Getting injured in the middle of a jiu-jitsu match and meeting actor Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately afterward seems like the plot to a weird dream, but at the Arnold Classic’s Grappling Industries tournament over the weekend, it became reality for BJJ blue belt Jimmy Meyer.
A photo of Meyer getting to meet the Terminator has been getting a lot of attention on the internet, and Meyer detailed the story of their interaction to the Jiu-Jitsu Times:
“It was my second match of the day,” he says. “I was feeling confident and ready to go. [My opponent and I] had a great match. It was back and forth the entire time and we eventually got into leg locks. We were both attacking and defending accordingly. After a few minutes of that, we got into a 50/50 entanglement, which I engaged. I went belly down for a toe hold knowing I can’t do heel hooks. We both we attacking toe holds at the point. He was getting out of mine, I was getting out of his.
“Eventually through trade-off, he got ahold of a good one. I knew it was legit — I felt the pressure in my foot and outside of my ankle. I verbally tapped and he didn’t let go. He cranked it harder and I felt a click-click-click. As that was happening I verbally tapped a few more times louder. He still didn’t let go and cranked harder, that’s when I felt a snap, yelled ‘tap’ again, and the ref jumped in and he finally let go, I think because he felt what happened. The look on his face pretty much said it. He said he didn’t hear me and he was very apologetic.
“I was struggling on the mat for a bit and I remember trying to wiggle my toes and I couldn’t and that freaked me out a little bit lol. Medics came over and my professor Rob [Hileman]. They carried me off to the side. The one medic started moving my foot around and putting pressure on it in a certain spot. I felt a few little clicks and a pop and asked him what he was doing because it felt weird, and he told me my ankle was dislocated and he reset it. As he’s telling me and my professor what procedure we need to take next for my ankle, Rob looks at me and goes, ‘Jimmy, look behind you right now.’
“I tilted my head back and saw a belt buckle, looked up a little further, and there he was. The Terminator himself was standing above me with his hand out ready to console. His first words were ‘How are you?’ And my first words were ‘HOLY SH*T.’
“I was in shock about everything going on in the moment, honestly. I remember looking and at Rob — he was smiling and laughing, and I heard some more laughs probably because of my reaction. Then he went on to tell me he was watching my match, told me I’m an amazing fighter and I was very fast. I told him thank you and couldn’t help but smile. He was holding my hand for a bit and then said to me, ‘No pain no gain, right?’ I said to him, ‘Yes sir.’ We shook hands one more time and then I was taken from to mats to some chairs.”
Thankfully, the new blue belt is healing up well after his unforgettable experience. He says he’s icing his injury and “taking it easy,” but hopes to be back on the mats soon. Lucky for him, he has the encouragement of Arnold Schwarzenegger himself to keep him motivated.
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