Don't Get Mad...Get Even: Conclusion
by M.C.
Diane and Kevin battle it out for top honors in the city martial arts championship.


Diane Sanders looked surprisingly confident as she faced off against the
dreaded Kevin Williams in the open division of the city's annual martial arts
tournament. Even though her female students had literally wiped the floor with
his best fighters, the 40 year-old attorney- turned-martial-arts-instructor
wanted to make it a clean sweep; and what would be a more fitting conclusion
then to defeat the tough, chauvanistic, macho sensei herself. By taking five
of the six divisions (crushing all of Kevin's entrants in the process) Diane's
girls had already sown up the championship for her dojo. Now she wanted the
icing on the cake, or the 'piece de resistance' if you will. And besides, why
shouldn't she also have some fun?

As the five foot-six inch, 140 pound woman prepared to battle the six foot,
210 pound man for the city's open martial arts championship, she reached into
a pocket of her gi. Diane smiled to herself when she felt the small piece of
paper inside. "Good. I was afraid I neglected to put this in...I'll need it
later." Satisfied, the intrepid woman put her hands up, assumed a fighting
stance and nodded over to the referee. When Kevin did likewise, the referee
gave the signal and the battle of rival senseis began.

Confident that his superior size, strength and fighting experience would
prevail over the much smaller woman, Kevin attacked her immediately. Fully
expecting this maneuver, Diane decided not to meet his attack head-on but
fight instead on the defensive - at least for the time being. Diane felt that
she could rely upon both her skillful technique and quickness to defend
herself until her opponent presented her with an opportunity to counterattack.
"Take your time and wait for an opening," she always told her students before
a tournament,"sooner or later you'll get one."

For the first minute or so Kevin hurled a continous barrage of kicks and
thrusts at his female opponent. It's doubtful that many people, even those
well trained in martial arts, could have stood up to his assult; but Diane
did. Using the skills she had honed and perfected over her thirty-five years
of studying martial arts, the attractive, expertly trained woman managed to
block or avoid most of Kevin's blows. The few that did manage to get through
were only glancing blows that Diane hardly seemed to feel. Many in the
capacity crowd looked on in disbelief, unable to understand how a woman could
be holding her own against the most feared fighter in the city. But then they
really didn't know very much about Diane Sanders...

Diane's mother and father - both successful attorneys - wanted to be sure
their daughter would be able to defend herself against bullies in school (as
well as overly aggressive boyfriends) so they enrolled her in the local
self-defence school when she was just five years old; and from that moment on,
Diane was hooked on martial arts. By the age of ten, the precocious girl began
studying at an advanced dojo specializing in Korean karate where she earned a
first degree black belt two days after her 15th birthday. Wanting to expand
her knowledge to other forms of self-defence, the pretty (and surprisingly
tough) blond then began studying Judo while continuing with her Tae Kwon Do.
Diane was so adept and dedicated that by the time she graduated from high
school, the 18 year-old girl had her second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do
as well as a first in Judo.

Now qualified to teach, she became a martial arts instructor and worked her
way through both college and law school by teaching self-defence;
predominiately to women. Diane continued to expand her expertise in
hand-to-hand combat by studying Kung Fu, and shortly before her 21st. birthday
added yet another black belt to her growing collection. As an instructor,
Diane would incorporate all of the disciplines she knew and cater them to fit
the needs of her students; which may explain why they did so well in
tournaments. She loved teaching martial arts as much as studying it. Nothing
gave her greater pleasure than to watch the girls and women she taught gain
confidence in themselves and take control of their lives. Unfortunately
however, real life was about to throw her a curve.

When she was 22 years old, and in her first year of law school (Diane had
always wanted to be a lawyer like her parents), she became pregnant. Diane
married the father who was a fellow law student and six months later Cindy was
born. She realized too late what a mistake it had been in marrying just
because she was pregnant as her new husband was proving to be both arrogant
and irresponsible. Tensions between them rose until that fateful night when he
came home very late with three of his jock friends.

