Life after the Lottery Ch. 72

"What is that in the back?" Samantha asked.

"Something for a demonstration in class," I said.

We drove into town to the gymnasium. We pulled up outside and got out, and went inside. I saw Dan talking to Linda and Rachel.

"They did make it," I said.

I set the cooler on the bleachers as Dawn went to talk to Dan.

*****

Everyone had lined up, and Dawn and I were standing in front with Dan.

"Everyone, Dr. Smith and his wife Dawn, wants to say a few things before we start," Dan said.

"Good morning, everyone. I think all of you have met Samantha and Amy. They are both working hard like all of you are. I was talking to one of them Friday, and it made me think of a few things. Some, I am sure Dan has already talked about. But, I thought it would be good to hear some of it from Dawn and myself."

"As you learn the fundamentals and then the more aggressive parts of self-defense, you all need to be thinking of one other thing. Some of the moves and strikes you will learn are very capable of killing another person. That is something to think about as you train. Dan has told you and will continue to repeat some very fundamentals of self-defense. One of the most important things to remember is that there are no fair street fights. Once someone has decided to attack you, all bets are off. Dan is teaching you to backup if you can and announce that you do not want to fight. That is one of the first things to understand and learn. If, and only if the situation always it, you stun your attacker by pushing back and telling them to back off, it may stop a fight. If it does, great, but you will have done two things. Warn the attacker and allow anyone around you to see you are not the attacker."

"This is the same reason that police officers announce they will shoot if a perp doesn't drop his weapon. But, they do this if and only if they have the opportunity and their life or the life of someone else is not under immediate threat. If time does not allow it, they strike fast, and so will you. This all comes back to what we keep saying about situational awareness. We cannot emphasize enough that you must always be aware of your surroundings. It may sound like paranoia to tell you to always be on the lookout. Maybe it is not something you always do, being hyperaware. But, as your situation and surroundings change, your level of awareness must change."

"If you are walking down the street and there is no one else to be seen, your awareness level can drop down to being on the lookout, but being prepared. If you are walking down a dark street and there are others around, your awareness level needs to go way up. If you are in a parking lot and about to get out of your car, you look around and become hyperaware. I hope this makes sense. Most of all, if you have questions, ask us."

"Let me add to this," Dawn said.

"For you ladies, and you men...I repeat, there are no fair street fights. If someone is attacking you, you assume that they are going to rob, rape, or kill you! The law says you cannot use deadly force to protect property, right, Dan?"

"Correct."

"That means if someone is breaking into your car, you can't shoot them because they are only stealing your stuff, right, Dan?"

"Correct."

"But, if you are in the car and someone is trying to take it from you, you may not know if they have a weapon or not, so you don't know if they are planning on killing you. But, you have the right to assume they are going to kill you because they are being violent and trying to remove you from your car, and you can do whatever you need to do to defend yourself, right, Dan?"

"Correct!"

"I hope you see the difference. We had a discussion at home the other night about this. If someone comes up to you and pushes you and you do not see a weapon, you are learning what to do. The question came up at our house as to if you take the person pushing you out immediately or warn them as you break free. There is no correct answer to this question. We will show you today that when someone pushes you that you can easily hurt them badly or kill them in one swift move. Is that the first response you should make? Don't know. It's back to situational awareness. What is your assessment of your attacker? Are their others around, witnesses? Does your attacker have one or more buddies with him? These are things you must, and I repeat must, be assessing immediately."

"One man, or woman, walks up to you and pushes you in the chest...what do you do? Deflect and side-step and bring your hands up and tell them to stop because you don't want to fight is one move. It may stop the fight and your attacker, or...it may piss them off, and they come after you harder! So...what do you do? You should have already made that decision before you deflected your attacker. How can you do that, you ask? In your mind, you should have been asking yourself what do I do if this guy approaching shoves me? Pretty cynical way to go through life? Not if you want to stay alive, it's not," Dawn told them.

"You will learn how to deflect attacks or escape a hold, separate, strike a defensive stance and warn your attacker. You will also learn how to follow through immediately with a deflection or escape and strike a blow that could easily kill. How do you know which to do? Trust your instincts and worry about what a jury will think after it is all over. Your first goal is to come out of the situation alive!"

