School Daze
By: Beaten Man -  Replies to humbled@abeatenman.com 
The young Sensei got a real Kick out of her


One of my best friends owns a karate school in the Ventura, Ca. area. He's
told me its discipline but I really can't remember exactly what he said it
was. I do remember that it was some form of Okinawan Karate. At any rate Mark
and I go way back together and have corresponded regularly for over 20 years.
Ever since we graduated High School together in Denver and then went our
seperate ways. The letter I received from him last month was particularly
interesting to me. So interesting that I thought of using it to create a
story. But the more I read his rambling narrative the more I was reminded of
the old adage, that truth is stranger than fiction.

I have decided instead to simply pass the letter on in its unembellished
entirety. I did edit the punctuation and spelling, otherwise the letter is
exactly as I received it. If you have ever wondered how it is that a
supposedly weaker opponent can defeat a supposedly stronger one you will find
his letter as interesting as I did.

..............................................................................

Hey John, how's it hangin man,

Sorry I never answered your last letter. Things have been hectic and - you
know blah blah blah.

The reason I'm writing now pard is that I've done something to one of my best
young instructors that I feel really shitty about. And you know how I always
feel better after I unload my problems on you. Besides it involves a 17 year
old girl and I know what an old lech you are.

I guess I should start with the 17 year old girl, She's the real cause of my
guilt trip. Besides that's the best way to get you to pay attention.

Mitzi entered the school about two years ago and for the most part has been a
great student. She practices tirelessly [as I insist my students do] and she's
already a green belt. That's light years ahead of where she should be given
the short amount of time we've had her in the dojo. She absorbs most
instruction like a sponge. She's flexible and executes, blocks, punches and
kicks flawlessly. She's a natural. The problem is she is stubborn and willful
with a wild streak. If she doesn't buy into something we're doing she'll let
you know she doesn't agree and then do things her way.

To look at her you would never suspect her to be a trouble maker. If you've
ever seen Sex and the City you've basically seen Mitzi. She looks just like
that tall rangy red head Miranda . Just imagine her at 17. Same blue eyes,
same pixie red hair kept short, just over the ears. Same height and weight.
I'd gues 5'10 and about 120. Same figure, small but perfect "perky" boobs and
lots of loooong leg . [don't have me arrested pard]. Same long arm that's no
meat and all long stretchy muscle over bone. Same fair skin. Even the same
lawyer like argumentative character. Which brings us back to - she doesn't
agree.

One of the things she doesn't agree with is my rule governing contact
sparring. Since everyone has to spar, I insist that the students use absolute
control with their punches and kicks. And, I do not allow contact to the face.
We don't wear a lot of padding. Our gloves aren't much more than plastic one
sided pads. In fact they're actually called hands not gloves. The head gear
leaves the face wide open and the foot pads don't do anything to cushion the
heel which is the focal point of all the power kicks. I can't have the
instructors and students beating the hell out of each other. It's just bad for
business.

Mitzi , flat out doesn't agree. Since she started sparring last year I've
overheard her a dozen times saying that everyone's there to learn to fight and
getting clocked goes with the territory. She feels it's up to the opponent to
avoid being hit or kicked and if they are they should suck it up and give some
back. I admire her spirit but I can't make exceptions.

It has gotten to the point where I can't get anyone to spar with her. The
other girls are terrified to get in with her. Every time one of them has she's
been hurt. The teen age guys don't want to either. They claim she ignores
their pulled punches or kicks because they don't hurt her. Every time one of
them scores, instead of acknowledging their point, she wallops them. They
don't think its fair and I also suspect they are embarassed to have to
complain about getting hurt by a girl.

Mitzi is not the first overly competitive, overly zealous student I've had.
Just the first female one. Lot's of guys have come in here with too much
testosterone wanting to learn how to fight. The first time you let them spar
they act likes it's a major contest rather than a training exersize. They go
all out against their opponent and somebody gets hurt. I would normally toss
them out of the school unless I felt they had real promise. If I thought they
were worth the effort I would give them the honor of sparring with me. Then
I'ld give them and unpulled kick or punch to the solar plexus where it
wouldn't show. I would then step back, look at the student and say point, and
then do you have any questions son. The good ones that understood apologized,
then stayed and followed the rules. The rest split. Mitzi, I felt, was worth
the effort. But that presented a problem.