They had been out drinking and were in a very rowdy mood. Completely fed up
with his behavior by this time, Diane confronted him and demanded that he send
his friends home; it was time to have a serious talk. His responce was to slap
her hard across the face, which proved to be a big mistake. Furious, the
martial arts expert then proceeded to give both him and his friends the
beating of their lives. In fact, Diane beat her husband up so badly that he
had to spend several days in the hospital recovering. Not surprisingly, a
divorce followed shortly afterwards.

What this meant was that in addition to juggling law school and her martial
arts, Diane now had the additional responsibility of raising a daughter all by
herself. Somehow though, this amazing girl did it - and even managed to pick
up her third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do along the way. But when she
began her law practice, the workload became too heavy - even for her - and
Diane was forced to let the martial arts go. That's why when Cindy was old
enough, Diane enrolled her in a self-defence school; even though she'd really
have loved to teach her herself.

As the years went by, Diane realized just how much she missed studying and
teaching martial arts. But while working her way up in her law firm, the
single mother just didn't have the time to even consider it. When Cindy was
fourteen, Diane's firm moved her to a new city. After making several inquires
she decided to send her daughter to the dojo taught by one Kevin Williams who
had the reputation of being the best sensei around. It was a decision Diane
would come to regret after she discovered how pompous and chauvanistic he was.

Back to the tournament.

Kevin attempted a hard roundhouse kick that missed badly and, in the process,
left himself wide open. Diane now had the opportunity she had been waiting
for. Moving in quickly, she slammed her right foot into his jaw, WHAM!, then
whirled around and sent her left foot deep into the pit of his stomach; she
followed that with another solid kick to his jaw. In just ten seconds, the
great Kevin Williams found himself flat on his back with the attractive, 40
year-old woman smiling down at him."Not bad for an old lady, eh?" Diane
laughed with her hands on her hips."I guess my girls and I are just too tough
for you and your boys Kevin." She was baiting him now, and loving every minute
of it.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Kevin screamed as he got to his feet. He stormed over to her
and launched another vicious series of thrusts and kicks, all of which his
female opponent either avoided or deftly blocked while she waited for him to
get careless again. This time she didn't have to wait too long. WHACK! "What
was that you said to me last year Kevin?" she teased after landing another
hard roundhouse kick to the side of his face,"that we females are too
interested in our hair or shopping to be any good at martial arts?" The
beautiful blond then fired off a series of punches and kicks of her own which,
unlike Kevin's, were right on target. Practically all of the women in the
crowd began to cheer now as they watched Diane drive the larger man back up
against the ropes.

"And speaking of my hair, THUD! (Diane drove her right foot deep into Kevin's
stomach again) what do you think of my new hair-do? CRACK! (another kick to
his face). I had it done earlier today for this occasion, SMASH! Don't you
think it's pretty?" She fluffed her long, beautiful blond hair in front of him
before sending her right foot into his face again; WHAM! As the 210 pound
master fighter staggered back into the ropes, Diane grabbed one of his
outstretched arms and judo flipped him onto the floor; CRASH! "Oh, and
speaking of shopping, you should see the lovely new shoes I bought yesterday
Kevie. They're so pretty. They're gold, just like all the trophies we'll be
putting up in our dojo tomorrow." THUMP!

As Kevin's resistance began to wane, the beautiful woman began to batter him
around the ring. With lightning fast, expertly placed punches and kicks, Diane
was using the once dreaded Kevin for target practice while he was reduced to
just trying to block her blows. "Gee, I haven't had this much fun since I beat
up my ex-hubby and his friends; tee, hee, hee." She had backed Kevin into one
of the corners and was slamming away at him at will. PUNCH! KICK! SLAM! WHACK!
POW! The referee should have stopped the fight by now, but he was too
mesmerized by what was taking place right before his eyes to say or do
anything.

