Page 17 of The Scars of Us

Minutes later, the other students began to trickle in, along with the other instructors, Mark and David. They were there to give the students real life models to practice with, ensuring they became accustomed to what a typical man’s body feels like when they attack since a man’s weight and strength were huge factors in overpowering women. All the techniques I taught would be almost useless if they didn’t have training utilizing them against a man.

After I had demonstrated the first combo, I walked over to Kaiya to see if she needed help while the others started. She attempted the maneuver, but her form was off. Way off. She’d probably never been in a fight before.

“I’m doing it wrong, aren’t I?” she asked, blowing a strand of her hair off of her face in frustration.

I laughed lightly, “Not completely. You’re doing a lot of things right, but your form is a little off. Let me show you again.”

Repeating the combination again, I said the moves aloud for her to hear. “Jab, punch, palm strike, elbow, elbow, knee, front snap.”

“What’s the difference between a jab and punch?”

“Well, a jab is basically just a quick punch using your front hand. A punch is thrown from the back hand, and has more power than a jab,” I demonstrated as I answered her.

“Okay, jab is front hand, punch is back hand,” she said, copying my moves.

“You got it. Let’s try the combo again.”

As I showed her once more, I could see her mimicking me out of the corner of my eye.

“Remember to always keep your hands up to protect your face when you’re not punching. One good hit to the head and it’d be over for you.”

Bringing her fists up in front of her face, she asked, “Like this?”

“Yes. You also need to twist your body when you punch—it gives you more momentum, thus giving you more power. Try again.”

Doing as I requested, she executed the combo, hitting the bag more forcefully.

“I do feel more power that way,” she commented enthusiastically.

“With any method of self-defense, just a small adjustment usually can make a huge difference, whether it be positive or negative. Any mistake could result in injury, while perfect execution of a technique could save your life.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that. Thank you.”

“No problem. Switch legs and keep going, alternating each time.”

Nodding, she changed her stance to her left leg before starting again. Each time she completed the combo, her movements became more fluid, her hits delivering more power as they connected with the bag. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread as I watched her. The determination was evident on her face as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Plus, the fact that she was getting all sweaty and flushed turned me on—a woman was so sexy when she worked out.

Once we finished several more combinations on the bags, we switched to freestyle techniques.

“Five Minute Freestyle! Give it all you got!” I announced.

Everyone knew what that meant, except Kaiya. As everyone started pummeling their bags, I walked over to her, surprised to see that she was already punching and kicking her own bag.

Her eyes locked with mine, causing her to miss landing her punch and stumble slightly. Her already flushed cheeks reddened more as she gave me an embarrassed smile. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’re doing great. Just keep doing the moves you learned today however you want for the next five minutes. Don’t stop, no matter how tired you are.”

She turned her attention back to her bag before slowly repeating several of the combinations I had taught today. I couldn’t wait to see her once she got more comfortable, once she let go and allowed that warrior to break through that I glimpsed every so often when she argued with me.

Once the five minutes were up, I gathered the group on one of the mats. “Awesome workout, everyone. Before we start the self-defense techniques, I want to introduce Kaiya. She just started working out here and is testing out our class. Please give her a warm welcome.”

The other students greeted Kaiya, who blushed profusely from the attention while glaring at me playfully. She waved her hand to everyone as she shyly said hi.

Redirecting everyone’s focus back to the class, I asked, “Anybody have an attack you’d like to practice defense against? Even if we’ve already learned it before.”

One of the older women raised their hand. “Can we practice when a guy traps you on the ground? That still scares me, and I think we can never have enough practice with those escape techniques.”

Murmurs of agreement flowed through the class, except Kaiya, who remained quiet and still. When our eyes locked, I could see the apprehension and anxiety in her strained face.

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