The school has grown so large that I no longer do the day to day teaching.
I've given the classes over to my young black belt instructors. Most of them
started here as students when they were kids of nine or ten. Thats as much as
15 years in the dojo for some of them. They were good students and now they
are good young senseis. I trust them . I call points in sparring and otherwise
just walk around the dojo making the occassional correction trying my best to
look wise and inscrutable. I would have to use one of them. I would have to
ask him to do something I forbid, and do it to a teenage girl.

Hang on Pard , my guilt trip's just getting started. The one I chose was a
really great 22 year old kid named Pete Sloan. He's the same big blonde kid
you saw here 5 years ago when you last graced us with a visit. He's really
grown up well since then. 6' 2 , 220 pounds and well muscled without an ounce
of fat on him. With his blonde California beach boy hair , blue eyes and tan
the teenage girls love it when he's the instructor. His skills are really good
too. I was planning on having him represent the dojo in the black belt
division at the US Open next year.

I took him aside during the teen/young adult class and told him what I wanted
him to do. Towards the end of each class we have a round of quick point
matches. The students and the instructors form two lines on either side of the
dojo facing each other. Whoever is catty corner to you is your opponent. The
line moves with each quick match and when you get to the top of the line you
and your partner take center dojo between the lines and spar. I set the
combatants in their stance and tell them go. As soon as one scores a point
which is defined as a kick or punch landed to a fair territory the match is
over and the next two come forward. The instructors are free to line up facing
any student they wish to work with. The lines rotate in opposite directions so
theoretically you get a different opponent for each little bout. The
competition is Coed since its relatively gentle and controlled. I asked Pete
to line up across from Mitzi and deliver a good hard side kick to her torso
and then ask her if she understood. He knew exactly what I wanted, I had done
the same thing to him several years earlier when he had gotten overly
aggressive. Pete has always done anything I've instructed him to without
questions. . He idolizes me and wouldn't want to disapoint me.

I had no doubt he'd follow my instructions..

It seemed to go well at first. When Mitzi reached the top of her line Pete
lined up across from her and followed her to center dojo as I called for the
next 2 "combatants". I set them in a fighting stance which, if you will
recall, is standing sideways with the lead hand held high and the rear low to
ward off kicks coming from below. As soon as Pete and Mitzi were set I
commanded them to go. Pete immediately brought his rear right foot to where
his front left foot was and shifted his weight to the right foot raising the
left knee chest high. Then he rotated his hip and let fly a beautiful side
kick. His leg slid right between her two hands and his heel drove straight
into Mitzi,s ribs on her exposed side. She fairly flew back as I yelled Point
ending the action. It didn't even take 2 seconds. Pete then looked at her and
asked if she understood. She was bent over holding her ribs. She said yes
sensei and ran to take her place at the end of the line still holding her
ribs.

I told Pete good job and instructed him to line up against her again but this
time give her the opportunity to prove she'd learned the lesson. Within five
minutes she had reached the top of the line again with Pete facing her. I set
them as before and yelled go. Before I could even get out of the way Mitzi
delivered the exact same kick in the exact same way to Petes ribs. This time
he flew across the dojo, even farther than she had. I yelled point and that
ended it. As she trotted back passed Pete to the line I heard her tell him
that she '"understood" that when she was hit it was her duty to hit back.

Now it's really not a big deal for a lower belt to score against a higher belt
or a smaller fighter to win a point from a larger one, even when its coed.
Point sparring is designed to reward quickness and technique. Generally
whoever launches first, using proper technique, wins the point. What was
unusual was Petes anger at being scored on. He was really fuming as he held
his ribs. What was disappointing was Mitzis lack of respect and failure to
grasp the lesson. It was looking as though this would be Mitzi's last day at
the dojo. And I really hated the thought of losing such a promising student.
Besides that , on a personal note pard, She would be 18 and legal soon. And ,
if possible, I'm an even bigger lech than you. There is something extremely
sexy about her rangy figure with the those firm young "outstanding" boobs. Not
to mention the cute face and them looooong legs which seem to reach passed her
ass.

I decided to have Pete nail her one more time to see if she'd get the idea and
fall in line. He was damned pissed and more than happy to oblige me. I told
him to set her up with a hard back fist to the side of her head and then
before I yelled point to follow up with a good hard right to the solar plexus.
By not stopping after the back fist, a perfectly legal blow that should end
the action, and following through with the second technique Pete would be
demonstrating to her how too much aggression and not following instructions
got people hurt.

