In the spring of 1998 when I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, I had a woman named Chris that saw my ad stating that I teach a street combat art. My ad said no traditional BS, just straight out defensive tactics. Yep, the same ad and the same system I was called nothing but a barroom brawler for teaching.
Chris told me that she wanted to learn how to fight because she works late shifts. She also has to walk to her car in a bad neighborhood. Later, I found out that she was a dancer at a local Men’s Club, the old Silver Fox on Scranton Ave. I nicknamed her peacock because she had a peacock tattooed on the calf of her leg, but she danced as Diamond. What she didn’t tell me is that she was living with a guy that was abusing her.
I teach men and women very different. I teach men Striking heavy art first because men are more likely to be struck and then grabbed. Where women are more likely to be grabbed, I start off teaching them hold breaks, grappling skills, and other ground fighting like Harimau. When I teach anyone it’s focused on the same thing no matter what. You must flow like water, and when an attack comes in, and then you must flow around it and find your counter because it’s always there.
She would train with me for hours learn to block, counter attack, strike, lock, takedown, harimau, and grappling. I taught her my Close Quarter Combat Skills, and she was a very good student, a natural with fighting. She went from fighting as we call it, like a wimp, to fighting like a trained fighter. She gave the term, “you fight like a girl” a whole new meaning. I taught her hold breaks from 98 different holds and from different angles. I taught her how to close using her fist, feet, elbows, knees, and to strike with every part of her body. I was amazed how fast she was able to pick up what I was teaching her.
What would normally take students months to learn, took Chris only a few weeks. I guess if you need something bad enough to keep yourself safe, you will learn to use it incredibly fast. Plus, she was training with me 4-5 days a week for 8 months. One day I got a call from her around class time, I thought she was calling off from class, but no she was scared. She told me that her boyfriend saw her car at the school I was training her in, and peaked in the window. He was angry to see her learning to fight.
They argued and he grabbed around her throat and began to choke her. She fell onto the couch then her head was on the floor, and her butt was on the couch pinned on the floor between the couch and coffee table upside down. She told me that as she felt herself begin to passing out. That’s when her training kicked in. Chris grabbed one of his arms, and put her leg around his throat getting him into an arm-bar. She arched her hips and dislocated his arm out of its socket.
He went to the hospital and the damage was even more than she knew. The arm-bar totally dislocated his arm, ripped his rotator cuff, and pulled every tendon in his arm. The doctor told him he would need multiple surgeries to correct his condition. She was afraid of being arrested for what she did. I went over and documented all of her injuries for a self-defense case just in case he wanted to file charges, and someone decided she needed to be arrested. Since I was a police officer she knew I would know what to do.
Well, the scum bag just told the doctor in the ER that he did it playing football, and not that he got beat up by his girlfriend. I told her I hope next time she wouldn’t wait so long before doing what I taught her. From that day on she stopped being a victim.
Matter of fact she was working at Bugsy Speak Easy when a bouncer was trying to throw an unruly customer out of the bar. That guy’s friend tried to hit the bouncer in the head with a beer bottle. Chris saw this and jumped into action. She was able to disarm the guy and very roughly throw the guy out of the bar. Then she came back and helped the bouncer with his guy. Everyone told the bouncer how Chris saved him, and from that day on she was jokingly called the Dancer/Bouncer. Chris wasn’t the stripper you would want to get out of line with.
The last time I saw Chris she was dancing at the Lido’s Longue in Cleveland. I hope the skills I taught her are still there, and protecting her. Later on I saw a movie called “Enough” with Jennifer Lopez and it because one of my favorites thanks to Chris.
Chris told me that she wanted to learn how to fight because she works late shifts. She also has to walk to her car in a bad neighborhood. Later, I found out that she was a dancer at a local Men’s Club, the old Silver Fox on Scranton Ave. I nicknamed her peacock because she had a peacock tattooed on the calf of her leg, but she danced as Diamond. What she didn’t tell me is that she was living with a guy that was abusing her.
I teach men and women very different. I teach men Striking heavy art first because men are more likely to be struck and then grabbed. Where women are more likely to be grabbed, I start off teaching them hold breaks, grappling skills, and other ground fighting like Harimau. When I teach anyone it’s focused on the same thing no matter what. You must flow like water, and when an attack comes in, and then you must flow around it and find your counter because it’s always there.
She would train with me for hours learn to block, counter attack, strike, lock, takedown, harimau, and grappling. I taught her my Close Quarter Combat Skills, and she was a very good student, a natural with fighting. She went from fighting as we call it, like a wimp, to fighting like a trained fighter. She gave the term, “you fight like a girl” a whole new meaning. I taught her hold breaks from 98 different holds and from different angles. I taught her how to close using her fist, feet, elbows, knees, and to strike with every part of her body. I was amazed how fast she was able to pick up what I was teaching her.
What would normally take students months to learn, took Chris only a few weeks. I guess if you need something bad enough to keep yourself safe, you will learn to use it incredibly fast. Plus, she was training with me 4-5 days a week for 8 months. One day I got a call from her around class time, I thought she was calling off from class, but no she was scared. She told me that her boyfriend saw her car at the school I was training her in, and peaked in the window. He was angry to see her learning to fight.
They argued and he grabbed around her throat and began to choke her. She fell onto the couch then her head was on the floor, and her butt was on the couch pinned on the floor between the couch and coffee table upside down. She told me that as she felt herself begin to passing out. That’s when her training kicked in. Chris grabbed one of his arms, and put her leg around his throat getting him into an arm-bar. She arched her hips and dislocated his arm out of its socket.
He went to the hospital and the damage was even more than she knew. The arm-bar totally dislocated his arm, ripped his rotator cuff, and pulled every tendon in his arm. The doctor told him he would need multiple surgeries to correct his condition. She was afraid of being arrested for what she did. I went over and documented all of her injuries for a self-defense case just in case he wanted to file charges, and someone decided she needed to be arrested. Since I was a police officer she knew I would know what to do.
Well, the scum bag just told the doctor in the ER that he did it playing football, and not that he got beat up by his girlfriend. I told her I hope next time she wouldn’t wait so long before doing what I taught her. From that day on she stopped being a victim.
Matter of fact she was working at Bugsy Speak Easy when a bouncer was trying to throw an unruly customer out of the bar. That guy’s friend tried to hit the bouncer in the head with a beer bottle. Chris saw this and jumped into action. She was able to disarm the guy and very roughly throw the guy out of the bar. Then she came back and helped the bouncer with his guy. Everyone told the bouncer how Chris saved him, and from that day on she was jokingly called the Dancer/Bouncer. Chris wasn’t the stripper you would want to get out of line with.
The last time I saw Chris she was dancing at the Lido’s Longue in Cleveland. I hope the skills I taught her are still there, and protecting her. Later on I saw a movie called “Enough” with Jennifer Lopez and it because one of my favorites thanks to Chris.
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