Mark's first date with Joanna.
by M.C.
Joanna gives Mark a night to remember.


Author's note: This story was inspired by JoAnna Needhem, a martial arts
expert.


Mark stood in front of the mirror; he wanted to be sure everything was 
perfect. After five months of karate training he finally got up the 
courage to ask Joanna, his instructor, out on a date. To his great 
surprise, and satisifaction, she accepted. As he went over his clothes, 
hair, shoes, etc., he couldn't help but wonder what came over him . Why 
would such a beautiful, intelligent, fantastic woman want to go out with 
him - a clerk in a department store. He began to get very nervous." What 
if it doesn't go well, how will I ever be able to return to her class", 
he thought to himself. " What was I thinking ? " He began to reflect on 
his life with the opposit sex. All through high school and college, he 
admired strong athletic women.He loved to go to women's basketball and 
volleyball games, just to watch the superbly conditioned women perform. 
Women's track and field were a favorite of his, especially the muscular 
shot putters and discus throwers.Although he always wanted to ask one  -  
any one  -  out on a date, he never got up the nerve. He was afraid of 
rejection; he was sure none of these athletic "godesses" would want to 
go out with him. That's what was so surprising about his asking Joanna 
out .....and she accepted. What was he going to do?  Mark had no choice 
now, he was comitted; he had to go through with it. As he got in his car 
and turned the ignition key his heart stopped........his car wouldn't 
start. He tried again  -nothing. The battery was dead. He sadly got out 
of his house and walked back to his appartment. As he was dialing 
Joanna's number all he kept saying to himself was, " I blew it , I blew 
it ". 

"Is that all that's the matter ? ", the cheerful voice on the other end 
of the phone said. "The way you were carrying on, I thought somebody had 
died .Tell you what, I'll drive over to your place and we'll go to the 
movies in my car. I also have jumper cables and will help you start your 
car afterwards". Mark couldn't believe his ears. Joanna was a martial 
arts expert, she holds black belts in several different disciplines of 
self  -  defence; could it be that she actually wants to go out with him 
? A few minutes later Mark heard his doorbell ring . As he opened the 
door he stared at the beautiful woman before his eyes. Joanna stood 
about  5 feet 8 inches tall. She had a very pretty face and long auburn 
hair. "Aren't you going to invite me in ? ", she asked Mark. Slowly 
coming to his senses, Mark stood aside; Joanna  entered. She was wearing 
a low cut dress and appeared nearly topless." I usually don't go out on 
dates wearing a gi ", she laughed in response to Mark's expression. As 
she looked around Mark's appartment, she noticed several large posters 
depicting athletes -  both male and female." I've always been attracted 
to strong, powerful athletes", he told her. "I appreciate what I was 
never able to do". 
 In his bedroom Mark had a large poster of Bill Bower  -  winner of the 
' Toughest man in the State ' contest. He was posing with his title 
belt, flexing his massive muscles.These guys impress me ", Mark said, a 
little bit embarrassed that Joanna had seen the poster." Oh,I see ", was 
her only comment. She turned towards 
 Mark and said," well, are we ready to go ? " 

As Joanna and Mark drove towards the movie theatre, she turned to him 
and said, "Mark, I remember reading in the newspaper today that your 
idol, Bill Bower, is giving an exhibition at the boxing arena tonight. 
Why don't we skip the movies and take a look ". Mark looked at her and 
asked, "are you sure you'd be interested in that sort of thing ? "  "Why 
not ", Joanna replied, " I'd like to see what he could do". They arrived 
at the arena just as the demonstration was getting underway. Joanna and 
Mark found seats near the front. In the middle of the boxing ring stood 
a giant of a man. Six feet - five inches tall and weighing 275 pounds. 
He appeared to be solid muscle. Bill Bower was giving a display of his 
awesome strength, lifting huge amounts of weights. "Boy, I'd sure hate 
to get on his wrong side ", Mark said. Joanna just looked at 
Mark.........and smiled. After the weightlifting demonstration ended, 
Bill's manager walked out to the center of the ring and announced, 
"Ladies and Gentlemen,Bill Bower - the toughest man in the state - will 
now offer a prize of one thousand dollars to anyone who can remain 
standing after three rounds" . As Mark looked around the arena, he 
noticed that nobody got up to accept the challenge. He felt a gentle tug 
on his arm. "Excuse me,honey ", Joanna said. Thinking that she had to 
use the ladies room, Mark moved aside. As he watched her reach the end 
of the aisle, he stared in disbelief - Joanna started to walk 
down............... towards the ring !!! 

