SAILOR MOON: 1987
(I THINK I'M SUPPOSED TO PUT SOME LEGAL DISCLAIMER HERE, SOMETHING ABOUT NAOKO TAKEUCHI BEING THE CREATOR OF SAILOR MOON, AND THAT I ONLY OWN WHAT I CREATED, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT...)
EPISODE 30: THE MAKING OF A HERO
MARCH 9, 1987
TRI CITY PARK, PLACENTIA, CALIFORNIA, 10:00 AM
"I don't know what we're doing here," Chibi-Usa said, as she and John McCoy, her future father, arrived in the park. Chibi-Usa was wearing heather gray sweatpants, a pink T-shirt, and white leather high top sneakers with Velcro straps around the ankles, while John was wearing black sweatpants, a sleeveless heather gray hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, and black Converse Chuck Taylor high tops, and his hands were taped up like a boxer's hands for a big fight. Chibi-Usa was accompanied by Diana, her guardian kitten, who was resting on her shoulders, as Artemis, John's cat, was resting on his shoulders.
"Training," John said.
"I thought you were training me to be a superhero," Chibi-Usa said.
"I am," John said. "First, I taught you that being a hero is more than a costume, powers, or kicking bad guy butt. Yesterday, I taught you about avoiding unnecessary conflict, and thanks to Mina, I got to toss in a lesson about being careful about what you say to others, as what you say could possibly compromise your secret identity. Today, I'm going to teach you how not to depend totally on your powers. Yeah, I have powers, but I also took karate from when I was 8 to when I was 15, and have a second degree black belt. I was also on the wrestling team both years I went to Tuffree, so I have that to fall back on as well. In other words, if my powers were suddenly useless, I can still take care of myself out there. But as for what we're doing here, I thought we would take a little jog around the park to warm up a little."
"So what do you want Diana and I to do?" Artemis said, climbing off John's shoulders.
"Keep an eye on us," John said. "But kind of stay out of sight."
"There are plenty of trees here," Diana said. "Daddy, why don't we watch them from the trees."
"Good thinking, Diana," John said. "From there, you have a pretty good vantage point, in case anything's going on in the park."
As Artemis and Diana took to the trees, John and Chibi-Usa stretched, after which, they took a jog around the perimeter of the park. "Tell me again what stretching and jogging has to do with training me," Chibi-Usa said, as they jogged.
"This is just a warm up," John said. "If you go into it full bore without warming up first, you could injure yourself. And believe me, the last thing I want to do is for you to get injured."
"I guess you're right," Chibi-Usa said.
"And it will also help you build up your stamina and endurance," John said. "Believe me, the last place you want to run out of steam is in the middle of a fight."
After their jog, John and Chibi-Usa went back to John's house, particularly to the garage, where John had a heavy bag set up in one corner. "Now what?" Chibi-Usa asked, as she, John, and the cats, entered.
"First, I need to tape your hands," John said. "If you want to know why I do that, it's to protect against injury."
"What's this for?" Chibi-Usa asked, as John wrapped non-adhesive foam tape around her hands and wrists, and between her fingers.
"To keep the tape from sticking to your skin," John said. "Trust me, you do not want athletic tape stuck directly to your skin. That stuff has some pretty strong adhesive. But if I use the foam tape first, when we're done, all I have to do is cut it off, and it comes off clean. Now, if you'll just take your shoes off, and put these on," he said, handing her a pair of karate shoes. As she put the karate shoes on, John took his sneakers off, and put on a pair of jika-tabi boots with light, flexible soles
"I thought you said being a hero was about more than kicking butt," Chibi-Usa said, as Joseph McCoy, John's father, came down to the garage.
"It is," John said. "But sometimes, being able to kick butt does come in handy. Hey dad, mind doing me a favor real quick?"
"Sure," Joseph said. "What do you want me to do?"
"Hold this board, just like this, please," John said, handing his dad a 12"x12"x1" board. "I want to give Chibi-Usa a little demonstration."
"Chibi-Usa?" Joseph asked.
"That would be me," Chibi-Usa said.
"She's mine and Usagi Tsukino's daughter from the future, remember?" John said.
"Nice to meet you," Richard said, holding the board for John.
"HA!" John said, punching the board, breaking it into two pieces. "And aside from a demonstration of karate, I just gave you a little lesson. There was a reason I yelled when I hit the board."
"I always wondered that myself," Joseph said. "Like in Kung Fu movies, whenever someone throws a punch, or kick, they yell or scream like they do."
"It gives them a little extra power," John said. "It's not just the yelling or screaming, either. Any expulsion of air from your lungs gives you a little burst of extra power. Dad, whenever you go to the gym, you've heard guys grunting and groaning as they lift weights, it's the same principle." John put a catcher's mitt on his left hand, and held it out. "Now, Chibi-Usa, I want you to hit this mitt as hard as you can twice. The first time, I want you to inhale as you punch, the second time, exhale."
"Okay," Chibi-Usa said. She threw a punch while inhaling, which she felt was weak. "Ah!" she said, as she threw her second punch, which was harder than John expected.
"Which punch do you think was more powerful?" John asked.
"The second one, definitely," Chibi-Usa said.
"And that's why there's so much yelling and screaming in martial arts," John said. "Even though it's not really about the yelling and screaming, it's about expelling air out of your lungs to gain power."
"Is this part of my training?" Chibi-Usa asked, as Joseph got what he came in the garage for and went back into the house.
"As a matter of fact," John said, "yes. Now today, we're going to work on a few basic punches."
