needed to
be taken down a peg or two. What right did he have to feeling physically
superior to her? She could drive a golf ball just as far as him and usually
won their tennis matches. Maybe he was bigger but she felt every bit as
strong, if not stronger than her husband. She was itching to prove her worth
and if Joe would agree to a fight she would be happy to give him one.

One by one the doctor overcame their objections and within an hour of his
first suggesting that they fight they had both agreed. Reservations were made
for the couple at a special facility the University maintained in the Florida
keys.

The facility was called the Retreat and appeared to be a typical resort. The
rooms were set up just as any other motel room might be. There was a pool, a
bar and a restaurant all overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There were, however,
some big differences between the Retreat and other area resorts.

For one, their were no children allowed, it was couples only. For another it
had a separate facility containing ten circular padded rooms. The rooms had no
furniture or windows, just a door that locked from the inside. Even the door
was padded. Upon entering the room each couple was given protective head gear
that would prevent injury to the eyes, nose, cheek bones and mouth. They were
also given lightly padded gloves that allowed full use of the hands and
fingers while protecting the hand from injury. Other than a pair of stretch
briefs each person wore to protect his or her groin area the couple was naked.

The purpose of these rooms was extremely basic. Providing a safe and private
venue for couples to air out their grievances with one another by fighting.
The rules were simple. No biting and no blows, kicks or holds to the groin.
Otherwise the couples were on their own to fight it out to a finish. When one
or the other was ready to concede defeat the fight was over. They then could
use the facilities of the resort for the remainder of the two days they were
there.

One of these circular rooms was where Joe and Nina DiNardo now found
themselves, two weeks to the day since Dr. Oppenhurst first laid out his plan
of "therapy'. They each had on a pair of stretch briefs, the protective head
gear and a pair of gloves. The door was locked and they were alone. Their
fight was about to begin.

Now that they found themselves alone and face to face they weren't sure how to
start. They stood staring at each other wondering what to do next. Joe broke
the silence by giving Nina a last chance to surrender before he hurt her. Give
up this foolishness now, before you get hurt, and we can enjoy a quiet weekend
he said.

His cavalier remark was just the impetus Nina needed to overcome any last
minute reservations she may have had about fighting her spouse. Why don't you
give up instead Nina replied, That way I won't have to kick your ass and you
can save your dumb male ego.

It's not my ego that'll take a beating, it's you Joe shot back as he raised
his fists. Just remember that I love you he added. I love you too Nina replied
as she too raised her fists. As for who's going to take a beating, why don't
we just let our fists decide and cut the trash talk , she added.

As they began to circle one another in the tiny room Joe became aware that, in
spite of his brave talk, he really had no idea how to fight. He felt certain
that he would prevail but at the moment didn't have the slightest idea of how
to begin. Nina resolved his confusion by throwing a punch at his unprotected
stomach. The punch surprised Joe with its force. the wind was knocked out of
him and he doubled over. Nina's second punch, to his padded chin, sent him
stumbling back against the wall.

Now you're going to get it he roared as he rushed back at her with his fists
flying. His first punch struck her on the forehead and his second caught her
in the stomach. Nina, unlike Joe, had been very careful over the years to keep
her stomach well conditioned.. She had been religious in her daily use of an
ab roller over the last ten years. She barely felt the punch to the stomach
and began punching back at his mid section.

Now that the ice had been broken and they had actually struck one another
their hesitation melted. They stood in the center of the padded room and
exchanged a series of vicious punches. Nina's flew into Joe's stomach as he
returned his over her extended arms to her padded head.

Back and forth they punched, harder and harder as they warmed to the action.
In spite of the air conditioned environment they both began to sweat from the
unaccustomed exertion. Within five minutes they were both breathing in gasps
as they continued slugging it out toe to toe. Nina's breasts swayed from side
to side as she punched at Joe's chest, stomach and arms. Joe's face grimaced
as he threw punch after punch at his wife's padded face and at her shoulders.
Both combatants felt their biceps and back muscles swell from the exertion of
the non-stop punching.