Joanna reached the base of the boxing ring, removed her high heels, and 
climbed in. She walked up to the mighty Bill Bower and said in a calm, 
relaxed tone," well, big boy, it seems that nobody here wants to fight 
you -  I guess I'll have to do it myself ". He stared down at the 
beautiful woman - nearly a foot shorter and one hundred pounds lighter 
than himself - and scowled. " You've got some nerve coming in here like 
this, I ain't fighting no girl ". Joanna simply smiled up at him," 
surely a big, tough man like you isn't afraid of little old me are you ? 
" This angered Bill and he barked, " very well, girly  -  but I'm not 
going to be responsible for what I do to you ". "I'll bare that in mind 
", Joanna replied, seemingly unconcerned by his threats. By now Mark had 
made his way to the base of the ring. "Joanna, please don't do this", he 
pleaded. "He's a killer, I worried about you ".Joanna bent over and 
kissed him on the forehead." That's very sweet of you, honey. But don't 
worry about me, I'll be fine.....it's Bill you should be worried about 
". Joanna gave him a gentle pat on the head. " Why don't you just relax 
and enjoy the show ; I know I will ". She then tied her long, pretty 
hair back into a pony tail, turned around  and prepared to face the 
mighty Bill Bower. " O.K. tough guy, are you ready to rumble ? ". 

Mark watched the scene unfolding before him with both trepidation; and 
fasination. He had always admired strong, athletic people of both sexes. 
Now he was about to witness the ultimate 'battle of the sexes'. His 
beautiful  5 ' 8 " 165 pound karate instructor was taking on a mighty 6 
'5 " 275 pound man; winner of the 'toughest man in the state ' contest 
no less.Though Mark was shaking, it was as much with anticipation as 
fear. 

ROUND ONE 

As Bill moved in, Joanna smiled; if she was afraid she certainly didn't 
show it. When Bill got within three feet of her she suddenly lashed out 
with her right foot. So quick was Joanna's kick that it landed on the 
side of Bill's face before he could bring up his arm to protect himself. 
While he was still surprised from her first blow, she then landed 
another one; this time with her left foot. Then again with her right 
foot, then her left . "Gee,this is easy ", Joanna giggled, "just like 
practice. I hope you can give me a better workout than this, my 
boyfriend wants to see some real fighting ". Joanna looked across the 
ring at Mark and winked. Bill recovered from her blows and angerily 
approached. He took a wild swing which Joanna easily avoided. He tried 
another but missed by a mile. "That's a nice breeze you're creating ", 
Joanna teased,"but I'm not sweaty yet ". After he missed with a third 
punch, Joanna resumed her attack with lightning quick kicks to both his 
head and mid - section. Although this was an 'anything goes' fight, 
Joanna didn't think it would be sporting to kick him in the 
balls..........that would be too easy. As Bill stalked her around the 
ring, Joanna continued to tease him. " So you're the rough, tough Bill 
Bower. I think I'll call you Billy Boy from now on ". With less than a 
minute left in the first round, Joanna had connected with nearly twenty 
solid kicks and it was beginning to show on Bill's face. His eyes were 
puffy and he appeared to have a swollen jaw. Try as he might, he hadn't 
even come close to hitting her. The bell rang to end the first round. 
"Joanna smiled sweetly up at the stunned man and said, " you go back to 
your corner and rest now Billy Boy, I'll see you in a minute ". She 
walked back to her corner and playfully tweeked Mark's nose. "Well, 
honey - how am I doing ? ". Mark looked up at her and said, " 
Joanna......you're fantastic ". "Why thank you Mark - what a sweet thing 
to say.Wait until you see what I have in store for him in the next round 
". 

ROUND TWO 

At the start of the second round Bill stormed straight at her, hoping to 
end the fight (and restore his pride) with one powerful punch. Joanna 
had anticipated such a move and easily sidestepped his wild haymaker. 
Bill opened himself up to Joanna's counterpunches which she began to 
throw with lightning speed. " Tell you what, Billy Boy.To make this 
little fight of ours more interesting, I'm going to give your face a 
rest in this round and only work on your middle. I'll also only use my 
fists -that should make it easier for you to defend yourself ". Despite 
this disadvantage, Joanna easily outboxed Bill, landing dozens of well - 
placed punches while he helplessly flailed away; never even coming close 
to hitting her. Her punches may have lacked his power, but after two 
minutes she had hit him enough times that there were welts all over his 
body. " I'm really rather disappointed in you, Billy Boy - I was 
expecting a much better workout that this". For the final minute of the 
second round Joanna didn't even throw a punch.She just giggled as she 
avoided Bill's desperate attempts to punch her.So frustrated was he that 
when the bell to end the second round rang, he tried to hit her. Joanna 
comely held up her hand and blocked his late punch. " Now,now Billy Boy; 
that wasn't very nice, was it ? It looks like I'm going to have to teach 
you a good lesson in the next round ". She smiled,waved to the cheering 
crowd and returned to her corner. Mark stared up at Joanna in 
disbelief.Not only was she beating the mighty Bill Bower; she was doing 
it so easily......she wasn't even out of breath. "Mark honey,could you 
please hand me my hairbrush from my purse". Joanna undid her ponytail, 
letting her long, beautiful auburn hair fall down her back. The scene 
could not have been more surreal. In one corner sat a very large, 
immensely strong man.He was surrounded by his manager and trainer.While 
his manager was screeming out advice the trainer was busy at work, 
trying to stop the swelling and bruises. The man looked dejected. While 
in the other corner sat the beautiful woman, who was administering the 
beating, comely brushing her hair. When the bell to begin the final 
round sounded, she handed the hairbrush back to Mark, blew a kiss to the 
adoring crowd and walked over to meet Bill. 

