The Queen of the Wrestling Ring
by M.C.
A pretty 17 year-old high school girl teaches the boys on her wrestling team a lesson in self-confidence.


I was feeling very good as I suited up for the tryout for my high school's
wrestling team. After all, it was my senior year and I had already been our
school's heavyweight wrestler for the past two years. I assumed the tryouts,
which were a requirement according to the rules, would be nothing more than a
formality. I'd defeat the one or two guys who actually thought they could beat
me and take my spot on the team and that would be it. But what I never
expected (indeed what I could never have even thought possible) was that I
would be challenged for the heavyweight spot on the wrestling team by a girl -
and she wasn't even a heavyweight! Karen Johnson stood a mere five feet-six
inches tall and weighed all of 130 pounds; compared to my six foot-two inch
220 pound frame. So what right did she have to challenge me for my heavyweight
spot on the wrestling team?

But rules are rules and, therefore, she had every right to challenge me for my
spot on the team. So as I stepped onto the mat and prepared to wrestle a girl
that I outweighed by 90 pounds, I thought to myself,"what the hell does she
think she's doing?" Eight minutes later (high school wrestling matches consist
of three rounds of three minutes each unless there's a pin in which case the
one who pins his - or her - opponent is immediately declared the winner) I was
completely shaken to my roots. For not only did this 130 pound girl beat me -
she totally CRUSHED me!

I've been wrestling in various levels for over ten years, and in the literally
hundreds of matches I've participated in, I've never faced an opponent as
fast, as strong (yes, I said strong) and as skilled as she was. She even
giggled while she was mopping the floor with me! So dejected was I at being
totally humiliated by this girl that I refused to shake her hand after the
match ended (as is customary) and stalked off, went into the locker room to
sulk. After all, how could I, the heavyweight wrestler of Fremont high, be so
easily beaten by a girl that I outweighed by 90 pounds?

It took me a long time before I changed into my regular clothes and began to
slowly walk home I was still very much in shock. For two years I had been my
school's heavyweight wrestler and now I was dethroned...by a 130 pound girl!
It was indeed a long walk home. I never considered myself to be a chauvinist.
I always treated the girls I dated well. But to be so thoroughly dominated on
a wrestling mat by a much smaller girl; that was just too much for me to
handle...or was it?

When I got home I entered my bedroom and continued to sulk for awhile. But I
also began to think about what actually happened. Karen didn't cheat, she
didn't use illegal holds or maneuvers - she simply outwrestled me. She beat me
fair and square. So why can't I accept that? Because I'm a macho man who
simply can't accept being beaten by a girl? She had held out her hand to me
after the match; why couldn't I accept it? What prevented me from doing so?
These thoughts haunted me and. And after several hours of reflecting on this,
I knew what I had to do to make things right.

Karen and her parents had moved into my neighborhood just a few weeks earlier
and lived right down the street from me. I left my house and slowly began
walking to hers, working over in my mind what I'd say to her. I paused for a
few moments before finally working up the courage to ring her doorbell. "Why
Steve, what a surprise," Karen said as she greeted me at the door. "To what do
I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I...I owe you an apology Karen. I was rude in not shaking your hand after you
beat me in our match earlier today and I apologize for that. You're a
fantastic wrestler. You beat me fair and square, and you deserve to take my
place on the wrestling team. I'm sorry for the way I behaved afterwards."

An awkward moment of silence followed. Then Karen smiled and said,"Steve, I'm
having a cup of tea. Would you like to come in and join me? Or are you a
coffee man?

"Coffee if you don't mind."

"Good. Come inside; I think you and I need to have a little talk." Karen led
me inside to her living room and sat me down on a couch. "I'll make you your
coffee and then we can sit and chat. Milk and sugar?" After Karen brought me
my coffee, she sat down next to me. "That was a very nice thing you just did
Steve."

"What do you mean, Karen?"