Joe was astounded that his smaller wife was not only standing in and taking
the punishment, but was fighting back like a tigress, throwing hard punches
into his aching middle. As her non-stop punches to his body continued he began
slowly giving ground.. Nina was too consumed with throwing her own punches to
even think about the situation., doggedly she pushed forward continuing to
throw haymakers at her husbands middle as he retreated.

As Joe's back touched the wall he reached around Nina's punches and grasped
her arms. He then pushed her straight back until she slammed into the opposite
wall.. Nina hit the wall hard and fell back towards Joe. Joe grabbed her
around the head and rolled her over his hip. They both hit the floor with Joe
on top holding Nina's head in a headlock. Give up he said, you're not getting
out of this, Nina grunted an obscenity as she struggled under him to get her
breath back and ease the pressure on her head.

Nina got an arm around Joe's back and shoulder and pulled him backwards until
he rolled over her. Now her head was on his chest and his back was on the
ground.. He still had her in a headlock but she was now able to punch at his
exposed side. Joe released her head and shoved her off of him. As she fell
back he dove for her and the two of them began rolling around on the floor as
they grasped each others arms.. While they rolled they gasped for air and
grunted with their efforts..

Nina managed to capture Joe's head, winding up laying on her side with Joe's
head across it. Now that the tables were turned it was her turn to demand a
surrender. Give up Joe, you're sweating like a pig and breathing as if your
lungs are about to burst. Screw you, Joe said as he pushed himself to his feet
with Nina hanging on to her headlock.

When he got to his feet he pushed against Nina's chin until she was forced to
release the headlock. As soon as she did Joe threw a hard punch right at
Nina's padded chin. Her head snapped back and she stumbled backwards. Joe then
caught her with a looping left on her padded cheek. Nina's blonde ponytail
whipped around as her head turned to her left with the force of Joe's punch .
His third punch caught her low on her belt line and she dropped to the floor
on all fours. Then she rolled to her side.

God damn it! Will you give up now, Joe shouted from above her. He watched her
struggle unsteadily to her feet and stumble back.

This isn't over by a long shot Joe, I came in here expecting to get hit. You
know me well enough to know I wouldn't quit this easily. How about you, are
you ready to admit that the only reason you're trying to get me to quit is
because you've had enough.

The two of them stood glaring at each other and gulped for air. Their arms and
legs were weary and their bodies ached. Though he had just knocked his wife
down the look of fierce determination in her eyes gave Joe pause for concern.
He had already felt the force of her punches and was in no hurry to feel them
again.

Nina, in spite of her brave words, was not at all sure if she could take much
more. She had never been in a fight in her life. She had no way of knowing how
much her ability to both absorb punishment and dish it out had affected Joe.
She couldn't see the doubt that was creeping into her husbands head.

Joe, on the other hand was beginning to feel a bit of panic. He knew that she
had bested him in the early going and that only wrestling her to the ground
had saved him from humiliation.

They both knew two things. They both knew the fight wasn't ove and they both
knew that quitting was not an option, the stakes were to high, Wearily they
raised their arms and advanced on each other.

Nina had not tried punching to the head yet so as she advanced she started
throwing looping punches at Joe;s padded head. As her punches sailed in to his
head Joe punched back at Nina's exposed mid section. Joe's punches bounced
harmlessly off her tight middle as hers thudded in to his face. Joe's head
swiveled first left and then right as the two punches landed. He momentarily
lost sight of his wife as his head spun to the side. Nina then drove two hard
left right combinations into Joe's exposed ribs. Joe gasped as the air rushed
out of him and his arms dropped to his side. Nina's next punch caught him
square on the chest and Joe sat down hard.

At first Nina was shocked that she'd actually put Joe down, she just stood
there staring down at him with her eyes wide and her fists in front of her
chest. Joe stared back up at her in horror. They had been fighting for fifteen
minutes and he was on his ass with his wife towering over him. He could see
her chest heaving as the sweat dripped from her onto the floor next to him.

