The Art of Life (54 page)

               
This is just another simple and
basic and natural human motion that doesn’t involve thinking, timing or
technique.
 
You simply swing your leg
into the opponent’s shin as you move forward into them and scrape the instep of
your shoe down their shin, while moving into them.”

               
“Ouch,” I say.

               
“Yup,” Kent replies.
 
“So, let’s try that one now.
 
Bring your foot up and scrape down my
shin.
 
You don’t have shoes on, so it’s
fine.”

               
I walk forward, and bring my
foot up and down.
 
“Like that?”

               
“Yes, very
good.
 
Try it again.”
 
I do, and he smiles at me.
 
“Now, the third movement is called a tiger
claw or tiger palm.
 
After pushing into
the opponent with the instep kick, you use your own forward momentum to shove
your hand into the attacker’s face again and push their head back past their
heels.
 
This causes them to move
backwards, which makes it nearly impossible for them to counter strike because
their body is now struggling to regain balance.
 
This move again is done without any flashy technique or thinking or even
planning.
 
It’s just an open hand push
into the opponent’s face that makes them lose balance.”

               
“Let me guess,” I laugh.
 
“I am going to try that one, too.”

               
Kent wiggles his eyebrows,
“Yup.
 
Do all three together.”
 
He comes at me and I push at his face, scrape
his shin and push his head back.
 
Kent
falters a bit, but stands his ground.
 
“See, if you had been going full force you would have had me fumbling my
way backwards.”

               
“Sweet!”
 
I yell.

               
“The fourth move is edge of hand
or knife hand strike.
 
It’s
just swinging your arm and hitting anywhere on the person from their collarbone
and up.
 
It doesn’t need to be a
solid and stiff hand move like you
see
in movies and
it doesn’t even have to be the hand that hits the opponent.
 
It can be any part of the arm, from the pinky
finger all the way to the elbow.
 

               
It doesn’t really matter where
it lands either because it will always hit somewhere that causes pain to the
opponent.
 
It’s like a karate chop, but
without the complex technique.
 
It’s just
swinging your arm against their face, neck, ear or whatever.
 
This can be done from any position and does
not need any real power to it, since the opponent is already moving backwards
by the time it lands.
 
So, guess what
now?”
 
He jests.
 
I roll my eyes.
 
“Okay, try it on me.”
 
I swing my hand around and hit him the side
of his face.
 
Kent grabs the side of his
head.
 
“Isabelle!
 
I didn’t mean full force.
 
Geez!”

               
“Oops, sorry,” I apologize, even
though I am smirking.

               
He looks at me and laughs, “If
you were Josh or Jeremy I would take you down in a heartbeat.”

               
“Don’t you
dare!
”
 
I yell, with a smile.

               
“I would never,” he says,
rolling his eyes.
 
“Okay, the final and
fifth move, and the one that is usually fatal, is the chin jab.
 
It was actually banned by Shanghai Police around
the time of WWII.
 
Basically, it is an
open hand strike under the opponents jaw while the fingers dig in and push the
head up, back and then down to the ground.
 
Kind of like a palm strike, but with a relaxed hand with the fingers
open, that hits under the chin and follows the head to the ground.
 
Don’t do this unless ABSOLUTELY
necessary.
 
Don’t try it on people to see
if it works.
 
I will kick your butt if
you do, if you aren’t in jail for seriously hurting someone.
 
I just want you to know it if it’s your life
again.
 
I never want to hear that someone
nearly choked you to death.”

               
Scoffing, I say, “I don’t want
to have that happen either.”

               
“Well, yes, that’s probably
true.
 
Now, give me your hand so I can
show you.
 
I am obviously not going to
have you try it.
 
I don’t want to smash
my head on the ground.”
 
Kent brings my
hand up and places it under his chin.
 
“Got it?”

               
Nodding my head, I reply, “Yup.”

               
“Okay, any of the moves that I
mentioned can be done as the initial move to stop the attacker’s forward
momentum and they can be executed in any order or combination, with the
exception of the chin jab, because it’s pretty much the end of the fight once
the move is applied.

               
These techniques are some of the
only ones that don’t involve complex motor movements and use large muscle
groups instead of small ones.
 
They are
also some of the only moves that can be done as reflex actions during fight or
flight mode.
 
So, how much of that do I
need to go over again?”

               
I put my hands on my hips.
 
“I think I have most of it down.
 
Let’s practice it.”

               
“Bring it on sister,” Kent dares
with a grin.

               
We go at it for about an
hour.
 
He comes at me in different ways,
so that I get the movements down.
 