"All I can tell you is that you learn to trust your feelings and your gut. You learn to be able to assess situations immediately. You have to, to stay alive. Dan, come and push me," Dawn said.

"We will show you the rest of what you didn't learn last week," Dawn added.

Dawn stepped out, and Dan walked up and pushed her. She deflected and stepped back, and yelled for him to stop.

"That is what you learned last week, right?" Dawn asked.

"Dan, push me again," Dawn said.

I was glad we were on the mats.

Dan pushed her, and in a blur, Dawn hooked him by his chin and put him on the mat. There were some mumbles.

"As you can see, if I slammed him down hard on a hard surface, it is going to bust his head good. Hard enough, and it could kill him," Dawn said.

"Just to make sure..." Dawn picked her foot up and stomped and stopped just above Dan's throat. "I can finish an attacker this way."

Dawn helped Dan get up.

"All escape moves and releases can be followed with a fatal attack. You need to be prepared for that. You will have to either escape and run...or...escape and attack...and possibly kill. You have to get very good at this to make the decision if you are going to stop your attacker...or fuck him up some!" Dawn said to some giggles.

"Just like Dan, as a police officer is not trained to shoot to wound, are you, Dan?" Dawn asked.

"No, I am not."

"Why?"

"Because with a weapon, it is very difficult to attempt to wound someone in a stressful situation. By trying to wound, I could easily hit a bystander and kill them."

"But Dan, I know you are a very good shot and could easily wound someone. Why don't you just do that?" Dawn asked.

"Because I will not fire unless my life or someone else's is in immediate danger. Even if I wound the perp, he could have friends or could go down shooting," Dan said.

"Using a weapon to defend yourself is not like using your hands or feet. It is close if you know what you are doing, but not the same. However, you know that what you can do can easily kill. All I can tell you is that the better you get, the more you have to think about things. If Dan, or James, or I get in a fight and kill someone, we better be able to prove we had no other choice. We may have to make a jury understand that also. As you train, you will learn more and more. As you learn more and more and get better and better, your decisions will come under scrutiny." Dawn finished with.

"Dawn? I have a question?" A lady asked.

"What's that?"

"In that video where you were fighting off those two guys...did you feel like your life was in danger?"

"I knew someone would bring that up..." There was laughter.

"No, I did not feel like my life was in danger, but...that was me, though. I didn't feel like my life was in danger for one reason...I am very, very good at this. You will never be as good as I am...maybe one, maybe two of you after five or ten years. I don't say that to brag. I say that so you understand I can easily stop an attacker and my life not be in danger. Knowing you are that good, you have little fear of being overtaken, you can make that kind of decision. The only situation I am very afraid of is an attacker with a gun."

"Some of you have seen Dawn demonstrate her abilities," Dan said. "All I can say is she is right. She is good enough to not have much fear."

"Then did you over-respond?" Amy asked with a smile.

"Are you asking if I subjected the attackers to more physical damage than they deserved?" Dawn asked.

"Yes."

"I did. The first guy that attacked me pissed me off. I could have stopped after I broke his elbow. The second guy really pissed me off. If you have seen the video, you will have seen that I got punched in the face really hard. That was what I got and deserved for screwing around and messing up the first guy. I was pissed off and wanted to mess up the guy. While I was doing that, I made a mistake that could have been fatal. I got over-confident and forgot about his buddy I had seen him with earlier. And because of that, I got punched very hard and could have easily lost that fight."

"Did you ever have the thought you would need to kill him?" A lady asked.

"No, not unless he produced a weapon."

"Why not?" Samantha asked.

"I wasn't afraid of him."

"We will watch the video again later," Dan said. "Also, Dawn has a treat for all of you after lunch."

We worked with the class until about noon, then broke for lunch.

While everyone ate lunch, I went out to the Escalade and brought in the things Dawn needed. I took her sword case to her in the locker room then I set up the stand that held a rolled-up bamboo mat. Once it was secured, I went to the locker room to check on Dawn. She was putting on the white top of the Kendo uniform.

"Your stand is ready," I said.

"Braid my hair, please."

