If I had been the one fighting Laurie, I would have stayed back, kept my guard up, and forced her to come closer so I could use my longer reach to my advantage. Instead, Cooper kept taking increasingly risky swings at her that left him open to counterattacks and overbalancing.
We all saw the moment when Cooper let his frustration get the better of him. Laurie had sidestepped yet another round of punches, making him stumble forward, slightly off balance. She hooked her bare foot around his shin and pushed. Cooper landed on the floor with a loud “Ooof!” I made a mental note to downgrade him to a green belt. He didn’t even know how to fall properly.
The students applauded the take down, a hoot of congratulations coming from some of the senior students working out in the corner of the dojo.
Cooper scrambled to his feet, anger suffusing his face as he spun and aimed a kick at Laurie as she turned to smile at me. I barely had enough time to step between the two opponents and grab his foot before it could connect with the side of her head.
I stood there, his foot captured between my arm and my torso, and glared at him angrily.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I growled at him, my eyes boring into his. With his height and weight, and even his relatively weak skill level, he could have seriously hurt, or even killed Laurie.
“She’s a fucking bitch, man! She cheated!” he whined, hopping awkwardly on one foot as I held tight to his ankle.
“Bullshit,” I said calmly. “Robin, what’s the rule on head strikes during sparring?”
Robin McKinley was about eleven years old and was the newest addition to our class, prior to Cooper and Addison. He hopped to his feet.
“Um, don’t?” he began. Mama K cleared her throat and he blushed before continuing. “I mean, no head strikes during sparring, unless both opponents are wearing the appropriate protective gear, Sensei.”
“Right. How long have you been in this class, Robin?” I asked.
“T-two weeks, Sensei,” he answered. I nodded at him in approval and he took his seat.
“You’d think that a black belt would know more than an eleven-year-old with two weeks of martial arts training, wouldn’t you, Cooper?” I said. Cooper flushed even more. I shoved hard and released my grip on his ankle. He flailed his arms in a vain attempt to stay upright but ended up flat on his ass.
I walked over to him as he lay on the mats, fury apparent in his gaze.
“Pack your things and get the hell out of our dojo,” I said. He scrambled to his feet.
“You can’t do that!” He yelled angrily. “I paid for a year’s worth of these classes!”
“I can, and I have,” I said calmly. “When you signed up for this class, you agreed to abide by all of the safety rules. Rule number four reads ‘I will not strike any unprepared opponent.’ Rule number six reads, ‘During sparring I will not deliberately strike, or attempt to strike, any opponent above the shoulders who is not wearing appropriate safety gear. If I do so, I will forfeit any and all deposits, and will be banned from the dojo for life.’”
“B-but— But—” he continued, flabbergasted that I was holding him to the rules. “I want to talk to your Manager!”
Mama K walked up next to me and looked down at where Cooper sat on the floor.
“That would be his Mexican Bitch Manager, Mr. Cooper,” she said, smiling down at him sweetly. “And I agree with my son. Get out of my dojo.”
“C’mon, Addy,” Cooper swore as he headed toward the changing room. “Let’s get the fuck out of this dump.”
Addison didn’t move from his spot on the mats and looked around nervously.
“Mr. Addison? Are you ready to return to the class?” My mother asked, her voice soft but with a core of steel to it.
Addison glanced around nervously and swallowed.
“Addy? Get the fuck over here!” Cooper yelled as he headed to the locker rooms.
Addison looked from me, to my mom, to Cooper, then back to me.
“I… I would like to return to the class, if that’s all right… Sensei,” he said, his eyes on me as he refused to look at his friend.
Cooper shook his head in disgust, yelled at all of us to do a variety of anatomically impossible things then stalked off to the locker rooms. I listened as he slammed some things around in the locker room, then left.
The class continued uneventfully, and I was glad to see that, when he wasn’t being distracted by Cooper, Addison was a decent student. Definitely not a black belt yet but I could see him getting there if he gave it enough time and effort.
When I dismissed the class, Laurie stopped to speak with me as I put away the equipment and the other students headed for the changing rooms.