Finally, we stop and I ask, “What do I do if someone is on top of me
again?”

               
“Lay down and I will show you,”
Kent instructs.

               
My chest tightens and I just
stare at him.
 
“I don’t know…..”

               
He sighs.
 
“I won’t hurt you Isabelle, but if you want
to wait until Jeremy is here, we can do that.
 
I don’t mind staying.”

               
“I just…..I can still feel him
on top of me and I don’t want to feel that fear again.”

               
“I understand that.
 
I want to teach you to not have that fear all
the time. You shouldn’t be scared if someone is on top of you, because that
will make you shy away from being affectionate with someone.
 
We don’t want that.
 
I mean, Jeremy will shoot a guy if he is
naked on top of you, but you shouldn’t be so scared.
 
So, we can wait for Jeremy if you want.”

               
Taking a deep breath, I say,
“No, let’s do this.”
 
I lie down on the
floor.
 
“Now what?”

               
Kent gets down on the floor and
straddles me.
 
“Alright, the same rules
apply.
 
You want to push the attacker off
of you.
 
Strike him in the face or under
the chin with an open hand, with your fingers relaxed.
 
Then roll your hips, hopefully, this will
make your attacker fall over.
 
So, do you
want to try it?”

               
“Are you going to put your hands
on me?” I ask.

               
With a kind look, Kent says,
“That would be the best, but I understand if it is too soon.
 
Like I said, we can wait for Jeremy if you
want.”

               
Shaking my head, I sigh, “No, we
should do this.”

               
“Okay,” he whispers.
 
Kent reaches down and puts his hands on my
throat.
 
“Now, try it.”

               
I quickly bring my hand up under
his chin, pushing his head back, and then I shift my hips.
 
Kent falters and then I roll him all the way
over.
 
That makes me squeal.
 
“I did it!”

               
“Yup, now I want you to try it
full force.”

               
I get a shocked look.
 
“I can’t do that!”

               
“Yes, you can.
 
I can handle it.
 
I want you to be safe Isabelle.”

               
“Alright,” I mumble.
 
We do it again, and again, and again.
 
Each time, I feel better, more in
control.
  

               
When Jeremy finally comes home,
I am straddling Kent on the floor.
 
He
just raises his eyebrows.
 
“You know both
Cassandra and I may have a problem with you two hanging out.”

               
Before I can reply, Kent snags
me and rolls me over, “Never lose focus young lady.”

               
“Get off of her,” Jeremy
says.
 
“Or I will kick your ass.”

               
“Yeah, I would like to see you
try,” Kent retorts, getting off of me.
 
He extends his hand and I take it.

               
Jeremy just rolls his eyes.
 
“I don’t have years of experience behind me.”

               
“Been learning since the age of
10, there is a reason why I can take you,” Kent counters.

               
“
Whatever,
keep fluffing your ego,” Jeremy groans.
 
“Did you have a good day Isabelle?”

               
I nod.
 
“It’s been awesome.
 
I learned how to take on someone and maybe,
possibly beat them, and Kent made the best pancakes in the world!”

               
“Well, I am glad you had
fun.
 
What do you guys want to do for
dinner?” Jeremy asks.

               
“I really want to get out of the
house,” I exclaim, actually in a good mood.
 
“Can we go out to eat?”

               
Jeremy nods.
 
“Definitely, anything in
particular?”

               
“That little Mexican restaurant
you took me to.
 
The food was fantastic!”

               
He looks at Kent.
 
“Do you and Cassandra want to go with?”

               
“Sure,” Kent replies.
 
“I will text her.”

               
“Oh fun, a double date,” Jeremy
laughs.

               
That makes me smile.
 
“
Awww
, you are
going to be my date?”

               
“But of course milady.
 
I would be most honored.”

               
Going up on my tip toes, I kiss
him on the cheek.
 
“I am going to go get
ready.”

               
“I have to take a shower, too,
so don’t use all the hot water,” Jeremy retorts.
 
“I smell, but of course, that may not be a
problem for you.”
 
He gives me an evil
smile.
 
I get a shocked look on my face and
punch him the arm.
 
Jeremy actually grabs
it and yells, “Ouch.”

               
“Follow through with a punch,” I
declare.
 
“Hit like you are going to go
all the way through.
 
It packs more
force.”

               
Kent just bursts out
laughing.
 
“Isabelle demanded that I at
least teach her how to throw a punch.
 
She
picks things up quickly.”

               
“Remind me to not make you mad,”
Jeremy moans.
 
“But I am still stronger
than you and could probably get you pinned.”

               
I smile.
 
“Want to try?”