Fanfare (Country Roads #2) - Chapter 6

With Mom deciding to give in and just take a judgment in court and living with the restrictions from the restraining order, I was a mess by the time I got to the Blue Ridge for training on Friday. I’d manage to hold it together the day before, but apparently, I had hit my breaking point, because Chef finally noticed.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to pull your head out of your butt and get it together. We’re only halfway through warm-up, and you’ve been half-assing it the whole time. I can only do so much. If you don’t want to put in the work, then there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

“Sorry, Chef, I’m just distracted by stuff.”

“That’s fine out there, but once you’re here with me, that all stays out there. We’ve talked about the tenets several times, but it seems you’re still having trouble with the fourth one.”

“Perseverance.”

“Correct. When you train, you keep your eye on what you are trying to achieve, regardless of the distractions. You must push past the things that keep you out of balance, not just here,” he said, thumping his hand against my head and then against my heart, “but here also. Luckily for you, I have a solution to get you back in balance.”

“Sweat it out of me?”

“Sweat it out of you,” he said, smiling.

For thirty minutes Chef tried his hardest to get me to forget everything that was bothering me, and it worked. It was one of the reasons I liked coming and training with him. When you’re really working out hard, the world kind of slips away.

When he finally finished what he liked to call warm-ups, and what most people would call a full workout, he surprised me by going to a large box he’d put near the steps that had all kinds of handles sticking out of it. Reaching into it, he pulled out a baseball bat, a baton-looking thing, and a metal bar.

“We’re going to start expanding what you’re learning. You’re still going to have to do time on the bag and the Mu Ren Zhuang, but it’s time I started introducing some new things for you to think about.”

The Mu Ren Zhuang was something he’d introduced me to just before Christmas that I usually just called The Post. As my nickname for it implied, it was a big wooden post attached to a large, firm base. It had wooden spokes sticking out at various angles wrapped in what was, unfortunately, very light padding. Unfortunately, because I used it by stepping in between the posts and striking with elbows, forearms, or knees against the wooden extensions.

What I found interesting, the first time I used it, was that the sticks extending from the post weren’t rigid. They were actually slats mounted loosely so they had a springiness to them. This helped absorb some of the impacts and make it hurt a little less, but it also made it feel more real. Of course, it didn’t absorb enough to keep me from getting monster bruises on my elbows, shins, knees, and forearms. Chef said that, like the bag, repetitive practice gave me the muscle memory for strikes, so I wouldn’t need to think about it before I attacked. He believed that the more muscle memory I could form the better, since in an actual fight there wasn’t time to actually think about what I needed to do.

It wasn’t a substitute for actual sparring, since it was stationary, but it helped. He’d call out strikes and I’d need to make them as fast as I could. He usually started off slow, but once we got into it he’d be calling them out one after another without a breath in between, giving me almost no time to think before I acted. I hadn’t had the chance to actually practice it, since sparring against Chef was just a more animated version of the pole. I knew he could take me down any time he wanted, so our sparring was mostly me making strikes at pads he put on his hands and him blocking me. He said I’d been making good progress in sparring, but it was hard to tell, since nothing I did ever caught him off-guard and I never got anything past his hands, which were there to intercept every attack I made.

“Now,” he said, holding up the weapons. “You’re not always going to be fighting someone just hand to hand, especially in the real world. The most common thing someone’s going to come at you with is a blunt weapon, because that’s what’s usually available. We live in a world surrounded by weapons, if someone wants one. You have the obvious like pool cues, bats, rebar, and the like, but there will be plenty of improvised weapons. Two-by-fours, chair legs, sticks they find on the ground, standing lamps; these are not that different from things people normally think of as weapons, and I can tell you now that if someone is coming at you to cause you harm, they will find something to try and accomplish their goal. The good news is that defense from these improvised weapons isn’t that different than items designed to cause harm.”

I nodded my understanding. I hadn’t had it happen yet, but I could see Aaron or Harry coming for me with a baseball bat.