I set them again and yelled go. Mitzi tried the quick side kick again which a
better prepared Pete

blocked with his right hand. He threw the back fist over her outstretched leg
with his lead left. Problem being? She blocked the back fist and let her own
right fly right at Petes face. Her punch landed flush on Petes nose. The face
is off limits. I yelled foul and awarded the point to Pete. Bloody nose and
all. Now I had an extremely irate instructor and an unrepentent student who
was acting as if she'd just been robbed in a heavyweight title fight. She was
actually arguing with me about not being awarded the point. I felt as foolish
as Pete looked.

Since she was arguing the point I said to myself what the hell and told them
to set in their stances and redo the point. Pete was tickled to get another
crack at following my instructions and she was pleased to win her little
argument with me. I set them again and yelled go. Mitzi pivoted on her front
left foot swinging her rear right leg around front, up and over Petes guard .
It was a beautiful rear leg roundhouse that smacked the side of Pete's face on
the headgear - perfectly legal. I yelled point. Now even with head gear and
foot pads a rear leg roundhouse hurts. I am sure Petes head was buzzing. He
looked absolutely furious as he rubbed his head. I think he was also
embarassed to have lost 2 straight points to a green belt girl. The bloody
nose just added a little fuel to both his anger and embarassment. I thought he
was going to go after her right there and then. For her part you would have
thought Mitzi just took out Lennox Lewis in the third round. She was whooping
and waving her padded fist over her head in circles. I don't like celebrating.
It humiliates the opponent and only serves to make them want revenge. I
stepped in and told her to stop and Pete to go to my office and cool off. Both
of them obeyed, both of them reluctantly.

Great, now I had a humiliated, angry instructor and a more cocky and
aggressive student then ever. Way to fix things Mark. I needed to help Pete
restore his image to preserve his authority and I still needed to deal with
Mitzi. Thats when I got my next brilliant idea.

I told everyone to take off their tunics and their belts and return to the
floor wearing only their

Gi Pants, school tee shirts, cups, mouthpieces and hands. When they returned I
had them all form a single circle. I picked 2 young black belts from the
circle and had them stand in the middle in their fighting stances. What I was
doing was setting them up for a few rounds of what is called continuous
sparring. I wanted the belts and tunics off so that the matches would be belt
blind which they should not have been. This is a form of sparring in any dojo
normally reserved just for black belts and is considerably rougher than point
sparring. It is common in AAU tournaments and allows a much wider variety of
contact. It is never coed. You also need to be in shape for this type of
contest even though a full match is rarely more than two rounds of 2 or 3
minutes each. I never allow more than one round.

How it works is simple. We let the two fighters go at it. They can use any
hand or foot technique but most use control to the face. We do not count
points. They just keep going until we yell time.

If someone gets knocked down or slips they have to get back up and continue as
quickly as we can reset them. At the end of the time limit I will award the
match based on my perception of one or the others dominance. I like it for two
reasons. It rewards perseverance and since there is a limited time to show the
judge what you can do it tends to keep the fighters busy. They don't have time
for elaborate strategies. Execute a technique and then immediately launch
another. Secondly it tests there hearts. They have to battle through any
adversity until we say they can stop. We never stop the attacking fighter.
They don't get a breather because of a punch to the stomach or a kick to the
ribs or even a knockdown. If you've ever had to fight for 60 seconds after
being belted in the solar plexus or kneed in the chest [ which I know you
haven't] you'll understand exactly how long a minute can be. Anyone
participating in any form of continuous sparring had better be in shape.
That's one of the reasons I only allow it for the black belts. They have been
in training longer and are [or should be] superbly conditioned with lots of
stamina. Because of insurance and public relations it is extremely rare that I
even allow them to spar this way in the dojo.

You've probably already guessed my plan. I was going to pair Mitzi with Pete.
That would give Pete ample time to nail her and he would be able to use a much
wider array of techniques. I was stacking the deck against Mitzi. She needed
to see what it was like when we played rough, it is really the only way to
drive home the point. As a bonus Pete would get a chance to reassert himself
in front of the other students. I need my instructors to enjoy the same
respect as I get. Respect for the belt is of paramount importance in any dojo.
And the man [or woman] holding the belt represents it. Understand pard, this
was a risky manuever on my part. . Me plenty worried kemosabe. I wouldn't have
done it if I didn't think that they were both worth the effort and would both
benefit. I'm not that much of a hardass. Plus there was the extra bonus of
Mitzi in a tee shirt.

