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By then, my heart rate had slowed, and my mind had calmed.
One class member, a fresh-faced young woman, approached me with a tentative smile.
“Casey, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “I really like your classes. You always push me harder than the other instructors. I think it’s because you’re scarier.”
I laughed. “Thanks, I think.”
“Do you ever do self-defense training?”
I nodded. “Yeah, the setup of these classes is for cardio, but if you wanted something specific, I can get you hooked up with me or one of the other trainers.”
“I-I think I’d prefer a female trainer,” she said quietly.
“Absolutely.” I gentled my tone. “Feels good to know a few moves, doesn’t it?”
Casey’s eyes were wide in her face, and when she nodded slowly, I wanted to rip apart anyone or anything that made her feel like she needed to know how to defend herself.
“How much are the training sessions?” She winced. “College student budget, you know? I grabbed your punch card promo last month, but I don’t know if I can afford anything else.”
I looked over my shoulder and didn’t see Aiden. “Tell you what, do you have a few minutes now? I’d be happy to go over some basics.”
“Really?” she breathed.
“Yeah. Let me get rid of this mic and grab some water.”
As I hooked the battery pack up to the charger, I let out a slow breath. It wasn’t the first time we’d had a young woman ask for self-defense classes, but nevertheless, something about her big brown eyes and tentative nature had my wheels spinning.
Maybe a once-a-month class taught by me or Kelly with a few other trainers helping out with demonstrations. I’d have to ask Aiden if he’d be okay with something like that. Ideas of how we could connect with the University of Washington and other local colleges had ideas tumbling faster and faster in my head.
I walked back to where she was waiting, her arms folded over her stomach. “Ready?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Okay, drop your arms by your side and take a deep breath for me.” I nodded when she complied. “I’ll show you a couple right now, and they’re nothing that requires you to be stronger than an attacker, okay? The most basic self-defense moves won’t require you to stay and fight. The goal is to get away safely.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but she was listening.
I pointed at the bags. “So everything we just did in class, that’s great for exercise. It’s great to know the basics of how to throw an effective punch and use your lower body to your advantage, but you’re not going to hit them with a jab, cross, and a roundhouse, right?”
Casey breathed out a laugh. “I hope not. I’ve always had really weak upper body strength anyway.”
“That’s okay,” I assured her. “If you feel comfortable with it, I’d like you to act as the aggressor right now, and I’ll show you a couple of things.”
“What should I do?”
From the corner of my eye, but out of Casey’s sightline, I saw Aiden lean his large frame up against one of the steel beams that held up all the bags. His face was curious, but he made no move to interrupt.
I swallowed, shifting her so that we were facing each other. “Let’s start as if someone walks up to you and tries to pull your arm toward them, so why don’t you grab my wrist.”
Her hands were still wrapped from class, and tentatively, she curled her fingers around my wrist.
“Good.” I held her eyes. “Now feel how I’m going to put my hand over yours. It’s not about yanking my arm out of your grip. It’s about taking back the control.”
I wrapped my hand over the top of hers and pushed down slightly, her body moved toward me, and I swung the arm she was holding down and around, so I could use that hand to grab her forearm. Once I’d done that, her upper body was forced to turn away from me, and I pushed down gently. Almost immediately, she was down on one knee.
“Whoa.” She laughed.
