During practice, I played center field and rotated with their regular starter. He didn’t seem happy, but Coach Conde told him to settle down. After we were done, Cassidy ran me through
◊◊◊
After baseball, my security team and I went to the dojo. We were in the middle of working on our forms when one of their instructors came over to introduce himself. His name was Carlos, and he had an interesting offer.
“I’ve watched you practice and have noticed that you use a rather conventional approach. I was wondering if you would like to learn some effective ways to protect yourself?” he asked.
“You teach here?” Fritz asked.
“Yes. I was also in the Cuban army and taught hand-to-hand combat. Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two and thought you might be interested in some backstreet wisdom.”
We agreed, and Carlos began our lesson.
“What is the most powerful strike you can do?” he asked me.
I thought about it for a minute.
“Probably a side kick. My legs are stronger than my arms and can generate a lot more force.”
“Good answer. Show me,” he said.
They had an oversized heavy bag. It touched the ground, which made it harder to move. I found my range, set my base, and then kicked the bag as hard as I could. I was able to move the bag with a strong kick.
Carlos walked up to the bag and swung his arm as if he were throwing a hook, but hit it with his forearm. I watched in amazement as the bag moved more than my kick had achieved.
“How’d you do that?” Cassidy asked as she suddenly paid close attention.
“You can get more force using your torso and hitting the bag with your bone. I believe you can do more damage with a ‘bone strike’ than you can most other ways. Feel your forearm. In the middle, it’s soft with muscle, but on the outsides, it’s hard. You can feel the bone.
“It’s the same with a ‘palm strike.’ You can knock the air out of someone easily, but if you tilt your hand back and strike with the heel of your palm and wrist, it’s bone. You can do some serious damage,” he explained.
I felt my palm and recognized I’d been using the meaty part of my palm when I hit someone. I moved my fingers down just a little, and he was right, I could feel the bone.
“Here’s a tip,” Carlos said. “If you’re in a fight with just one person, go ahead and use your fists and pound his jaw. The trick is to keep your fist tight at all times. Most people tighten their hand right before they hit someone. See this bump,” Carlos said as he showed a bump on the back of his hand.
“I learned that lesson the hard way. My opponent lunged forward as I threw a punch, and because my fist was loose, I ended up breaking a bone in my hand.”
He was right. I usually had my hands loose before I threw a punch.
“What if you’re in a fight with multiple people?” I asked.
“Then use the palm or bone strike. If there are multiple attackers, odds are that you will need to grapple with them, and you don’t want to take time to clench your fists,” Carlos explained.
“It sounds like you used to mix it up,” Fritz said.
“I’ve been in a bar fight or three in my time,” Carlos admitted.
“How would you go about it?” Fritz asked.
He pulled Paul onto the mat.
“Typically, they will get in your face. You want to be in a defensive stance so you can protect yourself without being obvious,” Carlos explained.
He showed us how he would cross his left arm across his chest. He held his right arm so that his elbow was against his side, and his hand was up around his chin as if he were thinking.
“With my arms like this, I can bring up my left to fend off a punch or use my right to push them back if they get too close.” Then Carlos demonstrated with Paul before he continued. “Because they are going to want to get in your face, you strike first by head-butting their nose with your forehead. It will stun them and give you a chance to jump them and pound them.
“If they try to head-butt you, tuck your chin and let their nose hit your forehead. You end up with the same result,” Carlos taught.
“How do you use the forearm strike?” Cassidy asked.
“I’ll show you how to knock someone out with just one strike, and even you can do it,” he said to Cassidy.
“Hang on. She doesn’t need to know something like that,” I worried.
“You be quiet,” Cassidy threatened.
“Would you agree that Mike Tyson was probably the boxer best known for knocking people out?” Carlos asked.
“I’d agree with that,” Paul said.
“If you watch his fights, he is targeting just behind the ear with those massive hooks. I contend that he used palm strikes instead of hitting with his glove. Right in that area, you will feel a soft spot behind the ear, and if you feel a little lower, that’s where the jaw attaches to the skull. If you strike someone there, it’ll rattle their brain, and it will be lights out.
“Who’s the toughest one of you?” Carlos asked.
“David,” Paul, Cassidy, and Fritz all said in unison.
This sounded like a setup.