Only kidding. Not.

I picked the oldest of my black belts to referee the bout I had already set up
and went to my office to get Pete. I explained my plan to him. I can't tell
you how happy he was to get another shot at taming, as he called her.
alittlebitch [a parody on her middle name, Elizabeth]. With everything in
place I told him to go out and join the circle and that after a match or two I
would call him and Mitzi into the circle. I waited in the office a few minutes
figuring out what my excuse would be for throwing Mitzi in the fire. As soon
as I came up with one I headed back out to the dojo.

By the time I got back to the circle there were two new fighters [also black
belts] going at it. All the students in the circle were cheering on one or the
other of them as they went back and forth. I stood where I could get a good
view of Mitzi. I was curious as to how she was reacting to this type of
contest. One that was more suited to what her opinion was of how we should
conduct sparring.

The kid was fairly glowing with enthusiasm. She was totally wrapped up in the
contest jumping up and down and yelling kick his ass kick his ass. I think she
was actually cheering both fighters on.

My guess was if I just called for volunteers she'd jump at the chance.
Fighting excited her.

Personal aside pard, just for your benefit. The young nipples were beginning
to make an appearance against the tee shirt. Too bad we'd have to beat them
back into place.

As the match in progress ended I stepped forward to pick the next pair. I
looked around the circle and said Pete you haven't gone yet have you. No
sensei he shot back. Okay it'll be Pete and...... I let my voice trail off as
if deep in thought. Let's open this up to greens and browns I said. Any
volunteers. Mitzis hand was the first one up. I continued searching the circle
not wanting to appear too eager to pick her. There were a few other hands up
to choose from. After a moment I turned back toward miss perky tits and said,
Are you sure you want to do this? Without hesitation the young spitfire said
Yes sensei. I can take him. Pete shot her a look of almost pure hatred as some
of the students nervously tittered at her sheer ballsyness. Sounding reluctant
I said okay Mitzi if you're sure you want to you may enter the circle. Now
don't hurt my instructor I kidded.

A second later there they were squaring off in the circle formed by the
student body. On the one side I had a big muscular instructor of 22 with ten
years experience. On the other side I had a 17 year old girl, masquerading as
Miranda from Sex in the City, with two years experience. It looked like a
gangly red headed colt against a quarterhorse with biceps.

I remember thinking pard, Mark, what have you done?

I let the instructor who had been refereeing continue his job so that I would
not be directly responsible for the action. What our suck face politicians
call plausible deniability. He put his hand out between them, checked to make
sure they were in proper stances to start and then removed his hand to
indicate they could begin when commanded. All that was missing was Michael
Buffers' "Lets get ready to rrrrrrumbleeee".

Instead the ref simply said begin.

My two competitors, one bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet the other
standing flat footed,, began probing one anothers defense. Pete, as the taller
of the two fighters enjoyed a considerable reach advantage. Apparently
attempting to use that advantage he began a series of lunges, much like those
of a fencer, throwing his lead back fist at the side of Mitzis head with each
lunge. To counter Petes reach advantage Mitzi used a front snap kick aimed
under Petes reaching arm. In effect, if Pete continued moving forward the
countering snap kick would reach his vulnerable side before his fist would
find Mitzis head as her legs were longer than his arm.

Properly fought a karate match is much like a chess match. For every technique
there is an effective counter. For every counter there is an effective assault
to counter the counter. Since combatants use virtually every part of their
bodies to strike with there is an almost limitless arsenal of weaponry which
can be brought to bear on an advesary. To bring the weapons to an opponent the
fighter uses circular rather than direct movement much as an army will attempt
to outflank another army rather than use a frontal assault. What Pete was
doing with his lunges was disguising the fact that he intented to move in a
direction diametrically opposed to the direction he was traveling and yet
arrive at the same place he was already heading. Confused Pard? read on.