“Eventually we’ll get into the differences between shorter and longer weapons and how to deal with blunt weapons that have additional dangers, such as a board with nails in the end. Right now we’re just going to talk about the basics. A lot of people discount things like the baseball bat as an effective weapon over, say, a knife, which is a mistake. Wooden or metal items like this can cause a lot of trauma if you get hit by one with enough force. Broken bones, damaged muscle, are a major concern, but worse is if you get hit in the head, which is where the real danger comes in. These weapons increase the force you can be hit with, which can lead to significant damage to the brain, even if it doesn’t crack through the skull. The good news is that most of these weapons, especially in the hands of someone not trained to use them properly, have limited versatility.”

“You said in the hands of someone not trained to use them. Am I going to learn to fight with weapons?”

“Maybe eventually, if I feel like you need to know it for some reason. Remember I’m teaching you to defend yourself, not to hurt others. Yes, sometimes defending yourself requires you to hurt someone, but using weapons takes things to a whole new level. For now, I want to teach you to protect yourself and keep from letting these things seriously injuring you.”

“I was just wondering. I’m not looking to beat anyone with a bat or anything.”

“Let’s keep it that way. Okay, when it comes to weapons like this, they all have something in common, which is their danger zone. The last fifth or so of the weapon is the most dangerous part, and the thing to watch for. These are essentially big levers, where the user can apply power at one end and have that power amplified down the object until it reaches its potential at the end here, where you get the most force. Your goal is to not get hit by this section or, if that’s not possible, to make sure it hits where it will do the least amount of damage. Now, when someone comes at you with one of these, you usually have two options for how to deal with it, move away from the weapon to dodge it or close the distance and get inside the attacker’s swing.”

“You said usually. When is it not one of those two?”

“If you’re facing someone trained in the weapon’s use and it’s not something used like a bat, where the hands are on one end and you’re just swinging it, then you have additional things to worry about, such as jabbing attacks, sweeping attacks or force reversals, where they start the weapon swinging one way before reversing the swing and attacking with the opposite end aimed at a different part of the body. We’ll eventually get to those, but right now we’re going to focus on what you’re more likely to encounter, which is the weapon being used in swung arcs, like someone would swing a baseball bat. That is how most untrained attackers would use any of these weapons.”

“Okay.”

“Now, if you’re near the tip of the weapon, especially if it’s a long weapon like this pool stick, or if you’re outside the arc but they’re advancing on you, you’re not likely to get inside their swing before it impacts. Here, your best bet is to retreat until the swing passes you. Don’t try and get fancy with it. If you’re experienced and have trained to do it, dodging side to side might be an option, but there’s still a chance you’ll get hit, and be hurt enough to keep you from defending yourself further. It’s better to put some space between you and the end of the weapon. The good news is, the swings most attackers will use require a wind-up or large swing, which means there’s enough force to keep the weapon moving even after it passes you, which gives you a window to make a move. While they’re recovering, you move in and, as with hand-to-hand attacks, you control the attacking arm while striking with your free hand. Because you’ll be on the outside of their swing, you’re going to be controlling their outside arm, that is the arm that is primarily holding and controlling the weapon, with your right arm, which means you’re going to be attacking with your weaker hand. That means controlling the weapon is the most important thing you can do, since your attacking hand will be weaker.”

“Do I still wrap it up like I do with a punch?”

“That is an option. Hold this like you just took a swing, with it extended and your right arm going across your body,” he said, handing me a baseball bat. “Now, you have two options. The first is what you suggested. You wrap your right arm around the swinging arm. Keep in mind both their arms are now away from you, leaving them exposed. From here you have a lot of choices. You can press with the left against the bicep while pulling the arm out with your right. You’ll have the leverage on them. Their choices are limited, and all of them are at a disadvantage to you. You could also strike the face or side, go for the back of the knee with your extended leg while pulling their body in the opposite direction with the controlling arm, or go for the ankle while pushing forward with the momentum you already have, pushing them over.”

“Because they’re off balance?”

“Yes. That’s one of the keys to this. An arcing swing like this puts their balance forward, following the arc of their arms. If you successfully dodge, their center of gravity will be extended in front of them and slightly away from you, which makes it a lot easier to take them down.”

“You said there was another option?”

“Yep. Since their arms will be more or less together and away from you, you don’t really need to wrap up the attacking arm. A lot of the options you’d have in the first method are open to you without wrapping them up. The main goal is to remove the threat of the weapon and the easiest way to do that is to get the attacker on the ground. Prone, the weapon becomes a lot harder to wield, to the point of being a liability to most untrained fighters, and they lose a lot of the force they can put into swings. Once you knock them down you can either get away, which is always your best option if possible, have them removed from the fight temporarily, in case you have other attackers to deal with, or grapple and immobilize them.”

