Page 42 of Mending Scars

I wasn’t surprised when Dr. Wallace informed me of my limitations. I’d already assumed that I would just have to watch class if I wanted to continue learning the various self-defense maneuvers before she confirmed it.

I was disappointed, especially since I was still receiving the harassing texts from the blocked number. I wanted to keep practicing, but I knew I had to think about the health of my baby first.

When I walked into the studio, Ryker smiled broadly as he strode toward me. “I have some good news.”

“Oh yeah? What?” I replied, tiptoeing up to kiss him.

He rubbed his hands up and down my sides. “I did some research and found some self-defense maneuvers you can do.”

A hopeful grin teased my lips. “Really?” My voice brightened from the dull tone I’d had after talking to my doctor.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “The techniques come from jujitsu martial arts. They’re referred to as small circle hapkido techniques.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “What makes the moves different from the ones you usually teach in class?”

Ryker gripped my hands in his and held them in between us. “Small circle hapkido focuses primarily on wrist and hand locks and maneuvers, which disable your attacker with just simple, fluid movements focusing on various pressure points in the hands and wrist.”

He took my right hand in both of his and massaged it. “There are so many vulnerable spots that take just a little force to cause substantial pain.” He squeezed the area between my thumb and index finger, right next to the base of my thumb. “Like here. It was interesting to read about.”

I was still skeptical. “Hmm, are you sure? I don’t want anything happening to the baby.”

The corner of his lip curved up in a small smirk. “I called your doctor and described the techniques. She said they were fine.”

I quirked my eyebrow up in surprise. “You called Dr. Wallace?”

He nodded. “I didn’t want to do anything that would endanger you or the baby.”

My heart melted. “That was sweet of you, baby. Thank you.”

Ryker reached out his hand and placed it on my stomach. “Anything for you, Warrior.”

I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. His hands traveled around my sides to my back, pulling me against him. I broke the kiss and smiled. “I love you.”

He brushed his fingertips down my cheek. “I love you, too.”

The other instructors walked in, so I went to my bag and put my gear on as Ryker approached them to discuss the class.

Once we finished working on the bags, Ryker gathered us on the mats. “Today, we’re going to start a series of self-defense techniques that are different from what we normally practice, but just as effective, if not more.”

He motioned for Mark to come to him and grabbed his hand. “We’re going to focus on maneuvers that concentrate on the hands and wrists to disable your attacker.” He gripped two of Mark’s fingers and pushed them back, causing Mark to wince in pain and squirm in discomfort. “As you can see, I’m putting very little effort into causing Mark pain already.”

Ryker twisted Mark’s hand while keeping his fingers bent back. Mark fell to his knees and tapped out almost instantly. Ryker let go and addressed the class. “Simple, but extremely effective. Even those that don’t know any punches, kicks, or other self-defense maneuvers could still defend themselves using these techniques.”

“Looks easy—too easy,” one of the students voiced.

Ryker smirked. “Looks can be deceiving. Let me show you the first technique before you make your mind up.”

After Ryker demonstrated, he came over and stuck his arm out. “Grab my wrist.”

I gripped his thick wrist like he instructed. “Most of the small circle techniques defend against some type of grab.” Using his other hand, he reached over and grabbed my hand, right at the base of my fingers. “So if someone grabs your wrist, there are various ways to get out of it without exerting too much force.”

He squeezed and started prying my hand off his wrist. “Secure your hand over the top of theirs and apply pressure. Then, pull their hand off and turn it as you bring it up to your chest. Their palm should face away from you.” The side of my hand was twisted uncomfortably as Ryker held it against his collarbone. “From here, bring your other hand up and grasp the inside of their elbow.” He pressed his fingers against my inner elbow and pulled it back. “Then, apply pressure while pulling and pushing down on the joint.”

Ryker had forced me to bend over to compensate for the pain and unnatural position he’d put me in. “Once you have them in this position, you can easily snap their arm, get some kicks to their stomach or groin, or even some knees to the face.”

He loosened his grip but held onto my arm. Moving his hands up my forearm to my elbow, he started massaging the strained joint. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” I pulled my arm away and started bending and moving my elbow to get rid of the remaining tension. “My turn?”

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