By lunging Pete was transfering his weight to his front foot from his back
AFTER each lunge. By throwing the back fist he was in effect forcing Mitzi to
counter with the only weapon that could reach him before he reached her, a
kick. Pete knew that. By using front kicks rather than defensive side kicks to
counter Mitzi was abandoning the defensive sideways position the fighters
began with. As soon as Mizi commited to the front kick her body was open from
shoulder to shoulder in front of Pete. Pete simply twisted his body pulling
his right shoulder back and turning his head over the shoulder. then
continuing around. in other words he spun backwards. . By bringing that right
rear leg up as he turned when the " backward" spin was complete the right leg
was in front already up and cocked and slightly closer to Mitzi than when he
began. The spinning motion also had turned Pete away from Mizis kicks. He had
circled around it. All he had to do was throw the side kick to the open body
directly in front of him. The spinning side kick landed HARD in Mitzis solar
plexus. Thats it for karate 101 pard. From now on I'll stick to breast
descriptions to keep you interested..

The kick knocked her down hard and I hoped that would end it. Pete, to my
disapointment, was behaving as if he had just knocked down King Kong. He was
bouncing around,rolling his shoulders and bobbing his head up and down like
some street tough saying we be bad. I told you I don't like celebrations,
certainly not before the fightings done. I don't know if his attitude
motivated Mitzi or if she's just one tough cookie. Which ever she stood right
up and indicated she was okay. You have to admire that kind of toughness. A
spinning side kick from a guy Petes size can bring down a pony. Imagine how it
felt to a 120 pound girl. Miss Perky Boobs had toughnes you can't teach. Heart
would be another way to describe it.

The ref set them again and indicated they should continue. Mitzi, using her
head attacked. I say using her head because if she just sat back and waited
for Pete he would pick her apart. Staying sideways to protect her sore front
she began skipping in with front [left] roundhouse kicks aimed at Petes head.
She was using kicks as jabs in order to move in behind them. I could see what
was coming [hey I'm the best]. Pete commited his right arm to block the kick
probably intending to slide up the leg and attack with the same hand. Mitzi
simply stepped forward on the kicking left foot swiveled her hips and threw
the rear right foot as an advancing front kick catching Pete right on the
bottom of his chin with the ball of her foot. With his head now looking
straight up he didn't see her step down onto her right foot in front of him.
He surely didn't see the right elbow she drove up and into his sternum. As
Pete began to double over from the elbow which was still in his sternum Mitzi
brought her back fist down hard on the bridge of his nose. Pete stumbled back
and toppled over on his ass.with both hands holding his nose. I was getting a
queezy feeling. There had been two knockdowns and the fight was still only 20
seconds old. In my infinite wisdom I had set a 3 minute time limit. Only the
fighting time counted. Any time wasted getting up or resetting didn't count
There was a lot of time for someone to get hurt.

Mitzi stood over Pete shaking her fist in his face as he sat holding his
bloody nose . The rest of the class, still acting as the ring, was either
yelling way to go Mitzi or come on Pete get up depending on which way their
sympathies lay. I yelled for Mitzi to back up so that Pete could get up and
told the ref to maintain control of his fighters. Hearing me ordering Mitzi to
back away so he could rise evidently embarassed Pete still further. His face
turned beet red as he got unsteadily to his feet. Mitzi instead of waiting
patiently for the ref to set the fighters began walking around the circle high
fiving her supporters with her padded fist. Funny enough, though I hate
celebrations, seeing the tough spirit that was obviously inside her was making
me like her more and more on a professional level. I guess you'd say I was
beginning to admire her. And in case I neglected to mention this pard , the
Mallorey's Okinawan karate logo across the chest of Mitzis official dojo tee
shirt was now doing the watusi, bobbing up and down like the heads of those
dolls people keep on the dashboards of their cars. And to answer the question
I know you will ask when you receive this letter. Yes the nips were still at
attention. Why are the best ones either married or illegal?

The ref got them set and told them go. Mitzi eagerly went on the attack
skipping in again with her roundhouse kicks as before. Pete took a step back
as if retreating. But as he took that step what he was doing was merely
shifting his weight to the back foot and turning away giving the illusion of
walking away. She was still moving towards him all he had to do was lift his
other foot which was still in front of her and let her walk into the kick. The
kick was low on the belly. It was weak but enough to stop her and bend her
forward. Pete then stepped right down on that foot and gave her a left
backhand to her right cheek [the one on the face wise guy]. He then spun the
other way and using his right cracked the other side of her face with a wicked
spinning backfist. If you have ever been hit by a spinning backfist thrown by
a 220 pound fighter [and I'm sure you havent] you would have a better
understanding of force and velocity. Mitzi flew back about five feet and
landed on her side. I really thought that would be all she wrote.