“Okay, and what if I’m too close to back away or dodge safely?”

“Then you do the opposite. You move into the swing.”

“Won’t I still get hit?”

“Probably, but there are a few things to remember. As I said, the most dangerous point of the weapon is the swinging end, which is where most of the force is directed. The further you move inside that point, the less force you’re getting hit with. Now, the best case scenario only really works with a one-handed swing, where the center of their body between their arms is exposed. Your goal is to get inside the swing before you’re hit, which means their arm is extended and open, allowing you to grapple with them. You can hook your arm over and twist into a throw, you can control the arm and apply pressure to the joints, or you can go the simple way and straight-up tackle them. Any of those ways, you’re right up against the body, meaning they can’t hit you with much more force than they could with bare hands.”

As he listed off the options, he demonstrated each on me. He didn’t actually throw me, but he showed where he’d make contact and how he’d achieve each maneuver. The most surprising was the last. When he said tackle, I was thinking about how football players tackle each other, shoulder down and arms around the waist. The tackle he demonstrated had the connecting shoulder into the upper chest, then wrapping them up in your arms, one above and around the right arm and one under and up the left. As he pressed me backward, I could see how he had all the leverage in that situation. If he’d wrapped me up around the waist, I could have brought my arms down on his back, but the way he did it, he was limiting the movement of my arms, making it all but impossible to get any force down against his sides or back. I could also see I was really off balance with him pushing against me. It wouldn’t have taken much for him to knock me over.

“Now, you won’t always be able to get inside the swing. Sometimes the best you can do is get closer to them and away from the end of the weapon. In those cases, you’re going to have to block the impact and try to get as far down the weapon towards the attacker as possible. You will take a hit and it will hurt, but if you get in enough, there shouldn’t be enough power to cause real trauma beyond serious bruising. Your first inclination will be to block with your forearm like you do with hand to hand. You need to ignore that. This isn’t like a punch, where you can redirect the blow. Weapons are different than arms and legs. Without another weapon, redirecting the blow will usually not do a lot of good unless you can get past the weapon itself and to the attacker’s arm. Your forearm, especially the inside part of it, doesn’t have a ton of meat between the bone and the weapon, meaning you’re more likely to get seriously injured. If you’re inside from the end, better to take the blow on the shoulder or somewhere on the upper arm, where you have a lot more cushion. It’ll still hurt like hell, but you’ll be less likely to break bones. Okay, enough theory, let’s start practicing with these.”

Chef wasn’t wrong that this practice was going to distract me. He wasn’t going so hard that I was going to get injured, but he definitely wasn’t going light either. I could feel what had to be the beginning of serious bruises up and down my arm. The one thing I really learned is I didn’t want it ever to come to dealing with weapons. Even doing everything right still hurt like hell and it took only a little misstep to get seriously hurt. Again and again, Chef pointed out where, if he’d been trying to hurt me for real, I would have broken a bone because I didn’t get inside the swing enough or I tried to take the hit in the wrong place.

The only thing that was really sure after this practice was an appreciation that it was winter. It hadn’t snowed yet, but it was cold enough that long sleeve shirts and jackets wouldn’t be out of character, making it easier to hide all of the bruises I’d picked up.

Despite the bruises, it had been a good afternoon. The more I worked with Chef, the more I found I enjoyed how I felt after good exercise. My muscles were sore, and bruised this time, but I always felt like I had more energy and I was more clear-headed. My post-workout clarity only confirmed to me that I was right to be worried about Mom’s solution and, despite what she had asked, trying to go it alone wasn’t the answer.

“Chef, I have a problem and I’m not sure how to solve it,” I asked as we were putting up the equipment.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Just before Christmas, Aaron cornered me in the parking lot. I’d managed to just avoid him most of the year, but he was right on me before I noticed him. I made sure not to hurt him, at least not permenantly. I did dislocate his arm, but only so he’d stop taking swings at me. I made sure to keep from seriously injuring him.”

