9. Good With A Knife

Tiger Breth Martial Arts Club met on Tuesdays. Kathy wondered if the spelling was deliberate or if the sign painter gave them a break on cost to avoid having to repaint it.

She discussed buddying up with Deb when she signed up. “I want some exercise,” she told Curtis Manga, the owner, “and I want to learn how to defend myself.”

“With a knife?” he asked doubtfully.

“I don’t like guns,” she trilled. “They scare me. Anyway, I’m more likely to have a knife handy if somebody breaks in and I’m in the kitchen, right?” Manga did a whatever shrug and swiped her platinum card.

“I don’t get you girls,” he said as he handed it back. “But if you want to work with knives, Deb’s your man.”

“You have a woman knife fighter? That’s interesting. Should I bring my own knife?”

He sighed. “Please don’t. We got everything you need. I’ll tell Deb.”

Feeling over-dressed in her new blue tracksuit, she turned up at six sharp to find Deborah Citlali waiting. She expected a cool reception, but the woman smiled and shook her hand. “You like knives, eh? Cool. Come on,” and she led the way into the gym.

...

As they worked through exercises and drills, Deb commented constantly on Kathy’s movements in a clear and helpful way. Where was the stuck-up, resentful, violent woman she’d heard about? After an hour Kathy was disheveled, sweaty and dizzy while Deb was still bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Listen up guys,” Manga called as he unwrapped strips of cloth from his hands. “Deb’s got a tournament on the weekend. Can some of you stay while she practices with me? She wants to get the feel of working in front of a crowd.”

Deb turned to Kathy. “Will you stay? I’d like to hear your thoughts on the artistic side of my performance.” Kathy looked surprised and a little worried. Deborah frowned. “Don’t worry,” she said tartly. “I don’t expect you to say anything very helpful, but it’s not just about combat, the judges look at style, too. It’s an art form.” Kathy raised her eyebrows. “Just tell me how it looks. I’m going for fluid and seamless and graceful, I guess.” She jerked her head towards the young men jostling each other and laughing at some joke. “These morons don’t get that, so maybe you can help me out here.”

Kathy nodded. “I’ll try. I’m not sure how much I can help since I’ve got like two hours experience.”

“Hey, at least you know what it feels like now. You’ll see the overall action more than the fine points which is helpful, too.” Deb punched her arm and sprinted off to the mat. Ouch! Kathy rubbed her arm and took a ringside position.