"Way to go mom!" Cindy shouted out from the sidelines as she proudly watched
her mother destroy the pompous, arrogant man who had been her former
instructor. "You rule!"

"Master Sanders, you're awesome," the other girls and women from her dojo
chimed in,"totally awesome!"

The *awesome* woman suddenly stopped battering Kevin around and looked over at
her cheering daughter and students. It was then that the 40 year-old lawyer
realized what had been missing from her life for the past fifteen years - her
love of studying and teaching martial arts. Although being a successful
attorney did have it's rewards - a very sizeable income for starters - it
never gave her anywhere near the satisfaction she felt this night as she
watched her 'girls' annihilate Kevin's best fighters. It was at that moment
that Diane Sanders knew what she would be doing for the rest of her life; that
at forty, she had found her true calling.

While Diane was momentarily lost in her own thoughts, Kevin Williams realized
that this might be his last chance to salvage what was left of his pride and
began to approach the woman who had totally outclassed him. Diane had her back
to him and was so consumed by her epiphany that she seemed to forget she was
fighting in a martial arts tournament. As Kevin prepared to strike her from
behind - a blow that could have caused considerable harm to the much smaller
woman - she, without even turning around, stepped back and jammed her right
elbow hard into his solar plexus and, in the same movement, wacked him hard on
the nose with the back of her right hand.

"Trying to sneak up behind me, eh Kevin?" Diane said,"why you naughty, naughty
boy you." In what few of those who were there to witness it would ever forget,
the 140 pound woman then whirled around and slammed her right foot into
Kevin's jaw one last time. Such was the force of her blow that the 210 pound
man was actually lifted several inches off the floor. He landed back in the
corner; battered, beaten and unconscious. His head was drooping down and his
once lethal hands were drapped across the ropes.

Amazed at what they had just seen this incredible woman do, the crowd burst
into cheers; shouts of "Diane, Diane" could be heard throughout the
auditorium. The victorious female casually walked over to where the battered
man was lying and stood over him. Diane smiled as she took out the piece of
paper from her gi. On it were written these words:"Teenage girls have neither
the strength or skill, nor the dedication or determination it takes to be a
martial arts champion" (see part one of this story). Also written on it were
the wise words her sensei had told her a long time ago,"don't get mad, get
even." Diane placed the paper inside Kevin's bloody mouth and giggled, "I told
you you'd be eating your words Mr. Macho Man."

When Diane climbed out of the ring all of her students mobbed her. The girls
lifted their sensei up on their shoulders and carried her around the arena
singing,"we are the champions, we are the champions, we are the champions...of
the world," while the crowd continued to cheer and shout out her name. Even
some of Kevin's students who had been beaten by the girls had to confess their
admiration for what these females had accomplished that night. They won all
six divisions of the city-wide tournament - something no dojo had ever managed
to do before.

Out of the corner of her eye, Diane caught sight of Cindy and Richard Johnson
(the boy she had flattened in the tournament earlier that evening) shaking
hands; both had smiles on their faces. She also noticed several of her other
female students mingling with some of the guys they had beaten. As she watched
Kevin Williams being carried out of the arena on a stretcher she grinned. The
man that had virtually dominiated the martial arts scene in the city for the
better part of the past decade would, no doubt, be spending the next few days
in the hospital recovering from the severe beating she had given him."It
serves that pompous, chauvanist right," Diane said to herself. But when the
stretcher passed by, and Diane saw the tears in Kevin's eyes and the shattered
look he had on his battered face, the mighty woman's heart softened. "Perhaps
I might have been a bit too rough on him," she thought. "Maybe I should go
visit him in the hospital tomorrow..."

Epilogue: One Month Later

"Before you and Richard leave for the senior prom this evening I want to have
a talk with the two of you Cindy," Diane said to her daughter in a serious
tone of voice.

"Oh mom, I know what you're going to say. It's not like I haven't heard it all
before."