“You know that’s dangerous, right? If someone is trying to hurt you and you’re trying to not hurt them, more often than not, things are going to go badly. If you have to defend yourself, then the best thing you can do is end it quickly. You don’t need to be excessive, but you need to put the person coming at your down. Hesitating can get you hurt.”

“I know, but we were still at the far end of the school parking lot and I’d already had a lot of trouble with the school after the thing with Harry. It turned out okay. I got him on the ground and put him in an armbar until he calmed down enough to let him go.”

“Okay, so this happened a month ago. What’s the problem now?”

“Aaron’s father is suing us, Mom and me. They’re claiming Aaron came to talk to me and I just attacked him. He’s lying about the injury. I’ve seen him a few times around town over Christmas, and his arm was fine. Now he’s wearing a sling and claiming I caused permanent joint damage.”

“It’s possible. Even if you feel nothing, if he pulled the wrong way trying to get out of your hold, he could have hurt something and some injuries don’t always show up right away.”

“I know, but he started wearing the sling the day before they filed the lawsuit. In this case, I’m positive it’s bullshit.”

“I assume it’s a your word against his kind of thing?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter if he can’t win in court. We can’t afford a lawyer even with what I make playing on weekends, so Mom wants to just not contest it and file for bankruptcy. She’s been working so hard fixing her credit and getting us on solid ground, this is eating her up inside. She told me not to talk to you about it and let her deal with it, but she’s so stressed it’s killing me.”

“So you need money for a lawyer?”

“No, well … yes, but Mom would never let us take any. She already thinks I go to you with too many problems, which I probably do. She’d never let us actually borrow anything. That isn’t what I was asking for. Mostly, I just wanted advice on what I should do. There’s actually more to it.”

“Okay, what else.”

“You know that Aaron’s dad is the county district attorney, right? Somehow he convinced a judge that I’m a threat to Aaron and they filed a restraining order against me. Since we go to the same school, that’s a problem. The school managed to work it out so I can stay in classes, but I have to be escorted to classes, I can’t eat in the cafeteria with everyone else, and I’ve been removed from some classes because our paths cross. That’s not as big of a deal as what it’s doing to Mom, but it still pisses me off. Aaron is one of the biggest bullies in the school and I’m the one with the restraining order.”

“That you’ll have to get over. This is what we talked about the time he came and paid us a visit here. The world isn’t a fair place and trying to fix it will just drive you crazy. You just have to be the best person you can be, since that’s all you can worry about.”

“I know, and I’m not trying to fix it. It just pisses me off. Anyways, that’s everything. Do you have any suggestions?”

“I might. I’ll call your mom and talk to her. I have a friend who’s a lawyer and owes me some favors. He might be able to help out. At the very least I can get you a good deal on a lawyer and we can figure it out from there.”

“If she thinks you’re offering to help pay for a lawyer, especially if she thinks you’re doing it and not telling her, she’s going to have my ass.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure it doesn’t come back on you, okay?”

“Thanks, Chef. I hate that I have to keep coming and asking for help. I know you have your own stuff to worry about and everything, and you’d already done all this other stuff for me. I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful or taking this for granted.”

“If I thought that I’d have stopped training you already. As long as you keep giving one-hundred percent here and you’re not taking what I’m teaching you and doing something you shouldn’t; then we’re good. Plus, I can’t risk losing my cash cow. We’re killing it on weekends now, and that’s thanks to you.”

“Well, that I love doing. Playing here on weekends is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I’d say I’d keep doing it even if I wasn’t getting paid, but we can’t really afford that right now,” I said with a grin.

“See, and here I thought you were grateful. Okay, go get washed up. Those girls have taken up one of my tables for too long already.”

He was joking of course. He wasn’t busy and he wouldn’t kick Hanna and Kat out even if he was, no matter how long they’d been at a table, but that was his sense of humor.

I was partially grateful he’d heard me out and had an idea of how to help us. Mostly I was just glad we had a possible out, since Mom’s idea of just giving up didn’t sit well with me, but a part of me was still worried Mom was going to be pissed I’d gone around her like this. Especially since she’d specifically told me not to do exactly what I’d just done.

Not that I’d have ever let that stop me. I’d take Mom’s anger if it kept her from digging herself into a financial hole any more than she already had to get us settled down in one place. Of course, I’d prefer if we managed to find a way out of this without me getting yelled at.