• 5 •

I enter the gym with the best mood possible. Leah motions me to the counter. Without a word but an expectant smile she hugs me. There’ll be a Hojojutsu class and Leah endorsed both of us.

What an opportunity! Leah and me are both long time Jiu Jutsu practitioners on black belt level. We’ve taken techniques and movements in so entirely, that we can concentrate fully on their application in every situation imaginable. Also we seek to broaden our horizons as widespread as possible. Hojojutsu is very traditional and teachers are extremely rare. Attending to a class in our own gym is simply awesome!

We change clothes and scurry into the exercise room. There are only very few people. I shoot Leah a curious glance. As usual, she seems to read my mind.

“The attendance was strictly limited to twelve persons.”

After a moment, the instructor enters the room. He’s a giant of a man, he might even stand an inch over seven foot tall! He seems like 50 years or older, the face in his bald head furrowed with wrinkles, yet his heavily muscled body is brimming with vitality. The coeval woman following him appears dwarfed beside him, though she’s about 5’6” and well-built, too. She seems to be of Asian descent and is wearing a bright red silken suit.

“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Carl Grayson. I’m the owner of this gym and today we’re going to practice Hojojutsu.

Hojojutsu is a subdiscipline of the ancient Japanese martial arts, focusing on the moment after your opponent is defeated. It’s so efficient, it’s still widely used by nowadays Japanese police forces, even preferred to handcuffs.

Truth is, most martial arts cover a combat situation only to a certain point. Once you have subdued your enemy, you can either let go of him and hope he’s serious with his submission, or you can destroy him there and then. When none of that is an option, you have a problem. That’s where Hojojutsu comes into play.  It conclusively commits your foe at your mercy, to deal with him however you think best and – most important – whenever you see fit.”

I look at Leah and she grins back cheerily!

The next three hours, though, are pretty boring. I learn about the different types of ropes, how to fold them and how to stow them away ready to use. We learn about knots and loops and lots of handiwork suitable for some antiquated seaman. At first it’s a frustrating fiddly work, but once I get the knack, it becomes interesting, even fun.

With the first partner exercises the training gets really good. Leah and I always have this friendly competition when it comes to practice fighting. We support and cope with each other, thus inciting peak performance. We run through one routine after another, alternating, repeating drill after drill again and again.

The basic techniques are practiced while standing. When we proceed to their advanced usage, we lead in with some hold or another. Leah brings me down with a simple Kotegaeshi, a move I easily could have countered, but this time Leah is Tori and a fair receiver lets the performer play her game. I’m nevertheless amazed how easy, efficient and quick she binds my hands behind my back. The teacher steps beside me.

“Again! This time, put your knees on your partner’s neck and kidney to hold her down.”

Leah follows the instruction and I feel that it’d be almost impossible to free myself. One moment later I do the same technique to her. It’s thrilling to control her and render her completely helpless. I raise, look down on her and, following an impulse, put my foot on her back. The instructor’s eyes meet mine. He gazes for a moment, then nods, barely perceptible. Is that an approving smile I notice? His wife smiles openly, though.

For hours we practice, intense and concentrated. So intense, that the training day nears its end after what feels like a short moment. At the end of the session we go for the real combat application. Of course, I let Leah take me down easily. We’re exercising Hojojutsu, after all, not Jujutsu. But as soon as she has me in an initial position, I begin to fight back. Half a breath later, her foot slams down hard between my shoulder blades. She applies some serious pressure, obviously she leans forward, grabs my arms and wrenches them upwards with a cruel twist.  A second later she stands above me, both her feet planted firmly to the floor. In the same instance she applies a nasty lateral pressure to my ribcage while she holds my arms stretched out in that awkward position.

I sincerely stand no chance! It’s painful but bearable, yet I don’t doubt that Leah could easily force up the level of pain somewhere far beyond the pain threshold. She could fracture my arms or my elbows, dislocate my shoulders… Her hands work nimble as she ties my wrists behind my back, attaching them to a snare around my neck. Within a minute I’m immovable. Every attempt to wriggle free from the restraint results in the loop threatening to choke me. All I can do now is lie completely still.

I’m at Leah’s mercy and in this moment I’m very, very glad that I can entrust her my life because she`s even more dear to me than a sister.

Leah steps over me, places her shoes right before my face, then – slow and appreciative – sets her foot on the back of my neck. She doesn’t squeeze hard, but she openly enjoys controlling me.

“Gotcha, baby!” I hear her triumphant grin all the way down here. That vengeful bitch got her payback, obviously. I don’t resent her for that, of course. I would have done the same.

“Do you have a minute?” Later, I wrap up a used rope and turn around. The teacher and his wife stand before Leah and me. His face is unreadable, but something reveals his expectancy.

“We observed you closely today, both of you. Are you interested in personal tuition?”

That comes unexpected. I exchange glances with Leah.

“Don’t worry. It’ll cost you nothing, at least no money. To the contrary, I’ll set you to non-contributory membership here, since you’ll spend less time in the gym.” Carl seems to read our thoughts.

Leah appears as puzzled as I feel. Carl sits down cross-legged and motions us to sit down with him.

“Let me first introduce you to my wife, Kimora Grayson. I founded the gym about six years ago. I had the idea to pass my knowledge on to others. I found out something: one can learn the techniques to the peak of perfection. One can learn to fight. But what cannot be learned is true, genuine warrior spirit. What it takes to be a warrior either is within you or you’ll never have it.”

Wow. That either is a true revelation or esoteric nonsense.

“What do you mean by that? A born warrior, like described in this warrior gene discussion a few years ago?” Leah found her voice quicker than I did.

“No. That was completely wrong. I doubted it from the beginning and it’s widely refuted now. There is no such thing as a warrior gene. But most likely it has something to do with genetics. Have you ever heard of mirror neurons? They’re the parts in our brain that are responsible for empathy. But not solely, empathy is a more complex system. What makes you and me different from others is, that our empathy can be deactivated.”

Wait, I’ve heard that before and it’s… no way!

“That’s the definition of a psychopath! Switching empathy on and off like a lamp when needed is the attribute of a damned psychopath!” Somehow, this alarms me more than I would have thought – and I know the reason!

“Not like a psychopath! A psychopath uses generally no empathy and – even more reprehensible – uses it only to gain some advantage by it. That’s not how this works. We are normal people most of our lives, knowing compassion or sympathy all the time, in some extent even more than others. What makes us different is the ability to push it back when the need arises, to do what needs to be done. That’s what the warrior’s way is all about.” Carl’s sharp response shows plainly that I hit a nerve. I like his explanation. I have to stick to it, else…

“Okay, fine with me. What are we going to do and learn under your guidance?”

“Me and my wife moved all over the world to study under the greatest masters of their arts. What we’re going to teach you will be far beyond a single style. Staying true with one style at the beginning is a good way to bring your skills to perfection. At some point, though, it becomes a corset constricting further progress. We’re going to free you from it, teach you the art of genuine hand-to-hand combat, both techniques and their realistic application.”

Leah and I exchange glances and I see that she’s as excited as I feel. I’m weary from the hours of training, yet I burst to begin this new stage of martial arts – I’d love to start outright now!

“Don’t treat this lightly! You’ll learn things that’ll puzzle or even scare you. You’ll sometimes feel offended, humiliated and wretched. I know you’re both students, but don’t even think that I care for your test phases or any other sorry excuses. You’ll practice three times a week, at least eight hours in all. Half of your semester breaks belong to your training, full time, that is. These are the terms.” Carl must have read my thoughts. Yet if he tries to discourage me, he fails miserably.

“Accepted!” Leah’s and my voice resound in unison.