"Apologizing to me for not shaking my hand after I beat you in our wrestling
match this afternoon. That couldn't have been easy for you; given your male
pride and all."

"You beat me fair and square Karen. Facts are facts and I can't argue with
that. You deserve to be the heavyweight wrestler on the team. How in the world
did you get to be so good anyway? I mean, I outweigh you by 90 pounds, have
ten years of experience in wrestling under my belt and yet you still wiped the
floor with me."

A long pause followed before Karen replied. "Steve, I've been training in
various forms of martial arts since I was three years old. Both my parents are
experts, and they wanted me to be a strong, self-confident girl. I hold a
second degree black belt in Kung-Fu. But, to tell the truth, I've always
enjoyed wrestling the most; especially against guys. There's something about
our bodies being in direct contact and me overpowering them - especially if
they are larger and stronger - that I find....well... erotic. I actually had
an orgasm when I beat you this afternoon; tee, hee, hee."

Then Karen got serious. "Steve, I'm what's called a 'military brat'. Both of
my parents are officers in the United States Air Force and I've been moving
around the world all of my life. I've lived in Japan, South Korea, Germany,
England, Alaska, Hawaii; and now San Diego. Every two years when they get
redeployed we have to move; and that's the life I've led. Because I have no
time to establish any serious friends, I've devoted myself to martial arts and
wrestling. I can't count the number of boys I've beaten in wrestling matches
throughout the years, but there were a lot. And all of them reacted the same
way you did after I defeated you - they all pout like little children;
sometimes they even cry."

"But you did something today that no boy that I've ever beaten has ever done
before- you came here and apologized for your behavior. To me that says a lot,
both about your character and the kind of person you are; and I respect that."

"It wasn't easy Karen. Believe me, it definitely wasn't easy."

Karen laughed when I said this. Then she reached out and playfully tweaked my
nose."I know Steve; but I also owe you an apology for giggling when I pinned
you. That was not nice, but sometimes I find that I just can't help myself."
She paused before continuing. "Tell you what Steve, since you 'manned up' - or
should I say 'womaned up' - (giggles) and apologized to me for not shaking my
hand after our match, I'm going to tell coach Wilson that I'll only wrestle in
my weight division - the lightweight class. That way you'll be able to keep
your spot as the school's heavyweight wrestler."

"But why Karen? You're a fantastic wrestler. You beat me fair and square. You
deserve my spot on the team."

Karen smiled at me, thought for a few moments and then said, "that's a very
sweet thing to say Steve. So, here are my reasons for wanting to keep you on
the wrestling team. First: because you owned up to the mistake you made by not
shaking my hand after I beat you, came here and apologized to me. Second: as I
mentioned earlier, because I moved around so much that I've never had any
friends for any length of time and I think you're a cutie pie whose also my
neighbor and I'd like to have for a friend. Third: I'm starting my senior year
of high school now and I'd really like to have a 'normal' life for a change -
which means having friends, dating, doing the stuff that normal kids do. The
things that I never did growing up on Air Force bases.

"And fourth: you're really not a bad wrestler Steve, and I believe that can
teach you a few things that will help you to improve - particularly regarding
your technique and stamina. I'm sorry to say this, but you tired out much to
quickly against me this afternoon. By the middle of the second round you were
already exhausted. I could have pinned you then but decided to let you go
another round so as not to bruise your ego too much (she pinned me towards the
end of the third round).

"I wasn't trying to humiliate you - except for the giggling which I really
couldn't help myself; tee hee. My goal was simply to make the team. And now
that I have, I can choose any weight class I want to wrestle in - from the
lightweight up to the heavyweight. So I'll wrestle as a lightweight and you'll
remain our school's heavyweight wrestler." Karen then reached over and
playfully tweaked my nose again. "I really like you Steve and want you to
remain on the wrestling team. It'll be fun being together with you."

