Elsie, Janie, and Elizabeth all look at each other wide-eyed and open-mouthed, ‘Oh, shit!’ as if on cue.
“Now,” Brian continues, “While Scott briefs Rico on the attack moves we’d like to see exhibited in the cage, we will go over them in here as well. I’ll call you up, one at a time, to demonstrate each move. Janie, let’s start with you, after everyone has finished their warm-ups.”
“Absolutely, Big Boy, I look forward to taking you down,” Janie flirts with him.
“And I’m sure, if you do, I’ll enjoy it,” he winks at her.
Brian has a less formal attitude with the class than John does, but there is never a doubt that every little thing in this class is dead serious. He can smoothly switch from easygoing to hard and controlled, in a single breath, oftentimes combining the two.
When John and Rico are ready, the class moves out of the room and circles the cage. The mood is heavy with anticipation. Even if it’s unspoken, it’s glaringly clear that these two men have an agenda which they are about to confront. They loosen their shoulders and rotate their necks, while staring each other down. They are both wearing tight fitting shorts and their hands are taped but they have nothing else on, except for a mouthpiece. Brian gets in the cage for the self-defense exhibition. He begins to explain, again, what we’ll be watching, then he takes a moment to introduce John and Brian, stating their fight rankings and personal information, such as height and weight, as if it’s a real match.
John and Rico separate, and Brian announces the first technique that will be displayed. Rico moves on John quickly and with precision. He’s good. He grabs him from behind and John stumbles. But he’s ready for him and dismounts Rico. Rico grins broadly, showing his mouth guard, and nods his head. They take their positions again and Brian moves on to the next maneuver. Rico acts swiftly, and John struggles but removes himself from Rico’s hold. Brian is explaining the moves as each man is going through them.
Elsie, Janie and Elizabeth are holding tightly onto each other’s hands, their knuckles are white from the vice like grips. Tensions are high for everyone, but Elsie knows there’s more going on here than what’s supposed to be on display. She can feel it rolling off of John. Brian is very methodical in his explanations. Some of the men have gathered around the cage as well, including Marco. They know that these two warriors are teetering on the verge of battle. Any moment now, all hell could break loose.
Brian announces the last move. Rico moves in close to John and whispers in his ear. A sick smile spreads across John’s face and he nods. John looks over to Brian and jerks his head slightly. Brian moves to them, and all three talk quietly. No one speaks a word, no one moves, they’re waiting to hear what’s going on inside the cage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re in for a surprise tonight. John and Rico will be sparring right after this final exhibition maneuver,” it was obvious this was coming, “And I know none of us have seen anything like what’s going to go down in a very long time.”
Everyone in the gym has stopped what they’re doing and are now crowded around the cage, the gym space isn’t designed to accommodate everyone in this area at the same time. But there’s no way in hell anyone’s moving and missing what’s getting ready to go down. Watching John fight under normal circumstances is a treat. With how he looks right now, this fight is going to be real. A couple of men send up a ‘Hell yeah!’ but for the most part there’s a huge collective gasp. The three girls are the loudest as the hold onto each other even more tightly.
Brian announces the final maneuver again, and Rico is on John before the words are even out of his mouth.
“This, ladies, is a good thing, actually. Your attacker has the element of surprise on his side,” Brian adds in.
Brian moves to the door of the cage. He’s getting ready to exit, if Scott should move in to replace him as referee for the match that’s obviously just started. Brian can referee, and has, but because of his close friendship with John, Scott might move in.
John tries to unhinge Rico with the maneuver that they’d taught to the students. Rico doesn’t budge. John growls his frustration at him, annoyed that Rico’s forcing him to take aggressive moves on him. Rico’s behind him, John’s head slams back against Rico’s face causing him to stumble and release the chokehold he had around his neck. John didn’t have a lot of room to knock him out with his head-butt but it was enough to get him off of him.
“That was a perfect example of flexibility. You know what you were shown, and it wasn’t working, so something else had to be pulled out of your bag of tricks. Always stay calm and keep your mind clear. That’s the secret of a good fighter,” Brian says loudly, with a shit eating grin on his face.
The energy level had skyrocketed just in the few seconds of that last move. There was a resounding, ‘Ooooh,’ that went through the crowd, the girls turning their faces away and scrunching their noses, as they imagined the pain that hit caused.
The fight is officially on. John turns and moves in for an aggressive move. His right hand moves at lightning speed to connect with Rico’s jaw. John is pissed. Rico falls backwards, like a tree, making his head bounce off the mat, and someone shouts, ‘Timber,’ causing a ripple of nervous laughter to move through the crowd.
“Hey,” Scott says firmly.
One of the unspoken rules of the
