Girl Takes The Oath (An Emily Kane Adventure Book 5) by Jacques Antoine Page A

you?” she asked CJ.
    “I hope I remember to run,” she said through a nervous giggle.
    “But if a man attacks you, he’s likely to be stronger and faster than you. That means you won’t get away by running. And besides, if you run in battle, you’ll let your unit down. So, in the face of superior force, and if you can’t run, obviously you have to stand your ground, right?”
    “I guess so,” CJ replied, now beginning to look very put upon by the turn the conversation had just taken.
    “So, let’s think of it in terms of an isolated encounter. If a man attacks me, running won’t help, at least not until I’ve disabled him. Zaki, give me a strike.”
    He obliged, standing opposite her and extending his arm.
    “You can see, can’t you, since his arm is longer than mine, if I step back I place myself in a purely defensive position. If I can’t reach him, he’s got nothing to fear from me. He can attack with impunity.”
    “Okay,” CJ said, wary of the conclusion Emily might have in mind.
    “That means, not only is it useless to run, but also that I have to step forward, into his attack.”
    “Yes,” Stacie cried out. “That’s just like in shotokan . We try to block and then step inside, and nail him with a reverse punch to the center of the chest.”
    “Exactly,” Emily said. “And beyond the mechanical advantage of being able to strike with your weight on your back foot, which is the strongest hand-strike you have, there is the hidden advantage that he won’t expect it. Of course, when you step inside, you really have to nail him, and even then, you still can’t run.”
    “I’m not sure I can do this, Em,” CJ moaned.
    “I hope you never have to, but if you do…”
    “Then you better know how,” Stacie crooned.
    “One last thing,” Emily continued. “Once you nail him with that strike to the soft spot, just below the bottom rib, you have to hit him several more times. You don’t back away, or even think of running, until you’ve hurt him, by which I mean you’ve made it physically impossible for him to pursue.”
    “And that means…” CJ cringed to ask.
    “It means killing or maiming; a few bruises is not enough. You have to break his knee, or chop his throat, or maybe strike the back of his head just above the neck, gouge out his eyes—you get the picture, I hope—all very nasty stuff. Also, contrary to popular belief, merely kneeing him in the nuts will not really disable him. He’ll be able to run after you within a few seconds. Once you gain an advantage over your opponent, you don’t back off until you’ve settled it. To do anything else is simply to hand the advantage back.”
    “Oh, God,” CJ whimpered. “Isn’t there any other way?”
    “Of course, there is,” Emily replied, trying to find a reassuring tone of voice. “You always have options. And the more of ’em you have, the better. Pain compliance is the other main tool in your hand-to-hand arsenal.”
    “What about kicking?” Stacie asked.
    “CJ doesn’t have any karate training, so I didn’t mention that. And anyway, I think of kicks as an adjunct to hand-strikes.”
    “What about pain compliance, Em,” CJ chirped. “Let’s do some of that.”
    “Okay, but I want to make sure you understand its limits, as a strategy. Unless you intend to snap someone’s neck, or maim them, pain compliance is only useful in cases where you think your opponent can be ‘reasoned’ with, if you catch my drift.”
    “Yeah, but I’ve had training in pain compliance.”
    “Oh, c’mon, CJ. I want to see how we stand our ground,” Stacie said. “Let’s go over that, Em.”
    After some mock bickering between the girls, Emily had Zaki simulate an attack, first with a punch combination, and then with a grab.
    “You better put on pads,” she said, after a moment, “even if we’re only going half-speed, or you’ll get bruises from the blocks.”
    “What about you? Are you just gonna wear grappling gloves?”