True to her word, Karen went into coach Wilson's office the following morning
and informed him that she would only wrestle in the lightweight class, thus
allowing me to remain on the team as it's heavyweight wrestler. Furthermore (I
heard this from someone who was eavesdropping on their conversation as I
wasn't even there at the time), Karen told the coach that if for any reason I
was dropped from the squad - other than for disciplinary reasons - she would
immediately quit the wrestling team. "Steve's a good wrestler," she told him,
"and with my help, I'll make him an even better one." And so she did, as she
did to everyone else on our team.

So talented a wrestler was Karen that coach Wilson made her the caption of the
team (replacing me - but Karen did ask me first if that was O.K. and I
agreed). It was now her job to lead our warm-up exercises, conditioning drills
and give us pointers on the finer points of wrestling - and boy was she tough!
But to her credit 'the proof was in the pudding' as the old cliché goes.
Because of Karen, we went from being just a average wrestling team to becoming
one of the best in the city.

And as our team's wrestling fortunes rose, so did my relationship with Karen.
We went from being just friends to being girlfriend/boyfriend. It's amazing
just how talented she is. Not only is Karen a great wrestler as well as an
expert in martial arts, she also speaks six languages, has a perfect 4.0 grade
point average (Karen wants to be a physician and has already taken advanced
online courses in organic chemistry and biology in addition to her normal high
school curriculum), and she also helps me with my homework.

But then two events occurred that put both me as well as and the rest of the
Fremont high school's wrestling team to a test. The first was coach Wilson's
hip replacement surgery. He slipped and fell down the stairs at his home and
fractured his hip - he would thus be out for the rest of the season. And the
second was that a few days later we had to face the two time defending state
high school wrestling champions of Central High. To say we were all
demoralized would be an understatement.

Not all of us were demoralized though. There was one wrestler who felt that we
could beat the Central High wrestlers - Karen. In fact she was so confident
that we could win that she became very angry at the rest of us for our
defeatist attitude. Then - about one hour before our match was scheduled to
start - she completely 'lost it'. As caption (and now also coach by proxy)
Karen called for a team meeting in our locker room. When we arrived, she sat
us all down on one of the benches, stood in front of us with her arms folded
and really let us have it.

"You guys are pathetic," she scolded,"truly pathetic. I mean honestly, if you
go out there to wrestle with this kind of defeatist attitude, then you're
beaten before you even walk onto the mats. I've half a mind to bench the whole
lot of you and wrestle all the matches myself." This was met with laughter by
most of the team (all except me of course - after all, Karen is my
girlfriend).

"So you boys think it's funny eh? Well then, in that case, consider yourselves
benched for the match. I will wrestle all of the matches in my weight class
and above - just to prove to you guys what one can accomplish with a little
bit of self-confidence. Furthermore, even though none of you will be competing
today, I expect you all to attend the match. You don't have to cheer for me -
probably some of you will now be hoping I lose - but you will attend. Anyone
who doesn't is off the team! Did I make myself clear?" We all nodded. "Good.
Now if you boys will excuse me, I have to go over to the girl's locker room
and change into my wrestling outfit."

Just before Karen entered the girl's locker room I caught up with her."Karen,
I can still wrestle my heavyweight match. Their guy - Ed Harrison - is the two
time state heavyweight wrestling champ. He's like six-foot five and weighs 275
pounds. And since it's the last match-up of the day, you no doubt will be
tired. So please, let me wrestle."

My pretty girlfriend smiled. "That's very kind of you Steve; it really is. And
I do appreciate the offer. But I couldn't help but notice that you also seem
to be lacking in self-confidence. I know he's big and strong - not to mention
undefeated in his high school wrestling career. But you've already given up
Steve; I can see it in your eyes. No honey, I'm afraid that I'll take on this
Ed Harrison too." Karen put her arms around my neck, drew me near to her and
gave me a kiss on the cheek."Once again, thanks for the kind offer sweetie
pie; and I hope you enjoy the match." And with that, Karen disappeared into
the girl's locker room to prepare for her upcoming matches.