"Well I'm afraid you're going to have to hear it again then young lady. Just
because you can kick his ass in a fight doesn't mean you won't let your
passions get the better of you. I know a little bit about what female and male
hormones can lead to."

"We'll be careful mom, I promise."

"Sometimes careful isn't good enough honey. I was careful and, well..." Diane
paused briefly, then continued."This Richard is a very handsome guy; and the
fact that he can still like you after the way you pounded him in the
tournament last month shows me he's also a class act. And you do kind of like
him, don't you?"

"Well...yes, I do like him mother. Is that why you made him the instructor of
the intermediate class in your dojo?"

"It was one of the reasons, but not the main one. The main reason was this:
after our smashing success in the tournament last month, I couldn't handle the
sudden influx of people wanting to study at our dojo all by by myself. Even
with you and Rose teaching the beginner's class I still needed more qualified
instructors. So after Kevin resigned from teaching martial arts and I bought
his dojo from him, I discovered that Richard is really an excellent
instructor. He who knows how to relate to his students which I think is
extremely important - whether one is teaching self- defence or anything else."

"Why did you buy Kevin's dojo mom? I really liked the old one. It was smaller
but much more intimate."

"I agree Cindy, I liked it too. But let's face it, Kevin's is much larger and
we really do need the extra space in order to accommodate all of the new
students we've been getting. I don't feel that we should turn down anyone who
wants to study with us because of the lack of space."

"So Kevin is out of the martial arts business altogether?"

"Well, almost altogether. He still has a...small interest in it." When Diane
saw the quizzical look on her daughter's face, she smiled and added,"I'll
explain it to you someday honey."

"Are you sorry you gave up your law practice mom?"

"Not for a minute, not for one single minute. Teaching martial arts is what I
was meant to do."

"And what are you planning to do tonight while I'm at the prom?"

Diane smiled at her daughter,"don't worry about me honey, I'll find something
to do."

The mother-daughter conversation was interrupted by the ring of the front
doorbell. "I'll get it," Cindy said excitedly as she raced to the door. She
returned shortly with her prom date in tow. Instinctively, Richard bowed
before his new sensei. "Good evening Master Sanders," he said respectfully.

"That's only appropriate in my dojo Richard," Diane admonished him."Here I'm
Ms. Sanders, your girlfriend's mother and a simple handshake will do." When
they shook hands, Richard winced at the strength of Diane's grip.

"Well then young man, I hope your intentions with my daughter are *honorable*
(Cindy couldn't help but giggle when she heard her mother say this), and
you'll protect my helpless little daughter should the need arise (more
giggles)."

"Yes Mast...err, Ms. Sanders. I'll be a perfect gentleman; you have my word on
that. And I promise I won't be late for the intermediate class I teach
tomorrow morning."

"O.K. then. You kids can go now...and have yourselves a great time." Just
before Cindy and Richard left, Diane handed her daughter a small package.
"Don't open this until you are at least a mile away," she whispered. Mother
and daughter exchanged a knowing look; then Cindy led Richard out of the house
to his car. When they had driven exactly one mile, Cindy opened the package.
In it she found several condoms and a note which read:"I've booked you and
Richard into the Holiday Inn tonight under the name of Mr. and Ms. Sanders.
Tell Richard he needn't worry about his class tomorrow, I'm going to teach it.
And please enjoy yourselves. Love, Mom."

About twenty minutes later the doorbell rang again. "It's open," Diane called
out. She smiled at the large, well built man who entered the house. "Well
Kevin, Cindy and Richard will be gone until tomorow so we can take our time
tonight. What kind of foreplay are you in the mood for? Karate? Judo? Boxing?
Wrestling?...or perhaps Scrabble?"

"I think I'd prefer Scrabble tonight if you don't mind Diane. I'm still a bit
sore from last week's foreplay."

"Scrabble it is then." The powerful and beautiful martial arts master took
Kevin Williams firmly by the hand and led him into her bedroom. "But I'm still
going to kick your ass," she giggled; and sure enough, she did.