He scrambled quickly to his feet before his shocked wife could even begin to
ask him if he wanted to quit. Now that she had knocked him down, and defeat
was a real possibility, he was actually afraid to hear the words. He roared at
her and rushed straight forward with his arms in front of him. He grabbed her
shoulders and tried to drive her backwards into the wall as he had done before
when he was hurt.. This time Nina punched at his face between his arms as he
pushed her backwards. By the time her back hit the wall she had landed three
hard punches to Joe's chin.

Nina pushed back against the woozy Joe's chest and he stumbled backwards on
unsteady legs. She advanced on him as he shuffled back throwing punches at his
face. Two more landed on Joe's padded chin and he fell back against the wall.
She caught up to him against the wall and began pounding at his stomach. As
her punches drove into his stomach Joe slumped forward and tried to grab his
wife. Nina stepped back and Joe pitched forward. As he fell forward Nina
delivered a crushing right to his nose. In spite of the padding blood spurted
out as Joe fell face down on the padded floor.

Joe lay motionless on the floor. From above him he heard his wife demand his
surrender. Desperately he tried to push himself off the floor. He succeeded in
getting to his knees but the room was spinning and he again fell forward to
the floor. If you're not quitting get up his wife hollered. Joe again pushed
to his hands and knees and again fell forward..

Nina sat down on his back and grabbed his chin with both hands. She began
pulling Joe's head up forcing his back to arch in a way it was not designed
to. He screamed in pain and beat his hand against the floor. Give up she again
demanded as she relaxed the pressure. Please, you're breaking my back, Joe
managed to gasp between clenched teeth. Nina again pulled up on his chin and
again Joe howled in pain.

I give up Joe screamed as the pain in his back reached an unbearable
intensity. I quit, I quit, just please let me go, he pleaded. Nina released
his chin and Joe's head fell back to the floor. She sat on Joe's back as he
moaned beneath her unable to grasp the fact that she'd won. She had actually
beaten her husband in a fair fight to the point he was begging to surrender.
I'm not sure who was more surprised, Joe or Nina.

As the fact of her victory slowly sank in Nina stood and rolled Joe over on
his back. She then sat back down on his chest, placing her knees on his
shoulders, pinning him firmly to the floor. Joe turned his head in shame. Look
at me Nina demanded. Slowly Joe rolled his head around until their eyes met.
Do you admit I beat you fair and square Nina asked. Yes , Joe replied softly.
Do you still think that you're stronger than me, that I'm not your equal she
asked. No, the dejected Joe muttered. What do I have to do he asked.

Nina pulled off her head gear and rose off his chest, offering him her hand.
Get up and give me a kiss she said. Joe took the offered hand and Nina pulled
him to his feet. The victorious Nina pulled off his head gear and put her arms
around Joe's neck kissing him passionately. The heat of combat and the thrill
of winning had filled her with a burning desire for her man.

Joe kissed back, pressing his body against hers, the humiliation of losing
beginning to melt as the desire for his wife rose in his loins. To his
surprise he found her strength exciting. She was like a new woman to him. A
strong assertive woman that he suddenly found irresistible. The two of them
collapsed back to the floor tearing at each others briefs. Nina pushed Joe to
his back and sat down on his pulsing erection.

Silently the two former combatants made love in a way they hadn't in many
years, with passion and with a genuine desire for each others bodies. Nina
slid up and down on Joe's cock as he nibbled on her protruding nipples and
licked the sweat from her breasts. Soon they both erupted in mutual climax.

Boy that Dr. Oppenhurst knows his stuff Joe murmured as he lay back gasping.

Nina stood over Joe and placed her foot on his chest flexing her biceps as she
did. Joe looked up and to his shock felt his dick begin to again stiffen .

He sure does Nina thought as she sat back down on her husband's cock.