The nearly full arena was all abuzz when the list of wrestlers was posted on
the large board, for in every single spot on the Fremont high school's
wrestler list was Karen Johnson - that is every weight class from the
lightweight to, and including, the heavyweight class! "How could this be?" I
heard many people murmuring (or words to that effect). Did this five-foot six
inch 130 pound, 17 year-old girl really think she actually stood a chance
against the best high school wrestlers in the entire state? The two time
defending champions; many of whom were undefeated so far this year! What
chutzpah (Yiddish for audacity or brashness) she must have."

I took a seat far away from the where the other Fremont High wrestlers were.
After Karen benched them, I didn't want to overhear what some of them would
undoubtedly be saying about her during the match. Surprisingly, only John
Winston, our middleweight wrestler, refused to attend the match (I never did
like him anyway so he won't be missed when Karen, as I'm sure she will, tosses
him off the team).

When my 17 year-old girlfriend walked out of the girl's locker room and made
her way towards the wrestling mats, she glanced around the crowd, looking, no
doubt, for who from our team was there. She found the other guys right away
but, as I wasn't sitting in their area, continued to search with a somewhat
concerned look in her face (did she really think that I wouldn't be here?)
When Karen finally did locate me, she broke into a wide smile and flashed me
the 'thumbs up' sign. Then she sat down on our team's bench and began to
prepare for her first match (by prepare I mean fluffing up her long, pretty
brown hair before tying it back into a ponytail). Then the lightweight
wrestler of Central High stepped up onto the mats and Karen joined him. As is
customary, they shook each other's hand and then assumed their stances. The
match was about to begin.

Because Karen weighs 130 pounds (or 59 Kilograms), she had to forfeit the
first two matches in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions giving Central
High a 2-0 lead before her first match. Her first opponent - the lightweight -
weighed roughly the same as she did; but was no where near as skillful a
wrestler. Karen easily pinned the totally outclassed boy in less than two
minutes of the first round. Ditto both her second and third opponents, thus
putting Fremont High ahead 3-2.

And as Karen continued to work her way up the weight classes, the buzz in the
audience only increased. "Can she really do it?" I heard someone sitting a few
rows behind me ask. "Can this 'wondergirl' really beat the mighty wrestlers of
Central high all by herself?" After Karen easily pinned her fourth straight
opponent - also in the first round - it seemed that might be the case. Their
middleweight wrestler was the first of Karen's opponents to reach the second
round, but that was as far as he got.

By this time the Central High School's wrestling coach was beside himself with
rage. After each contest (and defeat) he would literally scream at his
wrestlers to try harder. "She's just a girl for God's sake! Surely you guys
can beat one girl!" In contrast, in-between matches Karen would calmly sit on
her bench, untie her ponytail, fluff up her hair before tying it back into a
ponytail again (she told me afterwards that she wanted everybody in the
audience as well as the Central High wrestlers to know they were all getting
beaten by a girl). Karen would then smile at me before returning to the mats
to face her next opponent.

After she pinned their welterweight wrestler, a loud cheer went up from all
the Fremont High fans, for that gave us - or I should say Karen - an
insurmountable 6-2 lead. So even if Karen were to lose her last three matches
against the cruiser- weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight wrestlers - she
would still win the match 6-5. She did it! Karen singlehandedly beat the best
high school wrestling team in the state. But the match wasn't over yet.
Everybody wanted to know if this amazing girl can defeat every one of their
wrestlers; including their 275 pound heavyweight - the much dreaded Ed
Harrison.

In order to conserve her strength and stamina for that final match, Karen made
short work of both Central High's cruiser weight and light heavyweight
wrestlers, pinning each in around two minutes. You'd think that the stronger
and heavier her opponents were, the harder it would be for Karen to pin them.
But amazingly, it didn't seem to matter much to her how big and strong (or
even skilled) they were; they all fell like dominos before my incredible
girlfriend.