ROUND THREE 

Unlike the previous two rounds, Bill came out cautiously. Gone was the 
smug self -  confidence, the macho pride. He had been badly beaten the 
the first two rounds. Joanna knew the look. She had more than enough 
experience in fighting to recognise it; Bill had defeat written all over 
his face. She knew she'd won, but like a bullfighter, she wanted to win 
in style; she also wanted to punish him for trying to hit her after the 
bell. " Well, Billy Boy, I hope you've evjoyed this as much as I have ". 
She comely approached him and began her attack.Years of martial arts 
training - strength,speed,coordination - were brilliantly displayed as 
the much smaller woman easily battered the huge man around the ring. 
Joanna was giving a clinic. Despite the beating, however, she was 
careful not to aim her blows in sensitive areas; she was even pulling 
her punches. He would have no broken bones, and (unlike many of Bill's 
other opponents) require no hospital treatment when she was through with 
him. But, she would leave no doubt in his mind that she was - in every 
way -the superior fighter. It will be a long time before Bill Bower 
climbed into a ring to beat up somebody again. Joanna had backed Bill 
into Mark's corner - she wanted it that way. As she pounded the now 
helpless man into the ropes, she winked at  her new boyfriend. She also 
couldn't help but notice the bulge in Mark's pants. " I'll deal with you 
later ", she said and giggled. Bill was out on his feet now. Joanna 
decided  to finish him off in a way that would leave everyone in the 
arena talking ......for weeks. Bending over, the 165 pound woman put one 
of her arms between Bill's powerful thighs, the other around his neck. 
As the crowd gasped, she lifted the 275 pound man on her sholders and 
began to whorl him around -the classic helicopter spin. " Wheeeeeeee, 
this is so much fun ", Joanna laughed as she - seemingly without effort 
- spun around and around. " Please put me down, PLEASE !!!! ", Bill 
begged. Joanna thought about slamming him hard to the mat; but then 
reconsidered. She had made her point; no reason to be cruel. Instead she 
gently lowered the beaten man to the floor and laid him on his back.The 
bell to end the third round rang. 

The crowd erupted with wild cheers. Joanna put one foot on Bill's chest 
and flexed her muscles.She smiled down at the broken man beneath her. " 
I want to thank you for this lovely workout. If you train hard, I'll 
give you a rematch whenever you like ". She laughed, knowing it would be 
a long time before Bill even thinks about fighting again. Joanna looked 
across the ring at Bill's manager," I believe you owe me some money, 
don't you ? ". As the manager nervously wrote out a check, Joanna added, 
" and I'll take that too ". She pointed to Bill's 'toughest man in the 
state' belt. To the thunderous applause the manager meekly handed Joanna 
both the check and the belt. She put the belt on and paraded around the 
ring. She then motioned to Mark to join her and gave him a passionate 
kiss. " This beats the movies anytime, doesn't it ? ". Bill Bower lay 
just where Joanna had put him, on his back. The pain of Joanna's beating 
plus the humiliation he endured at her hands became too much for him; he 
started to cry. "Aw, there, there ", Joanna teased, " let me help you up 
". She reached down and helped the broken man to his feet. Joanna then 
turned to Mark and said," honey, let me introduce you to Bill Bower. I 
may have forgotten to mention this to you before but he and I dated each 
other in high school - before he dumped me for a sexy cheerleader; isn't 
that right Bill ? " Bill looked at the floor and in a soft, meek voice 
said, " that's right ". Joanna then turned to Mark and said, " Mark, I 
want you to understand this, I've dated my share of jocks and self 
important athletes for a long time. I'll take the shy, quiet, loving man 
over them every time.I don't care where you work, or how much you're 
worth; just as long as I know you'll always be there for me when I need 
you.That's what's important to me, and that's why I want you for my 
boyfriend  -  I know that I can depend on you.....always ". Joanna then 
gave Mark another kiss. As she led Mark out of the arena, towards her 
car, the crowd stood up and gave Joanna the acknowledgement she 
deserved..............it was a night to remember. 

EPILOGUE 

Joanna and Mark were lying on Mark's bed, cuddling after a passionate 
lovemaking session. As they lay there Joanna looked across the room and 
asked," well - what do you think ? " Mark followed her gaze and 
answered," it's definiately an improvement ". Hanging on the wall -where 
the old poster of Bill Bower used to be - was a new one. Bill Bower was 
still in it, of course, but this time he was lying - battered and beaten 
- on his back. Standing over him, proudly flexing her muscles, was 
Joanna - smiling victoriously. " Yes", Mark repeated to emphasize the 
point," it's definiately an improvement ".