The ref was standing around like his feet had roots and Pete was busy high
fiving his supporters so I broke through the circle of whooping students
heading to her to help her off the floor.. She waved me off saying I'm fine
sensei, please don't end it. I think at that moment I fell in love with her.
She'd been knocked down twice by a man twice her size and she still not only
wanted to fight, she was eager to. I couldn't resist the pleading look in
those sky blue eyes. Call me an ass but I let it go on. I stepped back and
joined the students as part of the circle.

The ref set them again and told them to fight. Pete immediately tried to press
his advantage. Without any feints or misdirections to set up the technique he
spun again trying to deliver another spinning back hand. This time Mitzi
stepped up and into the spin. By the time Petes backhand got around she had
moved forward enough so that the fist was behind her head. Pete wound up with
his arm extended beyond and alongside her head with his side exposed to her
fists. She punched him three times in the kidney then lifted his arm and
elbowed him in the ribs. Pete dropped to one knee and then rolled to his side.
She leaned down over him and kind of hissed the word pussy at him and then
walked off to the cheers of the majority of the class. Her toughness was
winning her friends.

I was willing to bet at least a dozen of the guys would be thinking of her for
inspiration the next time they had a bar of soap in their hands and a couple
of free minutes. Me included.

Pete got up slowly favoring his right side and returned to the spot where the
ref and Mitzi were waiting. The ref set them once again and ordered them to
fight. By now they had each been down twice. They were both wary of one
another. Amazing if you think of it. In less than 60 seconds of actual combat
the 120 pound Mitzi had forced a 220 pound black belt inspector to respect
her.

They circled each other with both fighters keeping their arms close in to
their bodies. They had both taken punishment to the ribs and were quite
naturally concerned with protecting that area. Since he had the longer reach
Pete kept reaching out with his left like a jab content to stay on the
outside. He should have known better than to throw such weak techniques. Mitzi
walked right through one of them and fired a rigfht to his solar plexus. He
oofed and while he was oofing she threw her own spinning right handed backfist
which landed cleanly on the side of Petes face knocking him sideways. She
pursued him as he stumbled and caught him with an overhand right to his temple
which finally knocked him down. Pete rolled over to his back and then sat up
hugging his knees. Mitzi just stood over him as if daring him to get up. And
yes pard the nipples were still prominent.

I reminded the referee that he was in charge. He called the two fighters to
him. Mitzi came right away but Pete held back, still sitting on the floor.
After a moment Mitzi asked Pete if he was going to sit there all day or if he
was going to fight. In spite of my growing admiration for her I still felt
badly for Pete. He looked miserable sitting there and it was my fault that he
was there. For his own good I yelled over for him to get up and get himself
set. He obeyed me and got up but he still looked discouraged. I should have
stopped the fight then. I will never forgive myself that I didn't

As an experienced fighter I have learned to read eyes. They are, as the poets
say, the mirror of the soul. Nothing discourages a fighter more than seeing
determination in their opponents eye. Nothing encourages a fighter more than
seeing fear or discouragement there instead. I was reading fear in Petes eyes.
Not so much fear that she would hurt him, they weren't in a dark alley with
switchblades, but the fear that her will would be imposed on him. He wasn't
worried that she would win. He was worried that he wouldn't.

I can teach you a lot. I can teach you to punch and kick. I can teach you to
use every part of your body as a weapon. I can teach you defensive skills. I
can even teach you to move in ways that disguise what you do. I can help you
to develop your body and make every part of it a weapon.

I cannot teach will power and I cannot teach determination. And there isn't a
gym in the world that can help you deveop the most important muscle in your
body, your heart. Have enough heart and you can absorb a tremendous amount of
punishment. Have enough heart and the punishment becomes the incentive to keep
going in order so that you can inflict your own punishment in retribution.

Petes biceps may have been bigger but if the truth be known you don't punch
with your biceps. Real punching power comes from fluid motion and the ability
to use the muscles in your hips, back and shoulders. Add the proper leverage
and speed and the punch becomes harder. Learn to turn it at the point of
impact and it is harder still. Petes legs were thicker and more muscled but
you don't kick with your leg muscles just as you don't punch with your biceps,
Flexibility and proper technique coupled with the concentration of power to
the striking edge of the foot make the kick effective. Sure Pete was a lot
bigger but that was only on the outside. On the inside Mitzi was the
heavyweight, she was the larger fighter. Mitzi was a developing girl on the
outside but on the inside she was a woman. And a lot of woman at that.