The Central High school wrestling coach was beyond livid by now - having just
watched most of his champion wrestlers all but destroyed by one 130 pound
girl. I guess that given the circumstances, you really couldn't blame him too
much. He was screaming now at the pride of Central High - the monstrous, 275
pound Ed Harrison. "It's up to you now Ed; we've can't let this one girl
defeat all of us. Now you go out there and simply crush her! Got that?"

Undefeated in over two years of high school wrestling, he was indeed an
intimidating sight to behold. Everybody seemed to be intimidated by him -
everybody except Karen that is. She prepared for what promised to be an epic
struggle exactly like she had prepared for all her other matches, by calmly
untying her ponytail, fluffing up her hair and tying it back into a ponytail
again. She then rose from the bench, flashed me a pretty smile and walked onto
the mats.

"So you're Ed Harrison eh?" Karen said as she stared up at him (at six-feet
five inches tall and weighing 275 pounds, he literally towered over Karen's
five-foot six inch, 130 pound frame). She then held out her hand and added,
"well, here's to a good, competitive match Mr. Harrison." But instead of
shaking her hand as all the other Central High school's wrestlers had done, Ed
glared down at her with as nasty a look as possible. Karen's response was to
simply smile and say,"very well then big boy, have it your way." The entire
arena grew eerily quiet as the 275 pound boy and 130 pound girl squared off
against each other. Then, in an act that can only be described as surreal,
Karen looked over at me and winked; and then the match began.

What transpired over the next eight and a half minutes of wrestling had to be
seen to be believed; in fact even though I saw it, I still can't believe it.
For my 130 pound girlfriend didn't simply just beat the 'invincible' Ed
Harrison, she utterly destroyed him! I'm sure it's something that nobody who
witnessed that match will ever forget. I know I won't. In what can only be
described as an awesome display of her wrestling prowess, Karen completely
dominated her massive opponent in every aspect of the match from beginning to
end.

By the end of the second round, it was obvious to everybody - even Ed himself
- that Karen would win. The only thing that big Ed Harrison could do in the
third round to salvage any of his pride was to avoid being pinned. About a
minute into the third and final round, he rolled himself over onto his stomach
(in order to score a pin, Karen had to have both of his shoulders on the mat
and hold him there for three full seconds). So, what did she do? My amazing
girlfriend put both of her surprisingly strong arms underneath Ed's stomach
and somehow managed to flip him over so that he was now lying on his back.

And to prevent him from rolling over again, Karen then quickly jumped on top
of him and, with her back to his face, sat on his face with her tush - she
would later refer to this move as her 'tushie' pin. In desperation, Ed raised
up his massive arms in an attempt to throw her off him. But Karen simply
grabbed each arm by the wrists and held them in place. And, to add insult to
injury, she farted in his face as he was being counted out. "Oh Eddie, I'm
such a naughty girl, aren't I? Tee, hee, hee." Karen told me afterwards that
that was her revenge for him refusing to shake her hand before the match
began.

Pandemonium then erupted throughout the entire arena when Ed Harrison was
counted out. In fact, even many of the Central High School's fans were
cheering for Karen now, so incredibly awesome was her performance. After
acknowledging the fans' appreciation, Karen walked over to where I was
standing (practically everyone was standing and cheering at this point -
everyone except the wrestlers of Central High and their coach that is). She
put her arms around me and gave me a long, passionate kiss."See what you can
accomplish with a little bit of self-confidence Honey?"

Karen then took my hand and walked me over to where the other members of our
team were. "Even though you didn't compete today, as team captain, I still
insist on having our usual post-match team meeting. So follow me." She led us
back into our locker room and sat us down on the bench again. Then, standing
before us with her hands on her hips, Karen began,"well I hope you boys
learned your lesson this afternoon - if you believe in yourself, then you can
accomplish practically anything you set your mind on doing. This wasn't just a
lesson about wrestling, it was a lesson about life. Because in life, you will
all face challenges, and it's how you deal with them that will determine
whether or not you succeed.