I stood behind her and braided her hair tightly all the way down. Whenever Dawn's hair was braided, it went down to her ass.

"Done. What else do you need?" I asked.

"How long before it is time for me?"

"About 15 minutes."

"Okay. I need to meditate."

I left Dawn in the locker room. I knew she wanted to clear her mind from the morning's practice. I sat with Amy and Samantha as they finished eating.

"What is she doing?" Samantha asked.

"Getting ready."

"What did you set up?" Amy asked.

"You'll see."

"What was in the case?" Samantha asked.

"Her katana."

I finished my sandwich and was sipping water as everyone finished up. A few minutes later, Dan went into the locker room. A few minutes after that, he came out with Dawn following him. He walked over to us, but Dawn stopped in the middle of the floor and got down and sat on top of her legs, and dropped her head. The gym had gotten quiet.

Dan sat with us a few minutes and finished a bottle of water.

"Is she ready?" Dan asked me.

"Yes."

Dan stood and walked to the floor to address everyone.

"Everyone, can I have your attention. Among Dawn's many talents, she is also a swordmaster or a Kendoka. She has studied Kendo and Bushido martial arts for over a decade. She holds a 5th-dan in Kendo, which is near the best. She is going to demonstrate a sword kata. And no, we do not teach this in our classes."

Dan walked over and sat down with us. After a minute, Dawn slowly stood and, ceremonially and seriously, slowly withdrew her razor-sharp sword and took up kamea. She stood in her stance with a furious look for a minute, then started. She went through her kata, screaming as she made phantom strikes. If everyone thought Dawn was a badass at Krav Maga, they knew she was a badass now.

It was quiet as Dawn performed for about ten minutes. As her kata ended, she stopped in her stance at the stand with the rolled-up bamboo mat. After a minute, she screamed and swung the sword at the roll. She stopped with the sword on the downstroke. The top of the bamboo mat fell off the roll. She drew her sword back up again and screamed and made one slice through the roll, then came back and cut the falling piece in half and stopped on her downstroke.

She stood and slowly slid the sword back into the scabbard, and everyone applauded, and Dawn bowed.

Dan got up and walked out, and stood next to Dawn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do not try that at home, please," Dan said. "Any questions?"

"Dawn. How long did it take you to get that good with the sword?" A guy asked.

"I have been studying and practicing for over ten years. It takes a long time and a lot of practice to become good with a katana."

"Is that sword really sharp?" Amy asked.

"Yes."

I stood and tossed Dan an apple. Dawn withdrew the sword and held it out, blade up. Dan held the apple about four inches above the blade and released it. It fell through the sword and landed in two pieces.

"My katana or sword is very sharp. It is as sharp as a scalpel. Even in my house, no one is allowed to handle it but me. It is just too dangerous. With one stroke, I can cut a human body in half."

Dawn withdrew a small cloth from her sash and slid it down the blade to wipe it off, then returned it to the scabbard.

"Is that a real Japanese sword?" A lady asked.

"This is my katana or sword I use during formal presentations. It is a real Japanese sword and is over 200 hundred years old. Once I had the money, I went through many swords until I found one that fit my size and felt balanced for me. I had the luxury of being able to afford this one. I have other practice swords that a far less expensive."

"What did that one cost?" Someone asked.

"Old traditionally made swords are very expensive," was all Dawn said.

"Dawn studied Kendo and Bushido while she was studying Krav Maga. She didn't think Krav Maga was bad enough!" Dan teased her. There was some laughter.

"Dawn! Do you have any other talents!" Someone asked, and everyone laughed.

Dan walked over to me, and I handed him two apples, and he walked back to Dawn. Dan tossed one apple out to the side, and, in a blur, Dawn pulled a knife from her arm holster and threw it and stuck the apple in mid-air. There were some gasps.

"Never, ever, try anything like this, ladies and gentlemen," Dan said as he walked about 15 feet away from Dawn.

Dan held the apple between his thumb and fingers and held it out to his side. Without hesitating, Dawn threw a knife and stuck it in the apple. Everyone applauded.

"I learned several years ago that Dawn is also very good at throwing knives," Dan said. "She didn't learn that in any martial arts class. She learned that as a kid on the Cherokee reservation when she was there in the summers."