They say a good big man beats a good small man every time. Some one needs to
coin a new phrase. A good woman will beat a good boy every time.

The ref set the two fighters again and called for them to fight. They stood in
their stances bobbing slightly and studying one another. Mitzi moved forward
throwing a back fist followed by a reverse punch. The most basic attack we
teach, it should have been easily blocked. It wasn't The back fist struck Pete
on the right side of his head. The reverse punch landed flush to the solar
plexus. As he backed up she spun and delivered a kick to his chest forcing him
farther back still. She stepped up to him and began pounding at his middle,
backing him up all the way to the edge of the circle of students. The ref
called for them to move back to the center, reset them and gave the okay to
resume fighting. Mitzi stepped forward behind an advancing front kick to his
beltline and again drove her elbow up and into the middle of his chest. She
was now close enough to grab his shoulders and drive her knee twice into his
side. Pete sat down at her feet in and upright fetal position with his chin on
his chest. Mitzi stood over him still in a fighting stance. A moment later he
lay down on his back and placed his forearm across his eyes. His mouth was
open and he was panting in little shallow breaths. There were only 30 seconds
remaining but Pete had had enough, He wasn't getting up. This fight was over.

The next few moments were a blur as the dojo erupted into pandemonium. Some of
the students were silent with shock. Most were wildly cheering the new hero.
Mitzi was in the center of it all yelling " I told you I'd kick his ass" over
and over as she pumped her fists skywards. She yelled over to me that she was
ready to go again anytime and anywhere I should just give her the word.

She was so exited she even forgot to address me as Sensei, a cardinal sin in
the dojo. Under the circumstances I let it slide.

There isn't much more to tell Pard. To restore order I simply sent everyone
home except Pete and Mitzi. Pete stayed on the floor until everyone had left.
He kept his arm across his eyes until he heard the last student say goodnight.
When he was ready to get up I made him and Mitzi shake hands and give each
other a hug and then asked Pete to wait a few moments in my office.

When he was out of earshot I told Mitzi why it was I had let her fight Pete
and what it was that I was attempting to demonstrate to her. She looked me in
the eye and apologized for any trouble she had caused. She told me she
couldn't help herself, that she didn't know what came over her when she faced
somebody in a physical confrontation. She only knew that she simply had to win
and that the thought of somebody besting her made her sick. It wasn't so much
that she liked to fight. It was that she needed to prevail. And a fight left
no doubt as to who prevailed.

I'll tell you something John, all kidding aside. She had just completed about
two hours of strenuous work including a tough fight with a big, well
conditioned male athlete. Her hair was a mess, her face had no makeup and was
bruised. She was sweaty and had dirt on her from getting knocked to the floor
a few times. She was, in a word, a mess. But if she was 6 months older I would
have gotten on my hands and knees and begged her just for the priviledge of
running my hands over her body. If I ever regreted pushing 40 it was then.
Instead I gave her a hug and told her I'd see her in class. She went home a
few minutes later

As for Pete, he withdrew from the dojo that night. He was humiliated and
couldn't face the other students. I tried talking him out of it. I told him
there was no shame in losing only in not trying. But honestly I knew he had to
go. I was just going through the motions. I will go to my grave regretting
having put him in that predicament. He deserved better. He had worked hard to
get where he was until 20 minutes ago. It wasn't his fault he had been
oufought. She was just the better "man"

And finally there's Mitzi. I still don't know what to do about her. I can't
throw her out for being good at what we teach. But I can't take a chance that
she'll destroy another career. I have no doubt she will kick the crap out of
any of the other students or instructors if I let her spar with them. And then
they'd be humiliated and want to leave. I told you I study the eyes Hers tell
me there is no quit inside her. Man or woman, she will keep on coming until
she wears them down. Besides I am determined to keep her around until she is
legal. Maybe I'll take her on myself . I'll think about it.

Thats it Pard, Keep well and thanks for listening,

Mark

NOTE: I have not heard again from Mark since this letter. I am thinking of
going out to California to see him. Not that I miss him I'm just dieing to
meet this Mitzi