"Mom said that Sailor Soldiers don't usually get into a lot of fistfights," Chibi-Usa said.
"This is part of your superhero training," John said. "You'll learn about being a Sailor Soldier from the actual Sailor Soldiers. Anyways," John said, throwing several jabs at the bag, "This is a jab, the most basic punch. Just make a fist and throw a straight punch, that's it. It doesn't matter whether your knuckles are parallel or perpindicular to the ground, that's a matter of personal preference. And when you're throwing punches, remember to bounce on the balls of your feet. It's a lot easier to get moving if your body is already in motion. Now I want you to hit the bag 100 times with each hand, alternating. Start by throwing a punch with your left, then one with your right, left and right, until you've thrown 100 punches with each hand. But first," he said, handing her a pair of padded gloves, "put these on. These gloves will give your hands some additional protection."
"So what's the purpose of punching, anyways?" Chibi-Usa asked.
"Practice," John said. "Also, it will help you build up your endurance."
Chibi-Usa began throwing punches at the bag, 100 with each hand. "Okay," she said. "What's next?"
"This," John said, throwing a right cross at the bag. "This punch is actually two different punches. You throw it wide, like I just did, it's a cross." He threw the same punch, but tighter. "If you throw it tight, like I just did, it's called a hook. A cross can be used to get around an enemy's defenses, while a hook is thrown as a knockout punch. Believe me, when you're in a scrap, a good left hook is your best friend in the world. Now I want you to throw 100 punches with each hand again, not just alternating between hands, but alternating between jabs and crosses or hooks. First, throw a jab with the left, followed by a jab with the right, a cross with the left, and a cross with the right. Do that until you've thrown 100 punches with each hand."
While Chibi-Usa was busy punching the bag, Usagi Tsukino came by. "So what are you training her for?" Usagi asked. "To be a superhero, or to take on Mike Tyson?"
"To be a superhero," John said. "Which means if need be, I want her to be able to take care of herself using only her fists if she has to."
"Like channeling energy through her tonfas like they were blasters?" Usagi asked.
"I was actually a few months into my career as Golden Hawk before I discovered that little trick," John said. "I don't mind her using weapons, but I want her to be able to fight without weapons or special attacks."
"Good point," Usagi said.
"But this is nothing like the training I do with you," Chibi-Usa said. "Or the training I do with Luna."
"That's because I'm training you to be a Sailor Soldier," Usagi said. "And Luna's training you to be a princess."
"True," Chibi-Usa said.
"I have no idea what either of those entail," John said. "But it wouldn't surprise me that Sailor Soldier training somehow involves throwing a Frisbee."
"How else is she going to learn how to throw her tiara?" Usagi asked. "That may not be my strongest attack, but you have to admit it is effective."
"That it is," John said. "Anyways, I was wondering what you're doing for lunch."
"I haven't decided yet," Usagi said. "Why do you ask?"
"I was going to run over to the sub shop by the Pantry to pick up sandwiches for lunch, we're going to eat lunch during the second part of Chibi-Usa's lesson for the day."
"Second part of my lesson?" Chibi-Usa asked. "What are we going to be learning?"
"You'll see," John said. "Now the both of you hop in my car, we'll go pick up some sandwiches.
They went to the sub shop, Usagi got a turkey and Swiss on whole wheat, with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, and tomato, with a pickle spear on the side and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. Chibi-Usa got a meatball sub with provolone on toasted garlic bread, with a pickle spear on the side and a bag of puffy Cheetos. John got a smoked sausage on a potato roll, with cole slaw and 1000 island, with a pickle spear on the side, and a bag of Cajun Spice Ruffles. They got sodas from the machine in front of the Pantry, John got Dr Pepper, Chibi-Usa got Squirt, and Usagi got RC Cola. When they got back to John's house, he set up TV trays for each of them. "This is the second part of your lesson for the day," John said, putting a VHS tape labeled "Emergency!" in the VCR. "This show might be fiction, but it shows what real heroes look like."
"Real heroes?" Chibi-Usa asked.
"Firefighters," John said. "Guys who think nothing of running into a burning building to rescue grandmas and puppies. Boys like me used to want to be these guys when we grew up."
"I've seen this show before," Chibi-Usa said, when the episode ended. "You still watch it sometimes in the future."
"I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a kid because of this show," John said. "I have an uncle who's a retired firefighter, he said it's an accurate look at the glamorous life of a firefighter. Thing about it is, a boy could realistically aspire to be John Gage or Roy DeSoto, or even Marco Lopez, Chet Kelly, Mike Stoker, or Hank Stanley."
"You could have also aspired to be Kelly Brackett, Joe Early, or Mike Morton," Usagi said. "Of course, to be them, you would have to hit the books, study hard, and get into medical school."
"Yeah," John said. "It would take some effort, but you can be anyone on this show. Except for the fact she's a woman, I could even be a nurse like Dixie McCall."
"I kind of like Chet myself," Chibi-Usa said. "He may be a joker but when they're at the scene, his abilities as a firefighter cannot be questioned."
"Yeah," John said. "And if you watch, you'll see that whenever John and Roy need a hand, he's usually the one who helps them. Manning the Bio-Phone, taking vitals, even performing basic first aid, such as bandaging wounds or even performing CPR."
"But I still don't get the point of watching this show," Usagi said.
"I think I do," Chibi-Usa said. "John wanted to show me that not all superheroes wear capes."
"Exactamundo," John said. "Not all superheroes wear capes, some wear turnout coats, others wear badges, still others wear fatigues."
UNTIL NEXT TIME...
OUR NEXT EPISODE: VICTORIA