"And as your team caption and, hopefully, still your friend, I felt that it
was my responsibility to teach you this lesson. You must always believe in
yourselves. I don't mind if you lose a wrestling match - just as long as you
tried your hardest to win. And for that reason, I'm returning to my spot as
the lightweight wrestler; although I'll also take over John Winston's
middleweight spot as I'm throwing him off the team. So guys, what do you say?
Do we go back to being a team again? I think we have a shot at winning the
state championship this year (we all laughed when Karen said this as she had
just mopped the floor with the two time defending state champions all by
herself). We all nodded our heads. "Good. Then our next practice will begin at
the usual time of three P.M. tomorrow afternoon - and don't be late!"

Karen and I walked home in silence for a good part of the way that afternoon.
Finally she broke the silence. "What's the matter Steve? Cat got your tongue?"

"It's just...it's just that you were so awesome this afternoon Karen. I mean
you wiped out the best high school wrestling team in the state - all by
yourself! Even the mighty Ed Harrison was nothing more than a toy to you. Are
you really Supergirl from the planet Krypton?"

Karen began to laugh. "No you silly boy you, I'm not Supergirl. She flies and
is bulletproof; and she's also a blond."

"Yea, but this could be your disguise; you know, like your secret identity."

Karen took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I assure you honey that I'm
just a normal girl who has a passion for wrestling; that all."

"That's all? You're also a straight A student, speaks six languages, taking
college level chemistry and biology courses online - and you're an expert in
martial arts!"

Karen sighed and squeezed my hand a bit harder. "Come Steve, let's go sit down
on that picnic table in the park over there; I think it's time you and I had
another little chat." After we sat down facing each other, Karen smiled at me
and began, "I understand that some of the things you've seen me do over the
past several months seem perhaps a bit unusual. But it all goes back to what I
was trying to say to you guys in the locker room earlier: it all boils down to
self-confidence; if you believe that you either can or can't do something,
you're usually right.

"My parents taught me from a very early age that there was nothing I can't
accomplish in my life provided I believed that I could; it's the way I was
brought up honey. But have I ever been condescending to you? Bragged about
myself to you? Done anything to make you feel inferior to me - excluding that
first wrestling match we had of course (smirk)."

"No Karen, you haven't."

'You're my boyfriend Steve; the first one I've ever had. In fact I may even be
falling in love with you. And the last thing I want is for you to somehow feel
unworthy of me; not good enough for me." Karen reached over the table and
gently squeezed my hand again."I know you seem to think of me as some sort of
'wonder girl' - she at least is a brunette like me (giggle). But seriously,
I'm just a girl that knows what she wants and doesn't feel any restrictions in
going after it. That was the whole point of what I did this afternoon; to
teach you and the rest of the team that the sky's the limit."

"What? You mean you singlehandedly wiped out the best wrestling team in the
state just to teach me and the rest of the guys on the team a lesson Karen?"

"Yes. Now you're beginning to get it."

"But why?"

"DAMN IT STEVE! It's because you and the rest of the team are my friends! And
friends help each other out; don't they?" An awkward minute of silence
followed before Karen composed herself and continued. "I'm sorry I lost my
temper honey. But I cannot lower the standards that I've set for myself - for
you or anybody else. But I also don't want to lose your friendship. So Steve,
am I caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place?"

After another lengthy period of silence I replied,"no Karen; you're not. It's
just that you're such an amazing girl. Today you were totally awesome!"

My beautiful, incredible girlfriend smiled. "Honey,"she said softly,"my
parents, who both happen to be on assignment overseas now, set down a strict
rule for me - that I can't have sexual relations before I'm eighteen years
old. Well, guess what? I never told you this before but today just happens to
be my eighteenth birthday. So sweetie pie, would you like to come over to my
house and help me celebrate (wink)?"

The question was, of course, rhetorical. Karen and I left the park, walked to
her home and went inside.