Everyone applauded again and stood, and walked out to talk to Dawn. After about 10 minutes, Dawn walked back to the locker room to change.

Dan had everyone back on the floor practicing when Dawn came out in her black Gi carrying her sword case. She walked out the side door with it. I knew she was going to lock up her sword in the Escalade. When she came back in, she went to work with some of the students.

We worked all the students hard for the rest of the day. Dan wanted to finish teaching them the moves we had taught Samantha and Amy. By 4:30, everyone was ready to stop for the day. Dan talked to everyone for about 20 minutes, then dismissed the class.

Linda and Rachel walked up to us.

"This is hard work," Linda said.

"Yes, it is. Did you learn anything?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, don't mess with you if you have a sword!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Or a knife," Linda added.

We talked until we had cooled down, then we got in the SUV and headed home.

"Can you teach me to use a sword?" Samantha asked from the backseat.

"You won't have time for that anytime soon, Sam."

"Why not?"

"You have to get much better at Krav Maga before you turn your attention elsewhere. You would not be just learning to use a sword. You would be learning an entirely new discipline. I started training while I got my Expert rating in Krav Maga. Remember that takes at least three years. I also had a lot of experience with a staff weapon from my summers."

Samantha got quiet in the back.

"But, you both can benefit from beginning to learn some of the fundamentals of Kendo. I can also teach you to use a staff. That can be useful if you have something in your hands like a stick or umbrella. It also makes you very confident. If you are using a scalpel, that comes in handy."

We stopped and grabbed some burgers before we got home.

Once we pulled up in front of the house, I had Samantha and Amy help me unload things from the Escalade and take them to the garage.

"Could Dawn really cut someone in half with that sword?" Samantha asked.

"I have no doubt she could."

"You think she would if she had to?"

"Probably."

We finished and went in to shower and clean up. The four of us showered together and then got out and dried off. Dawn went to the bedroom and put away her Kendo outfit.

"I need to check my katana. Can you three start dinner?" Dawn asked.

"Sure," Amy said.

The three of us were starting dinner when Dawn came down the stairs. She had on some sweats and picked up the sword case and went to the den. She pulled out some things and came to the kitchen, and got a glass of water.

"What does she have to do?" Samantha asked.

"Clean her sword and check to see if it needs to be sharpened."

"How does she sharpen it?"

"I'm not sure how she does it. I have seen her sit for hours and work on the blade."

We got things started, and Samantha went to watch Dawn.

About an hour later, we all sat down to eat.

"Did you finish?" I asked Dawn.

"Yes. Everything is good to go."

"You took a long time sharpening it," Samantha said.

"I don't actually sharpen it. I just polish the edge and the blade. I would never try and sharpen the blade. I would have to ship it off for that," Dawn said.

"What was that flat thing you were running on the blade?"

"That is a very, very fine honing stone. I use it with water on it to polish the edge."

After we finished eating, Dawn went to put her katana away and put the case back in my study.

"James, do they still make those swords? Dawn said hers was several hundred years old," Amy asked.

"There are still swordsmiths in Japan. They make custom swords for people that can afford it."

"What does something like that cost?" Samantha asked.

"Around $60,000."

"Wow."

"It sounds like a lot, but the swords are hand-made for the person that is purchasing them. These swordsmiths don't make more than a handful a year."

"I bet Dawn would love to have a sword made just for her."

I smiled as I finished my wine.

"What are you smiling at?" Amy asked.

I looked to see if Dawn was still in my study.

"Don't you two dare saying anything about this, but I have been working for a year to get her a custom-made sword."

"Cool!" Came from Samantha.

"I finally got her on the list. There is just one catch."

"What?" Amy asked.

"She has to visit the swordsmith in Japan so he can make it to fit her. And, he has to decide if she is worthy of the sword."

"Oh..." came from Amy.

"Can you make that happen?" Samantha asked.

"Please don't say anything to Dawn," I said.

"We won't."

"My plans right now are that when we leave Hawaii at the end of June, we are going to Japan..."

"All of us?" Amy asked.

"Yes. I am working with the swordsmith in Japan."

"Wow!" Came from Samantha.